The fashion design major transforms the concepts of contemporary clothing design into practical, deliverable merchandise. The curriculum extends from conceptual drawing and patternmaking to the selection of colors and textiles, culminating in the skilled manufacture of wearable garments.

Fashionable styles of every era shape the trends of the present. Students survey the evolution of clothing and the development of the fashion industry through slide presentations and inspection of physical garments. The design luminaries of the past--Chanel, Dior, Norell, St. Laurent--and the emerging stars of the present are studied to determine why their collections enjoy enduring reputations.

Color, silhouette, fabric, and finish drive the direction of contemporary fashion. Students learn how various fabrics drape and flow on the human body; how to draft paper patterns and infuse them with three-dimensional muslin interpretation; and how to apply line, form, and color to perfect the designer's sketch.

Working from live models, students define body proportion, movement, gesture, and expressive line as the unerring determinants of fashion illustration. An exploration of the various textile-printing techniques enables students to render their design solutions on fabric.

As a capstone to the program, fashion design majors showcase their work to the press, design community, and peers in a professionally staged runway presentation at the end of the year.

Fashion design majors complete the following courses during the fall and spring semesters.