The predecessor of the "Angewandte" was founded in 1863 as the "k. k. Kunstgewerbeschule" (Vienna School of Arts and Crafts), following the example of the South Kensington Museum in London, now the Victoria & Albert Museum, to set up a place of advanced education for designers and craftsmen with the Arts and Crafts School in Vienna. It was closely associated with the "Österreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie" (Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, today known as the MAK).