The MA Fashion Studies at Parsons Paris is the first master's program in its field in France and one of only a handful worldwide. In this groundbreaking 42-credit program, students explore the production, dissemination, and consumption of fashion from both historical and contemporary vantage points. The program investigates the different segments and meanings of fashion as creative and multifaceted industry – from haute couture to fast fashion; as a phenomenon dealing with identity, race, and gender; as an everyday act of consumption; as a material object; as an image; and as an artistic practice.
By situating fashion as a manifold phenomenon, the program casts light on the relationship between practice and theory as students explore the interdisciplinary theories and methodologies that have shaped the field of fashion studies while also discussing their applications within the fashion industry. The program also challenges students to engage with contemporary concerns such as sustainability, fashion curatorial practice, globalization, technological innovation, and digital fashion futures.
Core and elective courses open up broad perspectives on fashion and its connections with design, production, consumption, imagination, representation, embodiment, and identity. Finally, as fashion studies is inherently interdisciplinary and multi-methodological, courses examine fashion through the perspectives of anthropology, sociology, art history, gender studies, visual and material cultural studies, and film and media studies.
With Paris as a backdrop, the program brings students in contact with the European and French fashion industry and its cultural fields of production. Students are invited to engage with the industry through lectures and master classes held by fashion practitioners; special projects with fashion brands (mainly Paris based); visits to European and Parisian fashion trade fairs like Première Vision-Paris; unparalleled access and visits to fashion houses and ateliers; and the most prominent fashion and textile collections and archives in France, from the Musée Galleria to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The program also assists students in applying for internships with established and independent fashion brands during Paris Fashion Week and during the summer break while also encouraging them to independently observe Parisian streets, neighborhoods, and retail environments critical to the fashion system.
The aim of the MA Fashion Studies program is to create polyvalent and critical researchers and professionals able to adapt to the heterogeneity of the fashion industry and its various sectors. In particular, our students develop competencies in fashion communication – from fashion writing and criticism to "image-making"; in trend-forecasting and marketing analysis; in fashion curating; in the research and archival practices connected to private and public museums or/and brand heritage. Students develop awareness of the different realities and constraints of the field of fashion and its commercial aspects, developing a personal and critical view on this creative industry. Possible career paths bring students to work in fashion PR and communication agencies, fashion magazines, fashion consulting, fashion museums and galleries, private archives, auction houses, fashion brands communication and marketing departments, trend-forecasting agencies, and fashion retailing and also to pursue PhD degrees at top universities around the world.
You can request more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/parsons-paris?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_paris&utm_term=paris_grad
Thanks to faculty contacts and the program's strategic geographical position, MA Fashion Studies functions as a European hub, giving students access to other important fashion cities like Milan, London, Antwerp, Berlin, and Stockholm as well as international fashion institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum or the Fashion Museum of Antwerp (MoMu). The program sponsors public events, panels, open lectures and symposia on fashion, inviting established and emerging fashion scholars, curators, and professionals. The Parsons Paris Gallery and workshops with fashion editors, stylists, and photographers stimulates students to publicize their own work while, thanks to its relationship with the New York campus, students also have opportunities to collaborate with overseas MA Fashion Studies peers and spend a semester abroad.
Explore our blog and Instagram accounts to see what students, faculty, and alumni are doing in Paris and around the world.
You can request more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/parsons-paris?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_paris&utm_term=paris_grad
The two-year, 60-credit program combines intensive studio-based projects with research and exploration. In the tradition of critical social research at The New School, the program helps students develop an understanding of the global business, intellectual, and ecological contexts of their work. Supplemental classes in filmmaking, presentation, and photography broaden students’ visual design vocabulary and communication skills, preparing them for success in collaborative professional settings and showing them how to present and position their work within the market.
You can find more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/parsons-grad?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_grad
At the end of their second year, in May, students present their graduation collections to industry insiders, headhunters, select press, stylists, and buyers in an exhibition format, which often results in employment or other professional opportunities. In addition, students present their collections on the runway during New York Fashion Week in September.
Part of Parsons’ renowned School of Fashion, the MFA program offers students opportunities to exhibit their work on an international scale, to build relationships with industry leaders, and to participate in high-profile collaborations. Student work is regularly featured in a number of media outlets, including the New York Times, WWD, Vogue (US, UK), Vogue.com, Elle, Marie Claire (US), ID, Interview, and SO-EN (Japan). Recent graduates have gone on to work as designers at major labels such as Alexander Wang, NIKE, Oscar de la Renta, Under Armour, Kanye West for Adidas, St. John Knitwear, Burberry, Donna Karan International, DKNY, Calvin Klein Collection, CK Jeans, Coach, The Gap, Reed Krakoff, Ralph Lauren Black Label, Narciso Rodriguez, and Opening Ceremony.
Others have launched their own businesses and gone on to sell at Dover Street Market in New York, London, and Tokyo. Students have won or been finalists in fashion competitions such as Feel the Yarn at Pitti Filati in Florence, the International Fashion Showcase in London, International Talent Support (ITS sponsored by Diesel), H&M Awards, VFiles Made Fashion, New York Fashion Week, and the LVMH Prize.
Graduates pursue career paths including fashion design, art direction, curating, and teaching.
