WELCOME HOME!

Are you a beginner fashion school applicant, fashion design school grad or active professional wanting to build a deeper, more personal and aligned creative fashion design skillset and portfolio?

I wholeheartedly invite you to learn fashion design online with me. I’ve been teaching Fashion Design since 1997 at Parsons School of Design and honing my techniques and experience passing on the incredible tools and skills my teachers and experiences in the industry and private practice have taught me.

Through courses, coaching, certification, or browsing my blog articles and tutorials here.
Master the timeless, classic, and endlessly fascinating skills of fashion design from

patternmaking and draping,

to design sketching,

to model drawing, and fashion illustration,

digital freehand sketching,

gouache fashion illustration,

with the goal designing original fashion collections and garments

in a bursting creative design sketchbook, lookbook or/and portfolio.

I’m Laura Volpintesta, author of the Language of Fashion Design: 26 Principles Every Fashion Designer Should Know

and 27 years fashion design professor at Parsons School of Design in NYC.

I’m honored to work with aspiring designers like you, of all levels and styles to learn fashion design techniques and use them to discover and create from your unique perspective.

YOU Have inspired me to build THIS whole suite, site and world of enthusiastic immersive, fun, colorful and actionable online fashion courses for you.

You can dive into any course, from anywhere, to start on your journey today!

Fashion Design Sketching on iPad with Procreate app by Laura Volpintesta — Creative collections come to life through patternmaking an draping skills or sketching with gouache or digital devices. (I recommend starting with physical, analog art supplies!)

I warmly welcome you into this space — a place to learn, gain experience and understanding, as you unfurl your creative wings, into a specialized style and area of interest.

A place to Immerse yourself in the processes and take ownership of your understanding of fashion design — what it means to you, and how you want to express it.

Now is YOUR time.

As a fashion illustrator. As a maker, patternmaker, fashion designer. As an artist.
You can learn fashion design online here.

Make your unique original fashion portfolio.

Learn fashion design online while uncovering your style and developing it through each skill and project.
Overcome your hurdles with a mentor who recognizes them and has a proven track record for helping my clients find their way over their hurdles again and again.

Strengthen your foundations while stretching forward, as fashion is an art that moves and changes with us all of the time throughout our life!

This is what I’ve been doing for with my Parsons students for DECADES, and I’m deeply honored for every creative artist who has invited me into their sketchbook, vision, vulnerability, processes and growth.

FASHION REFLECTS, EVOLVES AND GROWS WITH YOU AT EACH SEASON AND CHAPTER OF YOUR LIFE.

That’s why you won’t hear me talking about “trends”….

YOU are the nerve that knows and feels what is wanted. YOU can sense what is happening in the collective, and here YOU bring it out onto the page.

YOU are the trend. You are the voice behind your fashion designs and the voice you came to discover and share to inspire others.

I am passionate about offering tactile, creative, classic Fashion Design ONLINE EXPERIENCES thru Courses that function to bring out your distinct voice, message, and raw expression--
through sketching, and/ or through fabrics, drapes, patterns...
from WHEREVER you are located, WHENEVER you are able to make time. YOUR WAY,
in YOUR FLOW of CREATING

It’s YOUR time.

TIME FOR MAKING… with your hands, unique perspective, experiences, memories and inspiration.

Embark on a journey into the AMAZING world of fashion arts…

and discover yourself in the process.

I created this learning space long before the wave of software and automation swept through the landscape of fashion education.

Drawing and draping are journeys of discovery.

Each line, each fold, each touch of fabric is a conversation between your hands and your imagination — where ideas take form and come alive.

Whatever direction fashion moves in, the heart of learning fashion design online or in person remains the same: through drawing, draping, handwork, and craft — timeless ways of thinking and feeling through making.

Whether you’re a seasoned designer or graduated fashion student who feels that you never got what you really came to school to experience before the software programs took over…

or if you’re a lover of fashion who can’t stand to put your dreams aside any longer,

you belong here — exploring, creating, and rediscovering your own creative rhythm.

And this creative energy spills out into the way you move and relate to life!l

I created my courses and programs with great devotion starting in 2012. NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO FASHION DESIGN EDUCATION AFTER THAT.

Now, more than ever,

I’m proud and passionate about offering a place where you can still work with your hands, heart, and imagination — not just click at a screen. Where you can get the answers and guidance to keep you creating with your hands, with meaning and care.

A SPACE WHERE WE TOUCH, FEEL, MOVE, OBSERVE, SMELL, DREAM, BREATHE and SING fashion. WHERE OUR ART COMES FIRST. We need a space that nurtures this part of your journey.

We sketch, snip, swatch, stitch, sew, sample our way into depth and QUALITY in fashion and design with CONFIDENCE.

I find my courses are far more valuable and rare now than they were when I first created them because many techniques are being lost and replaced by software that takes the tactile experience out of the processes.

Here, we return to the magic of making — to the rhythm of drawing, the craft of draping, the touch of textiles, and the true joy of discovery.

I welcome you into the space of craftsmanship, care, and tradition that evolves with your human essence as we carry on and innovate in the traditions of fashion’s global, diverse ancestry.

