Dissolving Gender in Fashion Design Education

https://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10445/10616-thumbnail.jpgAs a creative practice and production process, fashion design follows a mainly traditional perspective of a binary gendered body. Likewise, the education sector catering to this industry takes a similar approach, establishing programs that offer specializations in womenswear and menswear. This research advocates for a more diverse and accessible understanding of gender, sizing, and prerequisite notions of dress codes in undergraduate education for fashion. This approach is addressing a shift of attention to a more heterogeneous perspective of the body in relation to new questions of body politics, ethics, social justice, and trans-species communications. Based on this premise, this paper proposes a new perspective on how curriculum could be structured for fashion design education. This structure has been evaluated based on data gathered over a two-year period, with focus on the second and third level of study in a Bachelors in Fashion Design and Textiles Program in Singapore. Findings from this research aim to prove that this paradigm shift for fashion design education is applicable and allows an expanded area for experimentation and play for students while opening up new horizons for criticality and reflection about what gender represents for society and culture today and in the future.