Parsons: BFA Fashion Product

Assistant Professor: Full Time

'Craft: Meaning and commitment through making'

2018 to 2024: I was honored to be appointed to define and shape the new Fashion Product pathway of the BFA Fashion Design program at Parsons New York, reflecting a strong commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of fashion

The initiative positioned the pathway as a pioneering and influential voice within North America's creative fashion educational and professional sectors. Traditionally garment focused, I dedicated myself to crafting a more inclusive and representative curriculum that embraced the diversity of fashion design, craftsmanship, market opportunities, and creative exploration, leveraging the powerful axis of fashion led product within the BFA Fashion Design program.

My vision for the Fashion Product specialism encouraged students to design with intent, exploring fashion and product design within both theoretical and societal frameworks, sparking critical conversations about the potential of fashion-driven products: dismantling known constructs to form new hypothesis'. This approach examined a wide range of topics, including craft practices, social impact, ethics, sustainability, representation, performance, storytelling, and the role of artifacts as cultural symbols, social indicators, and platforms for positive change.

I developed a curriculum that considered product not only as functional items but also as objects of storytelling, narrative, memento, identity, and cultural value, addressing desirability, performance, and innovation. Students were urged to develop unique viewpoints, pushing boundaries in both form and function, exploring technological advancements, human potential, and creative expression. The goal was to redefine traditional industry classifications and encourage a reinvention of fashion education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Through a focus on joy and experimentation in the studio, I fostered a fuly invested environment where critical thinking, conceptual exploration, and advanced materiality were central to the creative process. Students were empowered to innovate, challenge assumptions, and question the status quo, using a blend of hand-crafted, traditional, and digital methods. The pathway placed a strong emphasis on sustainable imperatives, with a focus on inclusive design for all genders, accessories, footwear, jewelry, adaptive wear, and products for diverse lifestyles and spaces, including domestic, office, digital, moving image and performance settings. The pathway nurtured speculative experimentation and creative exploration while encouraging students to think about fashion in radical, innovative, and interdisciplinary ways.

The following is a selection of edited student work produced within the framework of this approach:

Courses Taught- Thesis 1, Thesis 2, Design Studio 2, Design Studio 3, Design Studio 4, Creative Technical Studio 2