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  • Fashion Design BFA

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    thinkparsons@newschool.edu
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    Program Contact
    Neil Gilks, Program Director, Fashion Product and Collection

    Brendan McCarthy, Program Director, Fashion Systems and Materiality

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  • The innovative Fashion Design BFA program has trained six generations of designers who have shaped the global industry. Employing design thinking and creative problem-solving strategies, you explore form, silhouette, material, and process — including social and environmental imperatives — to create beautiful, sustainable, responsibly produced fashion for a complex and evolving field. You are encouraged to explore the broadest contexts and applications of fashion.

    Program Highlights

    • Fashion Design Fundamentals

      Learn to balance hand-making and digital skills with an integrated approach to design, honing your technique as you refine your creative vision.

    • Four Pathways

      Explore four pathways — Collection, Fashion Product, Materiality, and Systems and Society — and develop a specialized, differentiated, personalized approach to fashion design.

    • Purposeful Design

      Design with a focus on innovation and diversity, unlocking the power of apparel to spark systemic positive change in society — particularly in marginalized communities.

    • Industry Collaborations

      Develop your design sensibility in real-world settings through projects with premier partners such as LVMH, Kering, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, COACH, and Luxottica.

    • Innovative Thesis Projects

      Share your research, process, collection, system, and final outcomes with industry leaders and the public in the graduating student exhibition. Explore the intrepid work of the class of 2020.

    • Degree Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
    • Format Full-time, on campus
    • Credits 120
    • Duration 4 years

  • Curriculum

    Your BFA begins with Parsons’ first-year curriculum, which serves as the academic foundation for all undergraduate programs at Parsons. From your second year on, you dive into courses in your major field of study. You choose one of four pathways: Collection, Materiality, Fashion Product, or Systems and Society. Art and design history and theory courses develop your research, writing, and critical reasoning  skills, and university electives broaden your perspectives.

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  • Career Paths

    Graduates of the BFA Fashion Design are ready to play a variety of roles within the professional field of fashion, including design, creative and research practice, styling, visual merchandising, textiles, marketing and public relations, and production.

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  • Parsons faculty represent a broad range of expertise and are acknowledged as leading practitioners and scholars in their fields.

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  • Beyond the Classroom

    • TNS_Website-042015_ALT_Student_Life_014

      Internships

      New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is deeply connected to the art and design industries and can help you advance your career with industry-oriented internships.

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      Industry Engagement

      Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem-solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.

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      Study Abroad

      Enrich your learning and prepare for work in global contexts with study abroad that exposes you to new perspectives and settings in which to apply your creativity. Our study abroad destinations include, Paris, London, Florence, and more.

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      Making & Academic Resources

      Enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.

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