fashion or education?

Answered

The choice is not as binary as you might think! There are actually plenty of dual degree options for students who wish to pursue both fashion (or fine arts generally) and another field. The New School, Brown/RISD Dual Degree Program, Pratt Institute, Drexel, and Kent State are all examples of schools with good fine arts (and fashion) programs that also allow you to simultaneously major in an unrelated field. In fact, nearly all arts schools have options for you to double major. Many of these double and dual degree programs would allow you to pursue coursework in education and teacher training. That said, you don't even need to study education as an undergraduate to become a teacher. You can always get your certification and/or master's degree later on. Getting a solid liberal arts education in college will definitely help you as you work to become a teacher, however.

Alternatively, there's nothing wrong with getting a liberal arts education and continuing to explore your interest in fashion on the side. Many schools have thriving fine arts scenes and offer classes and extracurricular opportunities that relate to design and fashion specifically. This way you can make sure to set yourself up well to become a teacher (or anything else) even if fashion design doesn't work out for you professionally.

Pursuing fashion alone is definitely the risky option here. I would probably only take this route if you're extremely confident in your abilities and if you can't readily see yourself being happy doing anything else. Since you say that you're also interested in becoming a teacher, I would suggest you pick a path that will keep both options open. Best of luck!