Design Academy of Fashion

What Design Academy of Fashion does

Design Academy of Fashion (DAF) is a private higher education institution based at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa, registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training under the Higher Education Act 1997 (Certificate No. 2010/HE07/002). Founded in 1997 and operating as Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd, DAF delivers a portfolio of fashion-focused academic programs including a three-year Bachelor of Fashion Degree, a Diploma in Fashion, and a Foundation in Fashion, alongside a suite of short courses in Patternmaking & Garment Construction, Fashion Styling, Fashion Illustration & Design, and Adobe Digital Fashion Design (the institution's primary technology stack is Adobe CAD software).

The school's commercial model is tuition-based: degree, diploma, and foundation programs generate recurring subscription-style revenue per enrolled cohort, while short courses are sold as one-time fee-for-service offerings. DAF serves prospective fashion students seeking industry-relevant training, portfolio development, and pathways into fashion design, styling, pattern-making, and entrepreneurship. Distribution is exclusively campus-based at the single Cape Town location, with student acquisition driven through online application, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), a blog, and on-campus open days and tours.

DAF differentiates through a small-class, high-touch pedagogical model organized around a proprietary three-year developmental framework ('Who am I', 'Who Are You', 'Who Are We') and a portfolio of industry partnerships with major South African retailers — Fields, Truworths, Woolworths, Superbalist, and TFG — plus an exclusive collaboration with Mohair South Africa as one of only three fashion schools globally. The institution supplements academic instruction with a Life Skills Coaching Course and a Wellness Department supporting student well-being. No external funding, parent company, or public valuation signals are disclosed.

Name

Design Academy of Fashion

Legal name

Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://daf-academy.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design Academy of Fashion is a private higher-education fashion school in Cape Town, South Africa, offering a three-year Bachelor of Fashion Degree, a diploma, a foundation program, and short courses to prospective fashion students seeking industry-oriented training and portfolio development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fashion Education / Higher Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAJAF

Fashion & Apparel Design Colleges

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

SECONDARYEDAAAGAK

Fashion & Textile Arts (Sewing, Patternmaking, Knitting, Crochet)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

Keywords

• Fashion design education
• Higher education programs
• Fashion degree programs
• Short fashion courses
• Apparel design training

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees - Bachelor of Fashion Degree: Full-time degree program with tuition fees. Fee structure available via PDF document.
2. Short Course Fees: Weekend and Saturday morning fashion short courses including Patternmaking & Garment Construction, Fashion Design & Illustration, Adobe Digital Fashion Design, and Fashion Styling.
3. Diploma and Foundation Program Fees: Diploma in Fashion and Foundation in Fashion programs with associated tuition costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Design Academy of Fashion delivers private higher education in fashion design and related disciplines from its Cape Town campus. Its core offerings are the three-year Bachelor of Fashion Degree, a Diploma in Fashion, a Foundation in Fashion programme, and a range of short courses (Patternmaking & Garment Construction, Fashion Styling, Fashion Trend & Design, and Adobe Digital Fashion Design). Programmes are supported by small class sizes, industry-partner projects with leading South African retailers, and supplementary life-skills coaching and wellness services.

Product overview

Design Academy of Fashion (DAF) is a private fashion school offering a portfolio of educational programmes. The core offerings include a three-year Bachelor of Fashion Degree, a Diploma in Fashion, and a Foundation in Fashion programme. Short courses cover specialised areas including Patternmaking & Garment Construction, Fashion Styling, Fashion Illustration & Design, and Adobe Digital Fashion Design. The institution supplements its academic programmes with a Life Skills Coaching Course and comprehensive Student Support Services including a dedicated Wellness Department.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor of Fashion Degree A three-year full-time degree programme focusing on personal and creative development through fashion fundamentals, collaborative industry projects with South African retailers (Fields, Truworths, Woolworths), and a final-year brand and collection creation capstone. Targeted at prospective students seeking a higher education qualification in fashion design.
• Diploma: Fashion A diploma programme in fashion providing foundational to intermediate fashion education and training. Targeted at students seeking an alternative to the full bachelor degree.
• Foundation in Fashion An introductory Foundation programme laying the groundwork for fashion studies and creative development. Targeted at prospective students beginning their fashion education journey.
• Patterns & Garment Construction Short course covering patternmaking and garment construction techniques. Offered on campus including Saturday morning sessions. Targeted at individuals seeking practical fashion construction skills.
• Fashion Styling Short course focusing on fashion styling techniques and industry practices. Targeted at learners interested in fashion styling as a career or skill.
• Fashion Trend & Design Short course covering fashion illustration and design techniques. Targeted at individuals developing fashion illustration skills.
• Adobe Fashion Design Short course in Adobe digital fashion design tools and computer-aided design (CAD). Targeted at learners wanting digital fashion design proficiency.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Mohair South AfricaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDAF is one of only 3 Fashion Schools globally collaborating with Mohair South Africa. This partnership provides second-year students with collaborative projects in menswear design.
• FieldscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner for collaborative menswear projects with second-year students.
• TruworthscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor South African retailer collaborating on tailoring projects with second-year students.
• WoolworthscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African retail partner listed as industry affiliation, collaborating on fashion education projects.
• SuperbalistminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African fashion e-commerce platform listed as industry affiliation.
• TFG (bash.com)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foschini Group brand (bash.com) listed as industry affiliation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• London College of Fashion (UAL): Constituent college of the University of the Arts London dedicated entirely to fashion education, offering undergraduate and short courses. Broad incumbent sharing the fashion-only educational positioning with much greater international reach.
• Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT): Public US college focused on fashion, business, and design with two-year and four-year fashion programmes. Broad incumbent offering an analogous fashion-specialist educational product at much larger scale and lower price point.
• Parsons School of Design (The New School): Premier US fashion and design school within The New School, offering BFA Fashion Design and short courses. Broad incumbent as a larger, established fashion school whose prestige DAF's exclusive Mohair SA partnership positions against at a boutique level.
• Central Saint Martins (UAL): World-renowned arts and design college within UAL, known for its BA Fashion course. Broad incumbent that competes for the same aspirational fashion students globally with significantly stronger brand recognition.

Regional players

• AFDA (South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance): South African private higher education institution offering creative arts degrees including costume and performance design. Regional peer as a fellow small, industry-linked SA private higher-education institution in the creative arts.
• Red & Yellow Creative School of Business: South African private higher education institution offering creative and business programmes. Regional peer as a domestic private creative-education competitor operating under the same regulatory framework with overlapping prospective-student pool.
• Vega School (Independent Institute of Education): South African private higher education brand focused on creative and brand-led degrees including fashion-related programmes. Regional peer as a domestic competitor for the same fashion-interested prospective students.

Direct peers

• Istituto Marangoni: International private fashion school with campuses across Europe, Asia, and Miami offering undergraduate and short courses in fashion design, styling, and business. Direct peer because it targets the same fashion-student persona with comparable programme structures and industry-partnership positioning.
• LISOF (London Institute of Studies in Fashion): South African private fashion education institution offering fashion degrees and short courses in Johannesburg. Direct peer because it competes for the same prospective fashion students in South Africa with a similar boutique, industry-linked model.

Emerging players

• Domestika: Global online creative-learning marketplace with fashion, illustration, and patternmaking courses taught by practising professionals. Emerging player disrupting the boutique in-person fashion education model that DAF relies on.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/daf_academy
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5qDCxlyAj816o5hWOv8kMQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/DesignAcademyofFashion
• Instagraminstagram.com/design_academy_of_fashion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-academy-of-fashion

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Design Academy of Fashion