WELCOME HOME!

Are you a beginner fashion school applicant, fashion school grad or 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.
Through courses, coaching, certification, or browsing my blog articles and tutorials here.
Master the timeless and fascinating skills of fashion design from patternmaking and draping,

to design sketching,

to model drawing, and fashion illustration,

digital freehand sketching,

gouache fashion illustration,

understanding fashion fabrics better,

and designing original fashion collections

in a bursting creative design sketchbook and portfolio of collections.

SOULFUL FASHION FOUNDATION IMMERSION online program with Laura Volpintesta — Let’s connect on Instagram!

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’ve distilled decades of experience designing, writing, researching and passionately teaching.

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

I am in awe of the uniqueness of the style of each client and student.

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

And you can dive into any one, from anywhere, to start on your journey today!

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.

A portfolio? A career change? A college entry? A set of samples? Learning to draw?

Now is YOUR time.

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

I teach draping, patternmaking, construction.
Classical Gouache and Pencil Fashion Illustration and Model Drawing. Freehand Digital Techniques, Mentorship, and Samplemaking .

YOU CAN conceive and create your first fashion design portfolio or collection here.

Make your unique original fashion portfolio.

Discover and present your style and message through each exercise and technique.

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. 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 .

It’s also an incredible avenue for SELF-DISCOVERY, every time, as you notice what you want to create as well as where you “get stuck” and how we move through that.

And remember that

FASHION ALWAYS 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, and here YOU bring it out onto the page.

YOU are the trend. You are the voice behind your fashion designs.

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.

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

Now, more than ever,

I’m proud to offer a place where you can work with your hands, heart, and imagination — not just a screen.

WHERE WE TOUCH, FEEL, MOVE, OBSERVE, SMELL, BREATHE and SING fashion.

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

I found my courses are far more valuable and rare now more than they were when I first created them!

Here, we return to the magic of making — to the rhythm of drawing, the craft of draping, and the 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 ancestry.

THE CORE 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

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 Hickman

Fashion Illustrator,Author and Designer

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."

Jacqueline Heloise

Fashion Illustrator, Musician and Fashion Designer

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 Light

Fashion Designer

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 Jones

Fashion Designer,Illustrator, Print Designer

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!"

Ev Bessar

Fashion Designer,Artist, Philanthropist, Illustrator, Print Designer

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 Gillespie

Fashion Illustrator and Designer

Professional Educator:

“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 Klein

Fine artist, designer, former chair at Parsons School of Design

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 Darou

strategic marketing and retreat facilitator

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!"