The California Institute of the Arts was named one of the “Top 10 Costume Design Schools in the United States” by The Hollywood Reporter.
The 2022 list was released on March 12 and highlighted how CalArts is exploring new avenues for costume design through cross-pollination of multiple schools and programs.
Other colleges and universities selected by The Hollywood Reporter are:
Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles
New York University TISCH School of the Arts, New York
Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
University of California, Los Angeles School of Theatre, Film and Television, Los Angeles
University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri
University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston Salem, NC
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Wimbledon College of the Arts, University of the Arts, London was added as the 11th school as a bonus international school.
Animation and digital have opened up a new field for costume designers, culminating in the Costume in Animation course, said Ellen McCartney, director of experience design and production at CalArts.
“We treat the school like a big studio where students come to find their voice as designers,” she said. “They are challenged by projects, productions and new ways of thinking that have no known solutions and have to work their way through a problem, whether theoretical or practical. It is one of the few art institutes that brings together the performing arts of theatre, music and dance under one roof.
The Hollywood Reporter also named several notable CalArts alumni in reference to the school’s costuming accomplishments, including Ariel Boroff (2010 Theater MFA) of “Station 19”, Sandra Burns (2004 Theater MFA) of “Last Man on Earth” and Marco Morante (Theater BFA 2002), who has worked with Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Shakira.
Learn more about the Costume design program at CalArts.
