13 Summer Fashion Design Programs for High School Students
If you’re a high school student interested in fashion, a summer program can be a great way to explore your creativity while gaining design skills. These programs introduce you to the fashion industry through projects, sketching, textiles, sewing, and digital tools, giving you a sense of what fashion design looks like beyond school clubs.
Why should I participate in a fashion design summer program in high school?
Many fashion design programs for high schoolers are hosted by top design schools. These programs offer mentorship from professionals, exposure to industry trends, and the chance to build portfolio pieces that can support your college applications. Summer programs also offer the chance to meet industry professionals, mentors, and peers who share your interest in fashion, helping you build a network that can support your future career.
To help you find the right fit, here are 13 summer fashion design programs for high school students to consider.
1. URBN Internships
Location: Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA
Stipend: Competitive hourly rate (exact amount not specified)
Program Dates: June 1 – August 7
Application Deadline: November 3
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
URBN’s summer internship provides high school students with a chance to explore the fashion and retail sectors. You will engage in activities such as trend research, data analysis, and teamwork with creative professionals. Most internships take place at URBN’s Philadelphia Navy Yard headquarters, though some remote positions are available. Beyond the work, the program includes leadership exercises, social events, and off-site trips that help you build connections, develop real-world skills, and gain a comprehensive view of how the fashion industry operates.
2. Ladder Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; financial aid is available
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students who can work for 8 - 16 weeks, devoting 5 - 15 hours/week
Ladder Internships is a selective program founded by Harvard alumni that connects high school students with virtual internships at startups and nonprofits worldwide. You can work in various fields, including technology, machine learning, fashion design, nonprofit work, health tech, software engineering, consulting, environmental science, media, and journalism. As an intern, you will contribute to projects that align with your assigned organization’s mission and present your final work at the end of the program. The internship includes personalized training in communication and time management, along with group training sessions. You will also receive support from a manager at your internship site and mentorship from a ladder coach throughout the program.
3. The New School (Parsons) Summer Intensive Studies: New York
Location: Parsons’ NYC Greenwich Village campus, NYC, NY
Cost: $5,610 + $265 university fee
Program Dates: Session 1: June 8 – 26 | Session 2: July 6 – 24
Application Deadline: Session 1: May 8 | Session 2: June 1
Eligibility: Open to high school students aged 16 – 18
This three-week, three-credit pre-college program at Parsons, a renowned school for art, design, and fashion, offers high school students an in-depth opportunity to explore a creative discipline while immersing themselves in New York City's vibrant energy. Led by expert faculty, you will develop skills through project-based studio work, engage in art and design excursions, listen to industry guest speakers, and receive customized portfolio reviews. The program is especially valuable for students preparing college applications, as you will create strong portfolio pieces throughout the course. You can choose from subjects such as Fashion Styling, Fashion Design: Visual Communication, and Fashion Design: Sewing and Construction, gaining exposure to diverse techniques and practices while developing work that strengthens your artistic foundation.
4. Immerse Education’s Fashion & Design Track
Location: London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo
Cost: Varies according to program. Financial aid available
Program Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students aged 15-18
The Career Insights Program helps high school students explore different career paths in major global cities. The London track introduces you to opportunities in business, finance, and creative fields. The New York track shows you how the media, fashion, and entertainment industries work. The San Francisco track focuses on technology and the startup environment in Silicon Valley. The Tokyo track gives you a look into technology, engineering, and design in a city known for innovation. Throughout the program, you will work on projects with real companies, take part in workshops, and visit offices, studios, factories, and headquarters. You will also receive weekly one-on-one career coaching with feedback on your resume and overall profile, and the program ends with a presentation of your work to industry professionals. You can find more details about the application here!
5. OTIS College of Art and Design’s Summer of Art - Fashion Design
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $2,690
Program Dates: July 7 – 31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-12
In this program, you will explore the complete fashion concept and development process, from the sketching techniques used by top designers to the technical skills needed to bring your ideas to life. As a participant, you will create a mood board to visualize and communicate your themes, gaining a strong understanding of the creative elements behind individual designs. Working in Otis’s state-of-the-art fashion studio, you will also learn to operate professional industrial sewing equipment, allowing you to transform your hand-drawn illustrations into fully finished garments.
6. Drexel University’s Discovering Fashion Design Program
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $2,400 ($300 deposit due at registration)
Program Dates: July 12 – 18
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the maximum capacity of 18 students is reached
Eligibility: High school students who have completed their sophomore year and are at least 16 years old
Drexel University’s program is a selective work-learn experience open to only 18 high school students. Over the course of one week, you will explore the foundations of fashion research, sustainable practices, craftsmanship, and emerging technology. The schedule blends studio time with lectures, demonstrations, guest talks, and visits to Philadelphia’s design spaces. In the studio, you will test materials, develop ideas, and create apparel-focused projects. You will also learn industry tools, including Shima Seiki’s APEX knitwear simulation system and CLO-3D fashion design software, through sessions led by Drexel faculty and professionals. Field trips and conversations with designers further deepen your understanding of how the industry works and what a future in fashion might look like.
