Located in the City Bowl at the Bree Street Studios (17 New Church Street), the opening of the Cape Town school represents the next chapter in the national rollout of South Africa's biggest and most influential fashion school.
Shana Rosenthal, CEO says: 'We have spent a couple of months looking for the perfect site; one that would embody the signature and values of our brand and we believe we have secured just that with our new Cape Town premises. We are incredibly excited about this.'
Cape Town students wishing to register for LISOF's full-time qualifications (Bachelor of Arts in Fashion and Diploma in Fashion) will need a little more patience as accreditation and registration of the site with the Council on Higher Education and the Department of Education, respectively, are still under way.
In the interim, LISOF will be delivering an exciting range of established short courses. Short courses are a fantastic way for the novice to explore areas of fashion before making a commitment to a career in fashion as well as providing the same opportunity to established professionals operating in other fields that may want to enter the exciting world of fashion from an alternative skill base like marketing or buying or business. Short courses are therefore a great point of entry into the craft and skill base of many areas of fashion practice.
Among the LISOF short courses on offer are the Fashion Design Short Course; the discipline that made LISOF famous and that has continued to set the benchmark for student design ever since LISOF opened its doors in 1994. The Makeup Short Course (product supplied by MAC, the international standard for professional makeup artists around the world) offers immediate access into the exciting world of professional makeup artistry and is a great way to earn great money whether on a part-time or a full-time basis. Other short courses available include Pattern Design, Garment Construction and Fashion Photography. The first short course cycle for Cape Town will begin in October 2011.
LISOF introduced Fashion Photography into both the Bachelor of Arts and Diploma qualification curricula at the beginning of 2011. Under the development and guidance of Natalie Payne and Patsy van der Reis, the course is fast developing significant interest from the industry with students already photographing at SA Fashion Week. Patrick Brill, Creative Head-of-Department says: 'The work produced by students thus far has really taken me by surprise. This course is likely to become another signature course of the LISOF brand. I believe it will fast become a must-do for all professional or budding photographers wanting to work in the area of fashion photography'.
