Fashion as Design: Silhouettes and Icons

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, Silhouettes, Icons course, examples of silhouettes and iconic garments from the 20th century to today serve as a springboard to consider how we use clothing and accessories to project, aspire, and shift our sense of self.

Syllabus

Introduction

In this course, examples of silhouettes and iconic garments from the 20th century to today serve as a springboard to consider how we use clothing and accessories to project, aspire, and shift our sense of self.

Silhouettes

When we get dressed, the shape our clothes create—a silhouette—is influenced by everything from shifting trends in fashion to what looks and feels good. In this module you will explore how clothing shapes the body and how our ideas about the body shapes the clothing we wear.

Icons

What makes a garment iconic? Sometimes it’s the power of the wearer’s personality, or a person’s role—from an athlete to the military—that elevates an ordinary item to fashion’s mainstream. In this module you’ll consider how the clothing we wear reflects who you are and what you want to become.