7. ASU FIDM (Arizona State University Fashion Institute / Herberger Institute) summer camps
Location: Downtown Phoenix, AZ, and Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $1,200 – $1,300
Program Dates: June 9 – 13 | June 16 – 20 | June 23 – 27
Application Deadline: June 5 | June 12 | June 19
Eligibility: Open to high school and community college students ages 15–19
The ASU FIDM summer fashion camps provide high school students with a hands-on introduction to fashion design. Offered in both Phoenix and Los Angeles, these weeklong day programs teach core skills such as fashion illustration, sewing, patternmaking, trend research, and product development. Some camps also focus on sports fashion and marketing or offer a more advanced experience for students seeking higher-level work. Throughout the week, you will learn directly from ASU FIDM faculty and industry guests, complete creative design projects, and gain a practical understanding of how ideas move from concept to final garment. These camps are designed for students ages 15 to 19 who want to explore fashion in a focused, supportive studio environment.
8. High School Summer Art Intensive: Curating Fashion–New York University’s Steinhardt School
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Cost: $2,600
Program Dates: July 5 – 25
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: High school student ages 15–18 entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in the fall
In NYU’s High School Summer Art Intensive: Curating Fashion, you will explore how fashion is studied, interpreted, and presented to the public. You will learn about fashion history, analyze garments up close, and see how curators develop themes, write narratives, and design exhibition layouts. Over the two weeks, you will participate in studio workshops, attend guest speaker talks, and visit museums and cultural spaces across New York City to see firsthand examples of fashion displays. You will work closely with faculty from NYU’s Costume Studies graduate program, gaining insight into how professionals think about fashion as both art and cultural history. By the end of the program, you'll work with your classmates to organize a group exhibition, showcasing your ideas, research, and visual concepts from the course.
9. Project Endeavor Fashion
Location: Los Angeles, CA, with optional extensions to San Francisco or Hawaii
Cost: Varies by location
Program Dates: July 5 – 17
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Open to high school students (typically entering grades 9–12)
Project Endeavor Fashion is a two-week summer program in Los Angeles where you explore the full process of fashion design, from developing ideas to creating a complete collection. You will learn about fashion history, sketching, fabric selection, pattern making, and basic sewing, and you also work on building a fashion portfolio. The program introduces industry tools like tech packs and branding, and allows visits to locations such as Mood Fabrics and FIDM to observe how the fashion industry functions. You will meet guest speakers from the industry and participate in field trips around Los Angeles to see fashion in real-world environments. Throughout the course, you create your own designs and gain direct experience in transforming fashion ideas from sketches into final products.
10. Camp Fashion NYC (The Fashion Class)
Location: New York, NY
Cost: $1,400/week
Program Dates: July 6-31 (weekly dates)
Application Deadline: Rolling admission basis
Eligibility: Designed for students ages 13–17
At Camp Fashion NYC, teens aged 13–17 will spend their summer acquiring hands-on fashion design skills. You will learn sewing, draping, fashion illustration, merchandising, and branding while creating your own original design projects. You will also visit fabric stores like Mood, explore fashion studios and museums, and meet industry professionals who will share insights into the creative and business sides of fashion. During the program, you'll create your own portfolio pieces and gain hands-on experience in transforming designs from initial concept to final garments. By week's end, you'll have improved your technical skills, enhanced your creative thinking, and gained insight into working within a real New York City fashion setting, setting a solid foundation for future studies or a career in the industry.
11. Interlochen Arts Camp – Fashion Program
Location: Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI
Cost: $7,265
Program Dates: Session 1: June 28 – July 18 | Session 2: July 19 – August 9
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12
At Interlochen Arts Camp, you will spend three weeks learning the fundamentals of fashion design as a high school student. You will practice sewing, garment construction, and fashion figure drawing while exploring how historical and contemporary designers create their work. You will design and develop a cohesive line of wearable art, gaining skills in planning, materials, and presentation. The program features lectures, tutorials, and guidance from professional artists and guest instructors, providing you with insight into both the creative and professional sides of the fashion industry. By the end of the session, you will showcase your work in a final exhibition, displaying the collection you designed and produced.
12. FIT High School Summer Workshops
Location: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York, NY
Cost: $440
Program Dates: June 22 – 25 | June 29 – July 2
Application Deadline: June 10
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9–12 in the fall of that year
The FIT High School Summer Workshops give students an opportunity to explore fashion and creative industries on FIT’s New York City campus. You will participate in projects across fashion design, sewing, draping, illustration, merchandising, and more, gaining skills used in college-level programs and the fashion industry. The workshops run for one-week or 10-day sessions, providing opportunities to build practical skills, experiment with creative ideas, and gain a sense of college life at a world-renowned design school. You will learn directly from FIT faculty, engage with other students interested in fashion and design, and leave the program with completed projects that showcase your creativity and growing abilities.
13. Summer Fashion Academy programs
Location: Manhattan, NY
Cost: $275 – $350 per course
Program Dates: July 14 – 17 (in‑person) | July 21 – 24 (virtual)
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary by session
Eligibility: Open to current high school students (grades 9–12)
LIM College’s Pre‑College Summer Fashion Academy gives high school students the opportunity to explore careers in fashion, business, and creative industries through project-based learning. You can choose from in-person or virtual week-long courses that cover fashion design, merchandising, branding, styling, and career exploration. Throughout the program, you will work on real-world assignments and projects that help build portfolio-ready work, attend sessions led by industry professionals, and gain insight into how the fashion business operates. In-person courses often include field trips and opportunities to experience New York City’s fashion and retail scene, providing practical knowledge, professional exposure, and insight into what college-level study in fashion and related fields is like.
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