Naeem Khan to open fashion high school in Miami

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jan 22, 2018

New York-based designer Naeem Khan is building a fashion focused high school affiliated with Miami's top-ranked Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) near the proposed site of his relocated corporate HQ.

The Miami Herald reports the school will sit on the Miami River and be an extension of DASH which is a top-25-ranked public high school in the US. The 26,000-square-foot extension will allow enough space to quadruple DASH's current enrollment of 100 students.

“It not only creates education, but it also creates jobs for the city,” Khan said at a Miami School Board meeting. He continued, “I think the combination of what we are doing will enhance the fashion industry and build a new industry that doesn’t exist in Miami today.”

The designer's idea is to create a Parsons-type model for Miami, where students will have the opportunity to intern at Naeem Khan headquarters adjacent to their campus.

Khan has dressed celebrities including Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton. He also has a clothing line and bridal gown line that is sold at luxury retailers including Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

Khan, who is originally from India, said “Somebody gave me in America a life which I always dreamt of. I felt this was the time that I give back to the country that made me who I am.”

Naeem Khan first received approval to move his corporate HQ to Miami in 2014. As part of a discounted real estate agreement, the company will also create 50 jobs in Miami-Dade County.

The fashion high school is slated to open in August 2020. Renderings are currently in progress and Khan's company will finance the development with the school board paying rent until the project is paid off in 20 years. Rent will ultimately drop to $1 a year in the future.