New Fashion College Focuses on Couture
Apparel designer and manufacturer Sonia Ete is bringing the fine art of couture to Southern California via her Academy of Couture Art, which bowed recently at the Pacific Design Center inWest Hollywood.
Ete, who studied and designed in Paris and Denmark, as well as Los Angeles, launched the school because she felt there was a void in the offerings among other fashion colleges.
“We are teaching the highest level of haute couture based on European design,” she said. “Our classes are small—no more than 10 students—and we are teaching pattern- making separate from design. All students will participate in fashion shows. We teach how to make garments fit, not just look good on a hanger.”
The academy, which is in the center’s Green Building near the MOCA gallery in the Pacific Design Center on Melrose Avenue, offers associate of arts and bachelor of arts degrees, as well as certificate programs for professionals. Summer sessions begin July 10 and fall sessions on Oct. 4. Classes will be offered on a quarterly basis.
The school’s advisory board includes such celebrities as Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, Sylvester Stallone and Aaron Spelling.
Ete teaches many of the classes herself but said she would be joined by leading textile instructors and others as she builds on the current curriculum. Tuition is competitive with other top area fashion schools, she said.
For more information, visit www.acawh.com or call (310) 350-2455. —Robert McAllister
