We have been working on Styleapple.com - The Branded Designers Social Network  [A place  for designers to create or submit their portfolios website URL, Promote their work, find new creative jobs, build their fan base and become fans of other designers]  for the past few months and we are now ready to show our readers the (Private) beta version. 

We are not ready to go into full beta until we've ironed out all the kinks.  You guys get the first stab at it.  I've included the email below that we sent to close friends and investors(family) which includes the username and password to enter the site, you guys made the list for the first rollout.  Please give us your feedback on the site.  Thanks.

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. WOO-HOO, Styleapple.com Private Beta Is Here! Dear Creative Pros You have been selected or have expressed interest in the past to be a part of our private beta testing.  We are still very actively in development but wanted to give our designers a chance to start testing the site.  Since this is private beta, we expect more than normal hiccups and bugs in the software.  Please be candid and give us all your feedback... Go ahead we promise not to take it personally.   To login visit www.styleapple.com, Username: beta   Password: tester    Once you've scaled our beta wall. You can create or submit your design portfolio to be viewed and envied by your peers while positioning yourself to be seen by future employers or freelance and project work opportunities.  Our goal is to find creative ways to help promote and grow your design business. Thank you for being a part of our private beta test squad. Sincerely Calvin --  Calvin Cox Director of Talent Resource calvin@styleapple.com Styleapple, Inc www.styleapple.com Build & Promote Your Own Design Portfolio Website In Minutes. | Our goal is simple; to provide an invaluable resource for clients looking to discover and hire the brightest talent in the design industry. | *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Unsubscribe *|EMAIL|* from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* Copyright (C) 2008 *|LIST:COMPANY|* All rights reserved.

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I'm sure you're familiar with the hit series Project Runway, the show where fashion designers compete for the chance to showcase their collections during New York's Fashion Week. Project runway introduced designer competition to the world stage but surely did not initiate it. Fashion design schools in New York have been in competition for years. Parsons School of Design whose alumni includes the likes of Donna Karen, Anna Sui and Narcisco Rodriguez, and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) who boasts fashion designers like Calvin Klein and Michael Kors have been instrumental in perpetuating the continued competition between fashion designers.

Now it's long noted that the major difference between Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology is their approach to design; FIT while creative tends to be more technical in their approach (I should know... I'm an alumni) and Parsons, while also creative, tends to take a more theoretical approach to design; hence their names Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design We can argue that one is more design pure and more close to the true essence of the "art form", but we can also argue that a designer without a plan and business savvy would find it difficult to make a name for themselves.

So which school is better? You can look at the raw competition data from fusion, an annual design competition between FIT and Parsons, where these schools compete in a fashion show for the top spot. Here is the breakdown of how things turned out in past few years, complements of http://www.fusionfashionshow.com/

Past winners of Best Overall Fashion Design School:

2008 - Fashion Institute Of Technology
2007 - Fashion Institute Of Technology
2006 - Parsons School for Design
2005 - Fashion Institute Of Technology
2004 - Parsons School for Design
2003 - Fashion Institute Of Technology
2002 - Parsons School for Design
2001 - Parsons School for Design
2000 - Parsons School for Design

As you can see, they are just about even; not very definitive. So maybe we need more traditional data. So let's look at Tuition, Specialization, Reputation and Student Opinions.

Fashion Institute of Technology will set you back about $3,732 for instate tuition and $10,316 for out-of-state tuitions, where as Parsons is bit more expensive, about $34,460 for Instate and out-of-state students. You can find lots more information on Parsons and Fashion Institute at http://www.collegeboard.com/,

Regarding Specialization, you'll find that Parsons really dig into the theory and history of design, cultivating the design experience as is evident from courses like Perspectives in World Art & Design, History, Culture, Society and History of Design; whereas Fashion Institute tends to focus on the more practical marketability of your creativity whose curriculum includes classes like Draping Fundamentals, Sewing Techniques and Flat Pattern Design. Both schools have a pretty strong reputation for producing quality designers as noted from their celebrity alumnus.

Regarding Student opinions; opinions are always great because it reveals the day to day experience of students that have attended these schools but should not be your only measure, after all, experiences are individual to the ones experiencing it. http://www.yelp.com/ is a good place to start when looking for student opinions on these schools.

Now that you have an overview of each fashion design school, which school should you choose? Well, as you might have guest, it depends on the designer or artist of course. I would tend to say that if you have an entrepreneurial spirit with the gift of design, Fashion Institute of Technology might be a good choice for you; on the other hand if you're extremely design focus and have no intentions of managing your own business then Parsons might be a better match for you. Or...why not both: Here is a scenario: Graduate from Fashion Institute of Technology, create an awesome name for yourself, get hired to be a celebrity judge on the Parsons hosted hit series Project Runway and live happily ever after... Designer Michael Kors did it, why not you?

 What has been your experience on these two design schools?

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