Anno 1998

As early as 1953 the Department of Fashion Design was founded within the Academy of Fine Arts Arnhem (now ArtEZ University of the Arts). The Bachelor Fashion Design and the Fashion Masters belong to the most successful fashion curriculums in Europe. Fashion students from Arnhem are frequently nominated and awarded national and international prizes and because of their achievements they receive a great deal of media attention.

Bridging the gap

The Master Fashion Design, previously known as Fashion Institute Arnhem (FIA), was established in 1998 as a one-year post-graduate fashion design programme. Its purpose was to bridge the gap and create a more efficient connection between higher vocational training in fashion design and the international fashion industry. We owe many thanks to the founders and former Course Directors; Piet Paris and Angelique Westerhof.

Two specialisations

Subsequently, the ArtEZ fashion curricula gradually evolved into two specialised, fulltime two-year master programmes, which in 2009 were renamed ArtEZ Fashion Masters. This name reflects our ambition for both curricula – Fashion Strategy and Fashion Design – to benefit from mutual inspiration and cross-fertilisation. The two master programmes part from a similar mentality and are housed in the same building but both have their own specialized curriculum.

Unique asset

In April 2011, ArtEZ Fashion was awarded the Grand Seigneur 2011 whose previous winners include leading individual fashion designers and other fashion professionals. The jury report stated that ArtEZ represents a unique asset to the international world of fashion training and the fashion sector in general. ArtEZ is this first fashion academy to ever win this award.