The creation, aesthetics, function, and business of fashion

Program highlights: Studio-based training in fashion and performancewear design; Merging of fashion and technology; Business perspectives suited to the dynamics of the global fashion industry; On-site historical fashion and textile collection

Admissions note: A design supplement is required of all undergraduate applicants to this major as part of the application process and needs to be uploaded to Slideroom by the application deadline.

 

Overview

Fashion Design and Management (FD&M) encompasses the creative, technical, marketing, and communications aspects of the fashion industry. Students pursue creative fashion design, functional and performance aspects of clothing design, and technical aspects of product development, as well as applying business principles to the global fashion industry through an interdisciplinary, liberal arts-based approach. Two options are available within the major.

The Fashion Design option prepares students for careers as designers through studio courses that explore concepts and techniques of creating fashion. Students learn to develop fashion collections and a range of products from runway fashion and active sportswear to innovations in “smart” textiles and knitwear design. Conventional techniques, digital tools, and new technologies are used to communicate fashion ideas and develop design skills. Coursework in fashion, design theory and methods, materials and industry practices are informed by the interdisciplinary approach of the College of Human Ecology for a well-rounded education.

The Fashion Design Management option teaches students to solve problems in a broadly defined fashion industry by applying an understanding of the visual, theoretical, and technical aspects of the industry to the practical situations of business management. The option combines studies in apparel design, textile materials, global supply chain, communications, economics, entrepreneurship, sustainability and ethics, and public policy to provide a broad understanding of the products, structure, and practices in the fashion industry.

Review our curriculum sheets (updated each year) to better understand how the major is organized.