High school fashion design internship and research fellowship
This high school fashion design internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 study what happens to clothes and fabric after use, with a mentor who reviews their research and designs. You count the textile waste in your own home, compare common fabrics and design upcycled pieces from old clothes and uniforms.
For school students taking Visual Arts, Design Technology or CBSE Fashion Studies who want to design with fabric that already exists. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why fashion and textile design matters for sustainability
Each garment starts as a fibre. Cotton comes from a plant, and polyester is a plastic made from oil. Spinning, weaving and dyeing use water and energy, and leftover dye can end up in rivers. When clothes are thrown away, the fabric is often dumped or burned. Designers choose the fibre, the cut and how long a piece will last, so their choices shape how much waste a garment leaves behind.
Earth5R’s waste audits sort and count what volunteers collect at cleanups, which shows what people throw away. Earth5R has also run upcycling work with design students, turning waste into new products, and livelihood work with women. As a fellow you start from the fabric waste near your home and design pieces that keep it in use.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 8, Decent work and economic growth.
Available projects in this high school fashion design internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Textile waste at home
Sort and count the clothes, fabric scraps and old uniforms your family no longer uses, read their fibre labels, and find out which fabrics turn up most often.
Fabric footprint comparison
Compare cotton, polyester, viscose and blends using published research on water, energy and dye use, and explain which fabric suits Indian weather and a student’s budget.
Upcycled school kit
Design and make a bag, pouch or cushion cover from old clothes or outgrown uniforms, test it with friends for a few weeks, and record how well it holds up.
Where old uniforms go
Survey classmates and their families on what happens to outgrown school uniforms, map the routes from hand-me-downs to resale and waste, and propose a uniform swap for your school.
What you do in the field
- Sort fabric waste at home and read fibre labels
- Survey classmates about how long their clothes last
- Compare fabrics using published research
- Sketch designs and make samples from old cloth
- Test your pieces with users and note their feedback
- Present your designs in a research conversation
Skills you build
On a high school fashion design internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school fashion design internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Running a uniform swap or an upcycling session for younger students can form a CAS project with creativity and service. Your CAS coordinator decides.
Extended Essay and IA
Fabric comparisons and wear tests give you primary data and a clear question for a Visual Arts or Design Technology investigation or an Extended Essay. Your supervisor approves the topic.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
An upcycled range with research behind it fits the MYP Personal Project, textiles work in IGCSE Art and Design and CBSE Fashion Studies projects, if your school agrees.
University applications
Research on fabric waste, sketches and finished samples give you portfolio pages and a clear design story for fashion and textile applications.
How the high school fashion design internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Fashion and Textile Design.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BA in Fashion Design
- BA or BDes in Textile Design
- BFA in Fashion Design
- BSc in Textile Technology
- BA in Fashion Business or Management
Careers in this field
- Fashion designer
- Textile designer
- Sustainability manager at a fashion brand
- Sourcing and materials specialist
- Founder of an upcycled clothing label
Universities to aim for in Fashion and Textile Design
Fashion and textile admissions tutors look for a portfolio that shows research into materials and a clear design process. A high school fashion design internship with FIELDWORK gives you that research, samples your mentor reviewed and a verified record of the work on earth5r.org. Students use a high school fashion design internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London (UAL)
UK · London College of Fashion (LCF)
London College of Fashion teaches undergraduate courses such as BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology, with womenswear and menswear routes, and BA Fashion Design and Development. UAL’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion has worked on Governance for Tomorrow, a research project on how luxury fashion makes decisions.
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (UAL)
UK · Fashion programme, Central Saint Martins (CSM)
Central Saint Martins teaches BA (Hons) Fashion Design through pathways in knit, menswear, womenswear, print and communication. The knit pathway explores yarn, structure and technology, and aims for responsible fashion led by materials. The college lists the Swarovski Sustainable Design Hub among its partnerships.
Parsons School of Design, The New School
USA · BFA Fashion Design, School of Fashion
Parsons’ BFA Fashion Design asks students to question existing ideas of fashion and study its social and theoretical context. From the spring of the second year, each student follows one of four pathways that shape their research and technical skills. External projects set real design challenges from industry.
Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
USA · Fashion Design, School of Art and Design
FIT’s Fashion Design programme offers an AAS followed by a BFA. AAS students learn computer-aided design, draping, patternmaking, construction and textiles. BFA students pick a concentration such as knitwear, sportswear or children’s wear, then complete an internship and a senior collection.
Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
Belgium · Fashion Department
The Antwerp Academy’s Fashion Department teaches fashion design within a Bachelor and Master in Visual Arts. A team of lecturers supervises each student individually, and most students come from abroad. Students show their work each year at the department’s SHOW and EXPO.
Institut Français de la Mode (IFM)
France · Institut Français de la Mode (IFM)
IFM in Paris offers a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design, along with management degrees in fashion and luxury. Its IFM-Kering Sustainability Chair runs teaching and research on sustainable and circular fashion, from materials and supply chains to what happens to products at the end of their life.
Sweden · The Swedish School of Textiles
The Swedish School of Textiles covers fashion design, textile technology and textile management, from fibre to final product. Fashion design students take a BFA and show graduation collections at the school’s fashion show. Research includes circular fashion, dyeing textiles without water and sustainable supply chains.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
Hong Kong · School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT)
PolyU’s School of Fashion and Textiles teaches bachelor’s degrees in fashion and textile design, fashion business and fashion technology. Its research covers fibre-based materials for textiles and wearable systems, supply chain management and sustainability in manufacturing.
Australia · Bachelor of Fashion Sustainability, School of Fashion and Textiles
RMIT’s three-year Bachelor of Fashion Sustainability focuses on systems thinking, materials innovation and fashion technology. Students experiment with new materials such as bio-based textiles, test how they respond to the body and environment, and explore circular approaches that reduce waste.
LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
Singapore · BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles, School of Fashion
LASALLE’s three-year BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles teaches students to design and construct garments, with attention to craft, sustainability and social issues. Students can follow a textiles for fashion pathway or creative pattern cutting. The curriculum asks them to consider the sustainability of their own practice.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Fashion and Textile Design. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school fashion design internship: common questions
Do I need sewing skills for this high school fashion design internship?
No. You can begin with fibre research and sketches and learn simple hand stitching as you go. Students who already sew or knit can make more complex pieces, and your mentor sets tasks that match your level.
Will the project take time away from school work?
The weekly load is light, and sessions pause during board exams. Most of it happens at home and at school, such as sorting fabric, sketching and making samples, so there’s little travel. Your mentor breaks each phase into small tasks.
What fabrics will I work with?
Mostly clothes, scraps and uniforms that your family or school no longer uses. You test how each fabric cuts, stitches and wears, and your mentor helps you pick fabrics that are clean and easy to handle.
Is the high school fashion design internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school fashion design internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Fashion and Textile Design internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Fashion and Textile Design
This high school fashion design internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
