Fashion as Design: Craft and Sustainability

Overview

No true design history can be told without discussing garments and everything that they encompass. Fashion As Design addresses both everyday and high fashion garments from the early 20th Century to today. In this specialization you will consider the design and impact of what you wear, explore fashion as a tool for expression, and experiment with creative prompts that engage your closet. You’ll hear directly from a range of designers, photographers, makers, historians, and others working with clothing—and, in some cases, reimagining and repairing garments for the future. In the Fashion, Craft, Sustainability course, you'll gain insights into the processes that make the clothes in your closet, consider concerns for the fashion industry’s labor and sustainability practices, and explore methods for extending the lifecycle of your clothes.

Syllabus

Introduction

Gain insights into the processes that make the clothes in your closet, consider concerns for the fashion industry’s labor and sustainability practices, and explore methods for extending the lifecycle of your clothes.

Techniques

This module explores the complex processes—from traditional handcrafting to the use of new technologies—that go into the making of high-end and everyday garments.

Lifecycles

This module examines the lifecycle of garments—how cycles of production, consumption, and disposal impact the world, and discover ways to break those cycles both at the industrial and personal level.