BFA Fashion Design

Fashion Design student work will demonstrate:

• Disciplinary Knowledge and Skills
  A strong foundation in core design principles like garment construction, digital design, textiles, and design development.
• Proficiency in Industry-Standard Skills, Technologies, and Processes
  Proficiency in utilizing cutting-edge tools such as Procreate, CLO 3D garment simulation, and Marvelous Designer, alongside traditional techniques like Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, draping, patternmaking, and sewing, equipping them to meet the demands of the fashion industry.
• Cross-Disciplinary Awareness and Practice
  An understanding of fashion design as inherently interdisciplinary, blending creativity with technical expertise and business acumen. Cross-disciplinary practices can showcase cross-industry competence, digital literacy, collaboration, and strong communication skills.
• Audience-Focused Research, Historical Context, and Field-Specific Discourse
  Ability to conduct research on target markets, explore the cultural and historical significance of fashion, and engage in discussions about current trends, and sustainability to create designs that resonate with their intended audience.
• Capacity to Identify and Solve Creative Problems
  The ability to find new solutions to design issues, such as innovative material use while applying critical thinking skills through projects, critiques and iterative practices.

Fashion Design student work will demonstrate:

• Innovation
  The ability to push creative boundaries by developing original concepts, utilizing innovative technologies, and exploring new materials to create designs that stand out in a competitive industry.
• Experimentation and play
  The ability to engage in 3D exploration, testing unconventional ideas, and combining unexpected elements (e.g., fabric manipulation, draping techniques, or non-traditional materials) to discover new approaches and styles.

• Challenge to the status quo
  The ability to push creative boundaries, question conventional norms in materials and processes to create designs that reimagine and improve traditional fashion industry practices.
• Bravery in their work and their interactions with others
  Taking risks within their design development process, using multiple iterations of research and exploration in developing their own creative thinking.

Fashion Design student work will demonstrate:

• Self-awareness
  The ability to inject their own identity into their design projects.
• Capacity to communicate (orally, written, and/or visually) about their practice
  The ability to articulate design ideas verbally, visually, and digitally.
• Capacity to seek, assemble, evaluate, and ethically apply information and ideas from diverse sources
  Proficiency in applying relevant research from guided projects, interdisciplinary courses, experts from diverse fields to their creative process.
• Analysis of both ethical and aesthetic impacts of art and design
  The ability to conceptualize, design, and produce innovative fashion collections that integrate principles of sustainability, cultural awareness, and technological advancements, while addressing the evolving needs of global markets.

Fashion Design student work will demonstrate:

• Understanding of themselves as parts of a larger whole made up of human and non-human beings.
  Evidence of understanding their role as designers within an interconnected ecosystem of individuals and communities, the impact of fashion on the broader environment, creating designs that align with sustainable and inclusive practices.
• Awareness of positionality – in the world, their field, their communities.
  Ability to recognize their own identity and cultural background, showcasing how these elements influence their creative practice within their target market.
• Ability to work well, collaborate, and build relationships across differences in identity, perspective, aesthetics and disciplines
  Ability to collaborate effectively and build meaningful relationships by embracing diverse perspectives, aesthetics, and disciplines, thereby fostering innovation and inclusivity in fashion design.
• Integration of skills, information, and concepts
  The ability to combine design skills, trend research, and sustainable practices to create innovative and market-ready fashion collections.

Fashion Design student work will demonstrate:

• Ability to define aspirations, future goals and their role within the creative economy.
  The ability to define and relate fashion design aspirations to the appropriate manufacturing process.
• Awareness of audience and ability to cultivate relationships with others in their chosen fields.
  An awareness of diverse audiences and the ability to build meaningful professional relationships within the fashion industry.
• Compelling presentation and exhibition skills, through Annual Exhibition, Capstone, and portfolios
  Proficiency in presentation and exhibition skills by creating professional portfolios, delivering recorded demonstrations, and participating in fashion showcases.
• Proficiency in budgeting, time and project management.
  Proficiency in budgeting, time management, and project execution to deliver high-quality results.
• Career readiness, as evidenced by strong interpersonal skills, self-advocacy, adaptation, autonomy, initiative, and willingness to both receive and offer feedback
  Professionalism through strong communication, self-advocacy, adaptability, and the ability to work well with others, including receiving and giving feedback in fashion-related environments.