THE CORE SOULFUL FOUNDATION FOUNDATION COURSE INCLUDES:

DRAWING SKILLS
DESIGN PROCESSES
ILLUSTRATION TECHNIQUES
TECHNICAL DRAWING, DESIGN AND FLATS
PRESENT A CONCEPT COLLECTION OF FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS IN GOUACHE
FABRICS, TEXTURES AND COLOR SELECTION
RESEARCH/ MOOD AND INSPIRATION BOARDS
PORTFOLIO ESSENTIALS – BEGIN YOURS INSIDE THE COURSE!

THE COMPREHENSIVE SUITE OF FASHION DESIGN COURSES (optional) CERTIFICATION PATH:

TESTIMONIALS

"Hello Laura! Maria here☺️. I just wanted to thank you again for everything this three weeks. You have no idea how much I learned from you and the class. You really transmitted to all of us the deep passion you have for what you do. It is really inspiring to have a teacher that shows you what you can accomplish and the happiness that doing what you love gives you. I hope we can meet in the near future and stay in contact. Wish you the very best and again, thank you for everything, Maria❤️"

MARIA

Chile

“The Fabric & Flow Course is great for developing your skills and unleashing your creative spirit. Laura shares her skills, tips and words of wisdom from her lifetime experience as a fashion designer and educator in a fun and accessible way. I was able to find more confidence and freedom going through the exercises and found new ways of working that have helped me develop my skills - all while having fun! I know of no other course like it and highly recommend it.

Fifi

Australia

Processes:

"Laura demystifies the fashion design process with a unique set of online courses designed to develop your design skills in an accessible and supportive environment. She is committed to her student’s development and teaches with a warmth, kindness and contagious enthusiasm for creative exploration and personal growth. A born teacher with a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the fashion industry, Laura will inspire and empower you whilst being your biggest cheerleader as you develop and reach your goals."

Laura, UK

Nourishment and Encouragement:

"To find a teacher in the arts who offers up everything they know and more, and whose sole purpose is to see you 'fly'- ... is extremely rare. Laura is one of those teachers. She set us up for success in so many ways. Generosity, creativity, and encouragement-- plus a solid foundation in basic art-- were all part of her teaching. I created some of my best work in her Fashion Drawing 1 class and still rely on many of the techniques. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been her student."

Heloise, NYC

Confidence:

"Teaching isn't just skill....Laura, your personality makes me feel like I can do anything. I've never done this before, and I've amazed myself!"

Tatiana, Australia

Structures and Formats for Success:

“I have nothing but good things to say about your portfolio class. You helped me in many ways but one of the most valuable holes you filled for me was on how to organize my thoughts when sketching. Its difficult to harness the muse in any kind of orderly way but your method has served me well. Both in that I came out of Parson’s with a strong portfolio that is single handedly responsible for landing me interviews ...but has also cinched the position at two different design firms now... Your drawing and the Portfolio are some of the most valuable things I got from Parsons as a whole. So thanks a bunch. You revved up my engine and Im still travelling on that momentum”-

Lauren, NYC

Warmth, magic and JOY:

"I was fortunate to have such a wonderful professor for my Fashion Industry Design class(at Parsons). Laura is a talented designer/ illustrator, amazing tutor, and deep personality. Her open-mindedness, support, warm and kind attitude creates absolutely magical atmosphere in class. Laura is so alive, sincere, joyful and creative, it touches everyone. There is no chance a student can stay away from such great energy!"

Evgenyia, NYC

Experience for a Lifetime:

"I genuinely cannot say enough about how important your classes were to me and how much I loved them :0). In my time at Parsons I must say Laura’s class was my favorite! … where I truly learned the most about fashion drawing. I gained an understanding and awareness of proportion and how the human form reacts to movement…. tI was a student at Parsons over five years ago, but he skills I learned in Laura’s class have stayed with me. More importantly, though, is how much FUN her classes were, and how inspiring Laura is as a teacher! She encouraged us not to be afraid of color, shape and movement in our work! And this is what made everyone strive to create something unique and beautiful! Laura is a gem! A beautiful person inside and out, and one of the best teachers I have ever had, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from her!"

Beth, Madrid

Educational Excellence

“Probably about 25 years ago, I hired Laura to teach at Parsons. She was excellent then, and has continued to innovate and expand as a teacher and as an artist. She’s without questions one of the best I’ve known”

Pamela, Chair at Parsons School of Design NYC

Passion plus Expertise all in one place:

"Laura is a talented, wise and passionate artist and teacher. Her courses are filled with amazing content delivered to build a solid technical foundation in illustration and fashion design or to expand on her students' existing skills. Her courses are appropriate for designers who want to develop their illustration skills, students who are building a portfolio for fashion design school, and anyone interested in fashion illustration or the design industry. Laura is an expert instructor with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Laura is offering something that no one else is: professional design school courses with personalized, private coaching available online wherever you are in the world.."

Melissa, Canada

Heart and Soul, Practical and Joyful:

"Laura puts her heart and soul into HOW she approaches teaching (fashion) illustration/drawing. Her gentleness, innovation and enthusiasm puts my self-doubt at ease and propels me to practice without judgement. I've studied with other college level instructors and what sets Laura apart is her unique way of breaking down visually complex forms into simple practical steps. She sets her students up to build confidence and achieve consistent progress. She sets her students up to Win, with great empathy joy and care!"