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

Fashion Design I builds the skills and talents required to achieve creative fashion. This class teaches the design fundamentals of the integrated core fashion design curriculum. Students will engage multiple skills to create individual, visionary, unconventional garments, and later, collections. Through a series of projects, students explore form, silhouette, volume, and research in design to arrive at a personal point-of-view in fashion. This course will specifically ask students to work conceptually and to develop research methodologies in their design work. Based on this inquiry, students generate sketches and surface treatments to refine their unique silhouettes and material manipulations. No prerequisite.

Prerequisites

Students must be a sophomore grade level or permission by instructor

Class Number

1018

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Location

Sullivan Center 704

Description

Various investigations are conducted regarding traditional and alternative shoe design and assembly. Assigned readings and discussions focus on history, materials, the designers, lifestyle, terminology and processes, and the involvement of feet and shoes in art. Emphasis is placed on interpreting the foot and shoe for visual presentations and experimenting with components for artistic and practical expression. Final critiques include presentations of one of half pairs of shoes and sandals, illustrations, weekly clipping files and a thematic selection of thematic original ideas. Group critiques are scheduled several times during the semester. Weekly slide lectures, field trips, guest lectures or demonstration enable students to develop their ideas in the studio with a focus on fit and originality.

Class Number

1066

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Area of Study

Costume Design

Location

Sullivan Center 723

Description

Through this course, students will learn techniques traditionally used in working with fur to reimagine materials from faux fur and upcycled materials, to felt, leather, suede and woven fabrics. Focused in the introduction and use of specialized industrial sewing machines specifically designed to stitch fur like materials, students will learn designing, pattern cutting, and construction for garments and accessories, and will explore the history and future of fur and fur like fabrics both as a material and an embellishment. Students will design and create one full garment.

Class Number

1051

Credits

3

Department

Fashion Design

Location

Sullivan Center 727

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.