Artwork by Agnes Hamerlik. Several mannequins clothed in floral garments and surrounded by dried flowers hanging upside down and large sculptural objects suspended from the ceiling.
Fashion Design

Curriculum & Courses

Graduate Curriculum & Courses

SAIC’s Fashion department offers one of the most intense interdisciplinary fashion design programs in the US. Available in both two-year and three-year tracks based on experience, the Master of Fine Arts in Fashion, Body and Garment program allows students to produce a distilled collection or body of work—and learn how to best show that work off, from presentations to gallery exhibitions. 


Three-Year MFA (78 credit hours) 


Two-Year MFA (60 credit hours) 

Year 1: Fall (12 credit hours)

  • FASH 5110 Design Principles (3)
    Studio class (5 hours) 
  • FASH 5122 Studio Techniques (3)
    Studio class (5 hours)
  • FASH 6315 Seminar: Professional Practice (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 
  • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 

Year 1: Fall (15 credit hours)

  • FASH 5310 Fashion Design Studio I (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week) 
  • FASH 5313 Advanced Fabrication & Material (3)
    Studio class (5 hours)
  • FASH 5315 Seminar: Professional Practice (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 
  • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 

Year 1: Spring (12 credit hours)

  • FASH 5130 Advanced Design Principles (6)
    (5 hours, two days per week) 
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class
  • Elective 2, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class

Year 1: Spring (15 credit hours)

  • FASH 5330 Fashion Design Studio II (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week) 
  • ARTHI 5560 Critical Perspectives in Fashion, Body and Garment (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class
  • Elective 2, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class

Year 1: Additional Requirements

Participation in Fall & Spring Graduate Critiques 

Year 1: Additional Requirements

Participation in Fall & Spring Graduate Critiques 

Year 2: Fall (12 credit hours)

  • FASH 5310 Fashion Design Studio I (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week) 
  • FASH 5313 Advanced Fabrication & Material (3)
    Studio class (5 hours) 
  • Art History: must be 4000, 5000, or 6000 level (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 

Year 2: Fall (15 credit hours)

  • FASH 6310 Fashion Design Studio III (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week) 
  • ARTHI 5028 Form and Function in Fashion and Design History (recommended) 
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above (3) 
    Seminar or Studio class
  • Elective 2, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class 

Year 2: Spring (15 credit hours)

 

  • FASH 5330 Fashion Design Studio II (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week)
  • ARTHI 5560 Critical Perspectives in Fashion, Body and Garment (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes)
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class
  • Elective 2, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class

 Year 2: Spring (15 credit hours)

  • FASH 6330 Fashion Design Studio IV (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week)
  • FASH 6335 Seminar: Professional Practice II (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes)
  • Art History: must be 4000, 5000, or 6000 level (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) 
  • Elective, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class

Year 2: Additional Requirements

Participation in Fall & Spring Graduate Critiques 

Year 2: Additional Requirements

Participation in Fall & Spring Graduate Critiques 
Participation in the Thesis Show  

Year 3: Fall (15 credit hours)

 

  • FASH 6310 Fashion Design Studio III (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week)
  • Art History: must be 4000, 5000 or 6000 level (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes) ARTHI 5028 Form and Function in Fashion and Design History (recommended)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes)
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class
  • Elective 2, 3000 level and above (3)
    Seminar or Studio class

CREDIT HOUR TOTALS:


Fashion, Body & Garment Studios: 27

Interdisciplinary or Fashion Electives: 15 

Professional Practice: 6

Art History: 12


Total Credit Hours MFA 2-Year: 60

Year 3: Spring (12 credit hours)

 

  • FASH 6330 Fashion Design Studio IV (6)
    Studio class (5 hours, two days per week)
  • FASH 6335 Seminar: Professional Practice II (3)
    Seminar class (2 hours, 45 minutes)
  • Elective 1, 3000 level and above: (3)
    Seminar or Studio class
 

Year 3: Additional Requirements

Participation in Fall & Spring Graduate Critiques

Participation in the Thesis Show

 

CREDIT HOUR TOTALS:

 

Fashion, Body & Garment Studios: 39

Interdisciplinary or Fashion Electives: 21 

Professional Practice: 6

Art History: 12

 

Total Credit Hours MFA 3-Year: 78

 

MFA Fashion, Body & Garment Two-Year Track

Our two-year MFA program is for students looking to build on their existing foundations and elevate their portfolios to new heights. This program encourages fashion students to work at a larger scale, think expansively about their practices, and push the boundaries of fashion design. 