You can request more information on all future opportunities here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/parsons-grad?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_grad
In the two-year, 60-credit full-time MFA Textiles program, you develop a critical understanding of textiles’ sociocultural, environmental, and emotional dimensions throughout human history and into our future. You explore the potential to unite craft with innovative high-tech and bio-tech production. In studio courses, you develop skills in essential fabric-making techniques, such as fiber development and innovation, yarn sourcing and making, weaving and jacquard technology, knitting, pattern design, and textile embellishments. You refine your personal aesthetic sensibilities and understanding of sustainable practices on-site in NYC textile studios and design ateliers, deepening collaborative and conceptual abilities in weaving, dyeing, knitting, and printing. Instruction in business best practices is integrated into each aspect of the curriculum, bringing economic and conceptual real-world skills into the studio.
Your study in the MFA Textiles program is interdisciplinary by design. Coursework connects fields including art, architecture, interior and industrial design, as well as fashion and autonomous design. The curriculum unites concerns ranging from human dignity to environmental sustainability to social justice. Accordingly, the program welcomes applicants from various backgrounds in textile research and making related to the liberal arts as well as creative disciplines including fashion design, interior design, product design, fine arts, and architecture. The goal is to create a diverse textiles community committed to expanding the field and integrating the high-tech innovations of Silicon Valley with local craft techniques developed in the Hudson Valley. Your study prepares you for a future in which smart textiles play many roles, collecting and transmitting data in a variety of products, including domestic goods and woven technology.
Textiles are integral to a diverse array of institutions and industries — from fashion design, interior design, and scenic design to ubiquitous computing, automotive design, acoustic design, and health. At the same time, textiles fulfill the desire for tactile stimulation that accompanies the recent rise in digital and virtual culture. In the MFA Textiles program, you explore these dynamics creatively and reflectively, dissolving the boundaries between technology and craft, in keeping with contemporary practice. In the process, you take an active role in textile cultures and industries, preparing to reimagine textile mills and design businesses, lend studio skills to companies, launch a business as an independent designer or high-tech researcher, or pursue advanced studies.
You can request more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/textiles?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_grad&utm_term=textiles
Textiles are literally and figuratively woven into human history and culture. Today communities of makers, designers, and scholars are exploring textiles — from locally crafted materials to 3D knitted matter to hand-embellished fabrics — and pioneering textile-based industries and theory. The Master of Fine Arts in Textiles, launching in fall 2018, enables you to explore these dynamics creatively and reflectively, dissolving the boundaries between technology and craft. In the process, you are prepared for the growing array of creative and professional opportunities related to textiles in fashion design, product design, interior design, textiles research, set design, fine arts, architecture, and hybrid fields.
This program is part of the School of Fashion (SOF) at Parsons.
New York Textile Month — a September celebration of textile culture initiated by MFA Textiles founder Lidewij Edelkoort, dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons — highlights the community-based approach to promoting textile industries that students in the program will find. Local partners in the event become your direct mentors, inviting you into their studios and businesses one day a week to build your creative skills and networks. The growing global interest in textile-related creation brings international players into the fold to partner with the program, extending your understanding of conceptualization and production. The program also draws on Parsons’ institutional partners such as Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, with its extensive material collections and curatorial resources. Lectures and hybrid workshops by major international designers and producers add dimension to your learning.
You can request more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/textiles?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_grad&utm_term=textiles
The two-year, full-time program is composed of 24 studio credits, 30 credits of seminars (on cultural, historical, and perceptual aspects of light), and 6 elective credits. The unique curriculum is anchored in an integrated studio experience in which students interact with peers in architecture, interior design, and product design disciplines. Projects bring together research, conceptual design development, innovative representational techniques, technical analysis, and full-scale study to uncover the experiential and social implications of illumination.
The birthplace of architectural lighting design, New York City offers students abundant opportunities for learning and career advancement. Students also benefit from access to important built projects, industry-related activities, trade shows, conferences, and the university’s network for professional internships and postgraduate placement.
Lighting design is relevant to zoning and building regulations, traffic and pedestrian safety, neighborhood integration, and numerous other matters affecting the city. The Lighting Design program is part of Parsons’ School of Constructed Environments (SCE), along with closely related programs in architecture, interior design, and product design. In the open environment of the SCE design studio, students work collaboratively on complex problems ranging from single interior environments to comprehensive architectural volumes, outdoor public space, and urban planning. The Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design program at Parsons, the first of its kind in the world, has trained leaders in this rapidly evolving field for more than 30 years. With a solid foundation in the intellectual, aesthetic, and technical dimensions of light, Parsons’ interdisciplinary curriculum focuses on human experience, sustainability, and the social impact of lighting design. Students explore the relationships between theory, technical application, energy conservation, and social and environmental aspects of electric and natural light.
This program is part of Parsons' School of Constructed Environments (SCE). Learn about the SCE community and explore our SCE blog to see what students, faculty, and alumni are doing in NYC and around the world.
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The School of Constructed Environments also offers two interdisciplinary programs that enable students to develop an in-depth technical and aesthetic understanding of the relationship between light, architecture, and interior design. Those who wish to pursue studies in lighting design and architecture can apply to the following hybrid degree programs:
Graduates are prepared for careers in architectural and interior lighting design, theatrical lighting, exhibition lighting, and equipment design and manufacturing.
You can request more information here: http://www.newschool.edu/m/parsons-constructed?utm_source=find_a_masters&utm_medium=hyperlink_listing&utm_campaign=pm_parsons_grad&utm_term=constructed_environments
