True, Yvonne Watson, our director of academic affairs (Nottingham Trent University), and Kyle Farmer, our former associate director of the BFA program (Royal College of Art), were both instrumental in designing the sophomore and junior curricula. Yet Simon Collins, our dean (of Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design), will tell you that the new curriculum was definitely not influenced by this British approach. Many students and faculty agree that the new curriculum is similar to the British pedagogical model exemplified by Central Saint Martin’s in London. “Parsons is supposedly one of the top three (schools) in the world for fashion design… and we didn’t get that way from using YouTube.” As sophomore Juliana Gibbons asked, “If you have one of the top programs in the country, why on earth would you change it?” FIT is a very distant second, with less than one-tenth.
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More than a third of the winners have passed through our halls. The single most prevalent factor among winners of the CFDA Best New Designer of the Year award is the fact that they studied at Parsons. Donna Karan, Anna Sui, Jack and Lazaro of Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu - the list goes on and on. Whether it’s Tom Ford at Gucci or Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, Parsons’ fashion alumni have long defined not just American fashion, but fashion throughout the world. And the only thing more ridiculous than a bunch of middle-aged instructors like myself teaching today’s 19-year-olds about the importance of play is the administration’s belief that parents will continue to pay good money for this dubious service.
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According to Forbes, Parsons is the third most expensive school in the nation.
Parsons fashion design free#
Under the new curriculum, students who haven’t already taught themselves to sew must take workshops for no credit and on their own time, or “get help from private tutors at their cost, or learn on their own with the guidance of YouTube videos.” Sophomore Andree Ciccarelli told the Free Press, “We have had to teach ourselves much of the subject matter.” Sophomore Andrew Shields succinctly noted, “It is ridiculous.” Taken together, the courses were intended to give students the necessary skills to construct their own designs.”
Parsons fashion design how to#
“Under the old curriculum,” as noted in the Free Press, “students learned how to construct clothing - via sewing, pattern making and draping - in some classes, while learning how to design in other classes. Here’s an example of the “solutions” he’s talking about: Our dean, Simon Collins, was quoted as saying, “Every year it should change… we’re about designing better solutions.”
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The group has now grown to 177 members, but unfortunately, little has changed.Īccording to a recent article in The New School Free Press, “Parsons administrators contend that those complaining are in a minority.” Besides, they say, the changes to the curriculum are necessary. A way for students to work together to effect change. “Constructive complaining,” they called it. Last fall, a small group of Parsons fashion BFA students created a secret group on Facebook to air their grievances about our new administration’s controversial new curriculum. “We don’t understand where our money is going.”
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We are not paying to sit around and teach ourselves.” “We are in class to learn skills, not to experiment and play. Schwartz Fashion Education Center, located in the Garment District, where most of the fashion studio classes are taught.