Degree requirements and specifications

Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for approved leaves of absence.

Transfer credits: A minimum of 45 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

Design Studio: Each design studio must be successfully completed prior to participation in the consecutive design studio.

Advanced Fabrication Lab: FASH 5311 Advanced Fabrication Lab must be taken in the first fall semester.

Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours

MFA Fashion, Body & Garment Three-Year Track

Our three-year MFA program is designed to provide students with the technical foundations they need, from making patterns to learning essential stitches. This program offers an additional foundational year and allows students to develop and refine their fashion-related skill sets without having to start from scratch in an undergraduate program. 

Degree requirements and specifications

Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for approved leaves of absence.

Transfer credits: A minimum of 45 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

Design Studio: Each design studio must be successfully completed prior to participation in the consecutive design studio.

Advanced Fabrication Lab: FASH 5311 Advanced Fabrication Lab must be taken in the fall semester of the second year of the MFA 3-yr.

Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
 

Course Listing

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

This course develops drawing skills with an emphasis on figure gesture and proportion along with a wide range of media. Students are taught to sketch from a live model while communicating design concepts in clothing with style and expression.

Class Number

1143

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Area of Study

Costume Design, Illustration

Location

Sullivan Center 734

Description

This course explores the flexibility of cut & sew knitwear. From the comfort of the ubiquitous T-shirt to high performance athletic wear, fashion made with pliant knitted fabrics is everywhere. In its brief history since the invention of the button-less shirt in jersey fabric, sewn knitwear has ushered in radically modern dress through sportswear, dancewear, and athletic wear. Designers, stylistic innovation and technological processes are further examined through lectures and case studies. Students will explore the variations and design potential of flexible knitted fabrics, and the considerations, methods, and equipment to assemble and finish designs cut from knit fabric.

Designers, stylistic innovation and technological processes are further examined through lectures and case studies. These include fashion designers Stephen Burrows, Rudi Gernreich, Xuly Bet, Coco Chanel, or Donna Karans 5 easy pieces, as well as in iconographic performances such as by Nicolais Louis Dance, or Martha Grahams ¿Lament¿, or contemporary artists such as Erneste Neto or Malin Bulow.

Students will explore the variations and design potential of flexible knitted fabrics, and the considerations, methods, and equipment to assemble and finish designs cut from knit fabric. They will drape, make patterns and block, and stitch finished garments from their design and research; first in a test fabric with similar properties, and then in a material, color and detail (optional) of their choice.

Class Number

1298

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Area of Study

Costume Design, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 705, Sullivan Center 706

Description

In this workshop students develop a practical understanding of the procedures used by costume designers and their assistants and crew in film and television production. Weekly lectures and hands-on demonstrations focus on projects including breaking down a script based on character and scene, doing research towards developing characters through costume choices, and techniques used to present those choices to the director and producer. Students break down a script from a show in current production. Final critiques include presentation of the breakdown with clip file photos and drawings of their costume choices for the entire script.

Class Number

1392

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Area of Study

Costume Design, Playwriting/Screenwriting

Location

Online

Description

This course explores the sensualness and design of over one hundred years of lingerie making through the use of beautiful fabrics including linen, lace, silk, satin, chiffon and ribbons. Historical references and modern technology are explored through slides, video, books, museums and boutiques for the design of lingerie and under garments. The students drape, make patterns, and fit on a live model. Students are required to make one garment in muslin and their choice of fabric.

Class Number

1117

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Location

Sullivan Center 705, Sullivan Center 706

Take the Next Step

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242, or gradmiss@saic.edu.