Fashion as Design: Craft and Sustainability

Overview

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Every garment tells a story of craftsmanship, labor, and environmental impact. This course offers an exclusive look into the hidden lifecycle of your wardrobe, moving from the rapid cycles of fast fashion toward a deeper understanding of quality and stewardship. By exploring the tension between global mass production and bespoke artistry, you will develop the analytical tools to navigate the future of the fashion industry. The Museum of Modern Art will take you behind the scenes of world-renowned institutions—from the precision of a Savile Row suit shop in London to the historical archives of Levi’s in California. Through studio visits and insights from designers, activists, and historians, you will analyze how modern technologies are being used to reimagine the way garments are made. Whether you are a student of design or a professional seeking to lead ethical change, you will gain a new perspective on your closet, transforming a daily habit of getting dressed into an act of informed agency. Career Application: By gaining a critical understanding of the tensions between mass production and craftsmanship, you’ll develop the analytical tools necessary to reconsider ethical supply chain management, drive sustainable product development, and execute transparent corporate communications.

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.