,·Private (for-profit)·Est. 1969
“Historic Los Angeles fashion and design college (1969-2025) — closed as a standalone institution; legacy now continues as ASU FIDM under Arizona State University.”
IMPORTANT — INSTITUTION CLOSED. The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) — Los Angeles officially closed its educational programs on March 31, 2025, graduating its final class of approximately 1,200 students. FIDM's fashion and costume design programs were transferred to Arizona State University in 2023, and the legacy continues today as ASU FIDM, a Los Angeles + Phoenix-based fashion school operating under ASU's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Prospective students should apply to ASU FIDM rather than to FIDM as a standalone institution. FIDM was founded in 1969 by Tonian Hohberg in downtown Los Angeles to be the West Coast's premier school for fashion design, merchandising, and entertainment-industry creative careers. Over its 55-year history FIDM expanded to four California campuses (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Orange County), produced more than 80,000 alumni, built a renowned costume-design pipeline into Hollywood (with FIDM-trained costumers behind dozens of Oscar-nominated films), and operated the FIDM Museum & Galleries, an internationally recognized fashion-history collection housed at the LA campus. FIDM's collapse was driven by enrollment declines that began in 2011, accumulating debt from 2016 onward, and a 2024 deal with Skema Business School that fell through one day before close after the U.S. Department of Education imposed conditions Skema deemed untenable. WSCUC accreditation was also at risk. ASU stepped in with the FIDM Foundation acquisition in 2023, the San Francisco and San Diego campuses closed in 2024, and the Los Angeles campus held its final graduation in March 2025. Current and former FIDM students were given the option to transfer to ASU FIDM degree programs that map to their original FIDM plans of study. The FIDM Museum collection was transferred to ASU.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Free — No test scores needed — they won't be reviewed even if submitted.
Official SourceINSTITUTION CLOSED
FIDM closed March 31, 2025. Prospective students should apply directly to ASU FIDM (Arizona State University) — the legacy program continuing FIDM's fashion and costume-design curriculum.
This university does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$35,000
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
FIDM's flagship division — fashion design, footwear design, menswear, and merchandising programs. Now continues as ASU FIDM at Arizona State.
Costume design, set design, and entertainment-industry-focused programs. FIDM costume-design alumni populate Hollywood film and TV production at every level.
Beauty industry merchandising, product development, and marketing programs serving the prestige cosmetics and wellness sectors.
Interior, graphic, and visual-communications design programs.
Business management with a fashion / creative-industry orientation, including FIDM's BS in Business Management.
4 years
FIDM's signature entertainment-industry program; alumni have worked on dozens of Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning productions. Now continued as a costume design pathway under ASU FIDM.
2 years
FIDM's most-enrolled program. Two-year intensive in apparel design, draping, pattern-making, and CAD-based fashion development. Continued at ASU FIDM as a Fashion Design degree.
4 years
Available on-campus and via distance learning. Fashion-and-creative-industry-focused business management curriculum.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $35,000
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
