The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

What The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising does

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) was a private for-profit fashion college founded in 1969 in Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Over five decades it operated as a hub for fashion and creative-industry education, producing multiple generations of alumni across design, merchandising, and costume disciplines. As of March 31, 2025, the independent institution officially closed its educational programs, and Arizona State University, through the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, became the Custodian of Records for FIDM and carried forward its mission under the brand "ASU FIDM."

ASU FIDM offers a portfolio of four-year degree programs at campuses in Los Angeles and Phoenix: a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion with specializations in Fashion Design, Apparel Product Development, Apparel Technical Design, and Fashion Merchandising; a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design and Technology; and a minor in Fashion. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on design, technical skills, business management, and sustainability, culminating in a capstone project.

The business model centers on recurring tuition revenue from individual prospective students applying through ASU's centralized admissions portal. No proprietary technology platform supports delivery. Distribution runs through direct admissions, campus tours, and a year-round calendar of public exhibitions, panel discussions, guest-speaker series, and student showcases targeting prospective students, alumni, and industry partners. Subsidiary offerings include the FIDM Museum, and alumni services have been digitized through a Parchment partnership effective July 15, 2025.

Name

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

Legal name

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

Website

https://fidm.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is a former private fashion college founded in 1969 in Los Angeles, which officially closed its independent programs on March 31, 2025 and now operates as ASU FIDM within Arizona State University's Herberger Institute, offering BA and BFA fashion degree programs to individual prospective students in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Fashion Education)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAJAF

Fashion & Apparel Design Colleges

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Arts, Music & Design Colleges

Keywords

• Fashion education
• Design degrees
• Costume design
• Fashion merchandising
• Apparel technical design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Educational Programs: ASU FIDM generates revenue through tuition for its four-year fashion degree programs including Bachelor of Arts in fashion, Bachelor of Fine Arts in costume design and technology, and fashion minor. Programs prepare students for careers in fashion design, apparel technical design, fashion merchandising, and fashion studies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ASU FIDM (formerly the independent Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) sells higher-education degree programs in fashion and creative industries. Offerings include a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion with specializations in Fashion Design, Apparel Product Development, Apparel Technical Design, and Fashion Merchandising, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design and Technology, and a Minor in Fashion. Courses are delivered on campuses in Los Angeles and Phoenix and cover design, technical skills, business management, and sustainability.

Product overview

ASU FIDM is an educational institution offering a portfolio of fashion and creative industry degree programs. The institution provides a Bachelor of Arts in fashion with multiple specializations (Fashion Design, Apparel Product Development, Apparel Technical Design, and Fashion Merchandising), a Bachelor of Fine Arts in costume design and technology, and a minor in fashion. Programs feature hands-on courses emphasizing design, technical skills, business management, and sustainability, culminating in capstone projects. ASU FIDM operates as a school within Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, offering four-year fashion degrees in Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FIDM Museum: Museum operating under ASU FIDM as part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

Products and services

• Fashion, BA A Bachelor of Arts in Fashion degree preparing students for careers in the fashion and creative industries, with hands-on courses emphasizing design, technical skills, business management, and sustainability.
• Fashion (Design), BA A Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on fashion design specialization within the fashion program.
• Fashion (Apparel Product Development), BA A Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on apparel product development specialization within the fashion program.
• Fashion (Apparel Technical Design), BA A Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on apparel technical design specialization within the fashion program.
• Fashion (Merchandising), BA A Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on fashion merchandising specialization within the fashion program.
• Fashion, Minor A minor in fashion designed to prepare students for various careers in the fast-evolving fashion industry.
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design and Technology A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in costume design and technology for the creative industries.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• ParchmentcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 15 July 2025Parchment partners with ASU to process transcript requests for former FIDM students and graduates. As of July 15, 2025, all transcript requests are processed through Parchment, with digitized records available from the early 1980s onward.
• Arizona State UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025ASU has taken over FIDM's mission to prepare students for careers in fashion and creative industries. ASU FIDM is now a school within the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, offering four-year fashion degrees in Los Angeles and Phoenix. ASU serves as the Custodian of Records for FIDM educational materials.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• London College of Fashion: University of the Arts London's specialized fashion school offering BA, MA, and short courses in fashion design, merchandising, and costume. Comparable in specialization and program scope, but serves primarily UK/European students.
• Istituto Marangoni: Private Italian fashion and design school with campuses in Milan, Florence, Paris, London, and Dubai. Comparable fashion-focused degree portfolio targeting international creative-industries students, but primarily European/EMEA-focused.

Direct peers

• Parsons School of Design: The New School's design school in New York City offering fashion design BFA programs. Parsons competes for the same fashion design and apparel industry talent pipeline as FIDM, with a similarly specialized standalone brand identity.
• Otis College of Art and Design: Los Angeles-based art and design college with fashion design programs. Otis competes directly with ASU FIDM in the LA market for fashion and design students seeking specialized creative-industries education.
• Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD): Private nonprofit art and design college with strong fashion, costume design, and merchandising programs. SCAD's scope and fashion-specialized degree portfolio make it a direct competitor to ASU FIDM for creative-industries students.
• Academy of Art University: San Francisco-based for-profit art and design school with fashion design, merchandising, and textile programs. Academy of Art offers overlapping fashion education to a similar student demographic on the West Coast.
• Drexel University - Westphal College of Media Arts & Design: Philadelphia-based university's design college offering fashion design and merchandising programs with co-op education components. Comparable to ASU FIDM's applied, career-focused fashion curriculum.
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD): Premier art and design college offering apparel design and related fashion programs. RISD competes for top-tier fashion and design students with FIDM-style specialized curricula, though with a broader fine-art focus.
• Kent State University - Shannon Schumacher Fashion School: Public university fashion school offering fashion design, merchandising, and product development degrees. Comparable to ASU FIDM's portfolio, particularly in apparel technical design and merchandising.
• Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT): SUNY-affiliated college in New York City offering specialized fashion, merchandising, and design degree programs. FIT is the most direct competitor to FIDM in U.S. fashion-focused undergraduate education, with overlapping programs in fashion design and merchandising.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fidm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fidm

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising