The Portland Fashion Scene
Portland is the largest city in Oregon and one of the top 50 largest cities in the U.S., so it should come as no surprise to learn that Portland sets the tone for all other cities in the state—especially when it comes to fashion. Portland is home to the state’s largest Fashion Week—Portland Fashion week (PFW), more shopping venues than anywhere else in the state, and some of the nation’s top schools for aspiring fashion designers and fashion merchandisers. Popular shopping venues such as the upscale Pioneer Mall in downtown Portland (over 100 stores) and the largest mall in Oregon, Lloyd Center of Portland (200+ shops), are just a few places you’ll find fashionistas poring over the latest trends.
Washington Square, located in Tigard (10 miles outside of Portland), is home to the state’s largest Nordstrom and more than 140 retail shops. Although many attractive shopping venues can be found throughout the state, Portland is the retail giant of Oregon. The city’s unique boutiques, retail shops, and vintage clothing stores are also popular places to find fashions. Portland’s numerous boutiques sell locally-designed pieces, many of which have been featured on both local and national runways.
Students indulge in the city’s fashion scene for inspiration and fun, while studying art or design at a number of area schools. Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft are popular options.
Career Opportunities & Employers in Oregon:
Many Portland fashion designers and fashion merchandisers work in retail, but they can also find work in other areas of fashion. Textile design, technical production, apparel design, pattern making, and administrative sales in the textiles industry are just a few options for aspiring fashion designers. In addition to retail, fashion merchandisers may also find work in promotions, buying, and visual merchandising. Employment opportunities can be found at retail venues, textile manufacturing facilities, production studios, design studios, and corporate offices in and around Portland.
Oregon Fashion Schools & Programs:
Oregon is home to 60 colleges and universities. Although this is much lower than the national average of 88, the state’s small collection of colleges are among the best in the nation. Portland and the surrounding areas are home to several top art and design schools that offer programs such as fiber studies, illustration, and general fine arts. These programs may help aspiring designers grow as artists first, before diving into the fashion major. While Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft are the state’s top schools for art and design, they do no offer defined fashion programs. The Art Institute of Portland and George Fox University in Newberg do.
The Art Institute of Portland offers an impressive number of fashion degrees from apparel design to fashion retailing. The Portland location offers one of the widest selections of degrees in the Art Institute family of school’s. Programs include:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Apparel Design
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Marketing
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Apparel Accessory Design
- Associate of Arts in Apparel Design
- Associate of Arts in Apparel Accessory Design
- Diploma in Fashion Retailing
George Fox University is a short 24-mile drive from Portland. This Christian College is the only college of its kind to make the U.S. News & world Report’s list of “Best National Universities.”
The school offers a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising and a cooperative 3-1 degree program concentration with the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. Students spend the first three years of the program at George Fox and the senior year is spent at FIDM where they will declare a specialization in fashion design or merchandise marketing. Students will graduate with a bachelor’s degree from George Fox and an Associate of Arts from FIDM.
Employment and Salary Trends for Oregon:
Oregon is home to 150 salaried fashion designers and possibly hundreds of self-employed designers. Of the 150 salaried designers living in the state, 110 live in Portland. Salaried Portland fashion designers earn an average of $67,860 per year. Self-employed designers can earn six to seven figures per year. Nationwide, fashion designers average around $61,160. The lowest paid fashion designers average $32,150, and the highest paid salaried designers average $124,780 per year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report employment or salary figures for fashion merchandisers. However, a significant part of the job involves creating window displays and managing the overall look and feel of stores. There are 1,730 merchandise displayers in the state Oregon. Close to 1,400 live in Portland.
Employment in the fashion industry overall is expected to grow by one percent for the 2008-2018 decade. Sewing and cutting jobs may decline as more designers and brands choose manufacturing companies overseas. However, employment of fashion designers is stable because many firms prefer to keep design work in house.
For more information about the fashion design and fashion merchandising industry, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics at bls.gov.
| Number of jobs | Mean hourly pay | Mean annual pay | Job Outlook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion Job |