Graduate

Fashion (MA)

Courses

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Special Topics Elective - Dependent on the student’s negotiated learning plan, creative project or research, courses may be selected from advanced level electives currently offered by other graduate programs.

Note, some courses offered on alternate years.

Advanced Colour Theory

This course begins with a conceptual review of basic colour theory and reviews issues studied in earlier courses such as colour systems, interaction and harmony. The course will provide students with advanced knowledge in the following specialized areas: colour and lighting, colour psychology/emotions, symbolism, forecasting, branding, visual merchandising, graphic design, ethnic colour usage, science, measurement, technology, management, and careers in colour.

Creativity in Design

This course will explore creativity in design, concentrating on research and process.  Referencing material from a broad spectrum of sources while exploring various techniques to enhance creativity, such as brain-storming, intrinsic motivation, lateral thinking and innovative forms of visualization, students will produce original work.

Curation and Exhibition

This studio course will allow students to work with the School's collection and others in order to learn sound curatorial practices. Students will have the opportunity to examine both private and public collections in order to curate small exhibitions and to develop catalogues which document, disseminate and critique garments, materials, accessories and designer's portfolios and other fashion related material.

Design, Text and Ideas

This course introduces students to the area of Visual Culture, focusing on key subjects in art and design and their relationship to social theory in the Modern period. Visual signifying systems such as symbolism, iconography and semiotics will be covered, with an emphasis on art and design that engages with social, ecological or environmental issues.

 

Digital Studio  

In this project based workshop, students will creatively explore various aspects of digital design. Though students will work largely independently, researching their own specific areas of interest, they will benefit from the guidance of faculty and present this work in class as it develops. Students will critique each other’s work, and guest designers/researchers will focus the discussions towards theoretical, creative and practical considerations. It is expected that this multi-disciplinary approach will allow for interesting collaborations between students from a variety of backgrounds.

Fashion Entrepreneurship

This course explores a variety of theoretical perspectives of entrepreneurship such as the social and economic function of entrepreneurs, cognitive and psychological aspects of entrepreneurs, and the new venture creation process as applied to the fashion industry. Students will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurs in the international and Canadian fashion industry by means of case studies, articles, seminars, and presentations. Students will write a research paper based on entrepreneurship theories and interviews with fashion entrepreneurs.

 

Functional Apparel Design

Functional apparel prioritizes solutions engineered for the specific needs of the end user. This course in apparel design emphasizes specialized clothing for unique environments and purposes, such as apparel products for industrial/work related wear, protection, medical conditions, athletic activities, and for those individuals that are physically challenged. Emphasis shall be on fit, function, ease of mobility, comfort, safety, care, as well as fashion aesthetics.

Globalization and Fashion

Increasingly, the fashion world is perceived to be global in scale; apparel design, production and marketing is carried out on a transnational scale, and the language of fashion increasingly references the ‘global’ village, drawing on a variety of international and ‘ethnic’ design details and approaches.  What are the implications and lived realities of this global fashion system?  This course will examine theories and narratives of globalization in light of business practices, fashion communication technologies and outlets, and the growing attention to the formation, cultivation, preservation, and at times, exploitation of community and cultural values. 

Interactive Media

Increasingly, communication designers in fashion and other fields are being called upon to consider not only graphic design, but interactive design—how the reader/user/consumer uses, interacts, and responds to design. This important development places a larger degree of responsibility on the designer. Rather than simply creating attractive and functional works, the designer is now asked to consider the whole “experience” of the end user. This course works towards an understanding of interactive theory, and explores many tools used to facilitate interaction. Examples include new software allowing for physical interaction with computers and robotic devices; functional approaches to information design, media and website design, gaming, and form design. 

Internship
All students will be required to embark on an internship program in their area of interest. Internship possibilities include working in publishing, theatre, fashion television; medicine, space and sports garment development; new media, gaming, inter-active and virtual run-way design; museums, galleries, special collections, conservation; brand development as well as opportunities in manufacturing and branding.  The Internship will include a seminar to develop and evaluate the individual internship plans.

Issues in Ethics and Sustainable Design

The ethics and sustainability of design practices are coming under increasing scrutiny. Fashion, with its rapid cycles of production and consumption, is central to these debates. Starting with the Industrial Revolution, this course considers the historical trajectory of issues including mechanization, labour practices and human health in the textile and garment industries. With this context in mind, students then engage in debates over current and pressing problems such as the environmental impact of textiles, recycling, sustainability and labour markets. Students will produce a research paper or other approved creative project related to a specific topic covered in the course.

Oral History and Ethnography

Oral history and ethnography techniques allow us to research hidden or undervalued aspects of the experience of making, purchasing and wearing clothing. Dress is both a public and private expression of our selves, a form of nonverbal communication which often goes unrecorded in traditional literature on fashion. This course gives students the practical and theoretical skills to conduct a series of oral history interviews and write a research paper based on their findings. It will prove particularly effective in investigating topics such as sub-cultural styles, ethnicity, disability and sexuality in contemporary Canadian society. 

Research Methods
Students will be introduced to the theories, methodologies and methods that take into account creative, humanities-based and social scientific perspectives. A second goal of the course will be to familiarize students with the research and information gathering process, with the use of library and library resources, electronic and online research, and creative and unusual research strategies. The third goal is to provide an introduction to the art of project design and the writing of proposals.

Studio Workshop 1
The Studio Workshop module stresses flexibility, originality and the creative process. Interest is focused on key problems and issues in design and their exploration through creative work. Students are expected to have a clear idea of the creative project they wish to pursue through studio practice and/or research. This project embodies both research of the problem area, and proposed solutions in First Year of the program. Outcomes, to be completed in Second Year, would depend on the project, but could include apparel design, communication design, historical research, scholarly exhibition development, or other media appropriate to the project, both visual and written.

Studio Workshop 2
In this course, students continue to use critical inquiry and studio practice to further explore and refine solutions to the design problem/research area identified in Studio Workshop I. 

The Fashioned Body

This course will address the historical and contemporary framing of the human form in Western visual culture, focusing specifically on the centrality of the body in the fashion systems of the past, present and future. Various theoretical approaches will examine the role and function of the body in a variety of contexts—from the marketing and imaging of bodies in the fashion industry, to a consideration of dress as a material form of cultural meaning and communication that is reliant on social ideologies of the body.

Theory/History Seminar 1
This course introduces students to key critical debates and theories concerning the fashion system. Emphasis will be placed on developing analytical approaches to contemporary fashion, media and consumption while situating debates in their historical context. Discussions may include theories such as:  production, marketing, and wearing of dress, gender, social class, sustainability as well as the visual and material cultures of clothing. Students will work closely on critically assessing and presenting the readings in class, and will complete assignments designed to develop a solid understanding of current debates in the history and theory of fashion.

Theory/History Seminar 2
This course continues the study of critical debates and theories concerning the fashion system. Emphasis will be placed on developing analytical approaches to contemporary fashion, media and consumption while situating debates in their historical context. Discussions may include theories such as:  production, marketing, and wearing of dress, gender, social class, sustainability as well as the visual and material cultures of clothing. Students will work closely on critically assessing and presenting the readings in class, and will complete assignments designed to develop a solid understanding of current debates in the history and theory of fashion. 

Virtual Design

This course explores developing technologies that have created a new environment for design. ‘Virtual’ markets, whether online, interactive, or gaming based, have provided a new market economy. Increasingly, fashion has proved to be an important component of this economy. This course will provide a theoretical overview of the phenomenon, placing the virtual world in a social and historical context. Practical aspects of designing for this market will be considered and students will create an avatar, create clothing, and display this in an online fashion show.