Design Academy of FashionDAF

Design Academy of Fashion is a private fashion school in Woodstock, Cape Town, founded in 1999 and run by the company Design Academy of Fashion (Pty) Ltd. It is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act of 1997. Teaching is face to face. The school states that theory and practical subjects are both taught in person, in English, on a single campus inside the Old Biscuit Mill, a creative precinct. It does not teach by distance or online. It describes itself as a boutique school with small classes.

The main qualification is a three-year Bachelor of Fashion Degree pitched at NQF level 7, built around design, technical, commercial and contextual subjects with a focus on sustainable and ethical practice. Alongside it are a part-time Foundation in Fashion that runs over about five months and is not credit-bearing or registered on the NQF, and a set of Saturday short courses in pattern making and garment construction, fashion design and illustration, fashion styling, and Adobe digital fashion design. The school describes its short courses as non-accredited.

Degree applicants apply online and need a matric Bachelor Pass, meaning at least six of seven subjects passed at set minimum levels, plus proficiency in English. They also submit an entrance portfolio made up of a short motivational essay and original fashion drawings. Portfolios are reviewed as they arrive and places fill until each course is full, so the school suggests applying early. Other routes in include recognition of prior learning and credit accumulation and transfer. International applicants follow a separate process that includes a study visa. The Foundation in Fashion needs no prior experience.

Fees are set out on the school's own site and tuition is charged annually, alongside an application fee and an enrolment fee that secures a place after acceptance. Tuition can be paid in one amount, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly, with discounts for paying early in full. The site names Student Hero as a finance partner for spreading payments, and mentions retailer-sponsored bursaries usually offered to later-year learners. Support includes academic support, career guidance and a life skills course. The school also states that its premises do not offer wheelchair access.