Maryland Fashion Institute (MDfin, “mid-fin”) is a skills-based development program for burgeoning designers.
We launch exciting new fashion brands, from concept to production, right here in Central Maryland.
Students bring their life skills and we grow their fashion design, tech, production, marketing, and sales skills.
Students learn in a 10,000 square foot facility located in Columbia, Maryland, U.S.A.
It is one of the only 'Soup to Nut' fashion incubators in the U.S. that enables their students to take the steps from Design to Runway.
It is a combination Design Studio, Sewing Factory, Makerspace, and Photography and Video studio.
The mission of the Arts and Education non-profit (501c3) is to Inspire Creativity.
We help students gain skills and self knowledge at their own pace. Students may apply for jobs using the skills they gained at MDfin.
While some group teaching is offered, no certification is offered, and students have no exams or homework.
Students fall into several categories:
1) Full time or part time fashion designers who are working towards showing at New York FASHION Week.
They learn and practice the 200 practical skills required to run a successful fashion design, and light manufacturing business.
Most of these skills transfer to launching other businesses.
2) Weekend and evening students who come to specific classes for personal enrichment.
3) Makers who work on their own projects and use the facility.
They can bring their own home-sewing machines or use the industrial machines once trained for safety reasons.