As founders of fashion line MONSE and creative directors at Oscar de la Renta, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia have transcended their industry with a partnership that’s more than the sum of its parts. Now they’re teaching you their secrets to creative collaboration. Learn to cultivate strong business relationships, navigate the creative process, and join forces with others to improve the workplace—and the work.

Syllabus

Meet Your Instructors

Meet Laura and Fernando as they highlight their careers in fashion design and share what inspires them. Discover what you can expect to learn, like insights into building a brand and how to forge and maintain a thriving creative partnership.

Forming a Creative Collaboration

Receive personal insights into the challenges that come with creative collaboration when launching a brand. Your instructors teach you how to resolve conflicts and maintain a thriving business relationship without compromising your vision.

Finding Inspiration for Your Designs

Every fashion collection tells a story, so being clear on your creative perspective is crucial. Learn how to storyboard, find aesthetic inspiration, and master the ins and outs of crafting a compelling narrative for whomever you are designing.

Sketching Your Design

Fernando showcases his artistic mastery by demonstrating how he “looks” for a collection by sketching. Learn what inspires him and how he re-creates his inspirations on paper.

Draping and Fitting Your Design

Laura demonstrates how to turn a piece of fabric into a bespoke design for a collection. Learn how to drape and fit a garment onto a form, then get it runway-ready by making final edits once it’s on a model.

Creating the Collection Together

Your instructors walk you through the steps of bringing a cohesive fashion collection to the world’s view. Learn how they merge their aesthetics to create signature looks for Oscar de la Renta and their label, MONSE.

Case Study: Oscar de la Renta Dresses

Explore world-renowned fashion label Oscar de la Renta with Laura and Fernando as they share details behind what inspired their designs and what techniques went into creating two sensational dresses.

Case Study: MONSE Resort '22 Collection

In this lesson, your instructors take you from inspiration to showcase by highlighting an item from their MONSE Resort '22 collection. Learn how they brought this look to the runway and overcame obstacles through a creative pivot.

Planning the Perfect Fashion Show

Go behind the runway to learn what it takes to pull off a successful show. Learn how to ideate and plan, including how to cast the right models for your collection, select appropriate music, and decide who to invite (and where to seat them).

Launching Your Brand

Laura and Fernando launched their fashion line, MONSE, in 2016. They share how they came up with the aesthetic for their brand and teach you to be proactive and strategic and stay on top of trends when designing your own brand.

Building a Team

When it comes to running a fashion house, it takes a village. Learn how Laura and Fernando built their MONSE team, and what it takes to be a respected and successful leader. They also share team-building tips they learned from Oscar.

Running a Business

Laura teaches you how to build a strategic and robust business model and how to create realistic budgets when launching your new business.

Maintaining a Happy 'Marriage'

Laura and Fernando tell stories about their enduring friendship and ongoing collaboration. They share secrets to a healthy professional 'marriage,' how to keep your partner in check, and the importance of creating a solid work-life balance.