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Katrin Schnabl

Professor

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Bio

Chair in Fashion Design. BFA, 1995, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Exhibitions: New York Fashion Week, Lincoln Center, Danspace, NY; Teatro Communale, Firenze; Evanston Art Center, DePaul Art Museum, Millenium Park, Tourism Center Gallery, Chicago. Bibliography: Harper's Bazaar Saudi Arabia; Madame Germany; Harper's Bazaar España; Kaltblut Magazine; Soma Magazine; Vestal Magazine; Noi.se; Fault Magazine; Kurv Magazine; Creem Magazine; SHK; Stylewylde; Fashion Theory; Full Frontal Fashion/ Metro TV; GapD; Lucky; Harper's Baazar; Women's Wear Daily; Wired; New York Times; Village Voice; Dance Insider; Frankfurter Rundschau; Chicago Reader. Awards: NYSCA, Individual Artist Grant, Chicago, US patent.

Experience at SAIC

I was invited as a Visiting Artist to the fashion department in 2004, and was hired on tenure-track the following year. As faculty we are very invested to shape the curriculum and direction of the department, and we created a unique graduate program in Fashion, Body and Garment that started in 2008. I am very fond of my colleagues, and how we are able to guide the next generation. I am also very proud of our students, and the work they are able to make and share. The school is a very special inspiring and supportive environment for young artists to explore and set a foundation for their future.

Personal Statement

Trained as a dancer, my approach is deeply influenced by the first hand experience of engaging through motion, sound and energy while navigating space. An extensive period as collaborator creating costumes for post-modern dance and performance artists allowed me to work with an extensive range of body types and needs. Visual communication and visceral experience come together on the body, and through the medium of fashion, engaging both viewer and wearer. The art of pattern-cutting becomes a means for transformation of conceptual sets of ideas into concrete form carried on the frame of the body. Through the collections I build I continue to investigate how garments can empower and inspire.

 

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

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

Description

This fashion capstone course explores methods and processes for research, planning, and production leading up to the installation of a body of work. Students will consider the space, duration, audience, and partners as they develop mock-ups and draft proposals and pitches. Students contemplate curation for solo or group exhibits, work in teams, and gain professional practice as they lay the groundwork for development of a fully considered display. The class will have the opportunity to conceive, curate and build out a public facing installation, either in the Fashion Department Exhibition Space, or as part of the annual spring show.

Class Number

2142

Credits

3

Description

This course investigates communication through dress, and the interface of the individual within the context of communities, both real and imagined. Technology, its impact and its potential for added function or meaning are investigated. Students continue their process of essential journaling to develop a high level of professionalism throughout their work, emphasizing a personal style and direction.

Class Number

1915

Credits

6

Description

Branding, imaging, time lines and sequencing are addressed as collections are refined and presented. In this a one and one-half day course students finalize 12 silhouettes from their master collection or equivalent body of work. The final presentation includes a setting, a written component, and supporting visual materials. With the thesis presentation, students demonstrate their ability to professionally position their work within the field.

Class Number

1916

Credits

6