About
About
The School of Fashion has over 35 years of experience nurturing our students to become the next fashion leaders, makers, doers and thinkers. Students exit the program equipped to systematically transform the Canadian and global fashion system while continuing to question and investigate new ideas in the ever-evolving landscape of Fashion. By centring new worldviews and actions, the School of Fashion continues to impact the legacy of leadership in the Fashion industry.
Guiding Principles
Fashion’s guiding principles of Decolonization, Inclusion, and Sustainability inform the School’s approach to teaching, research and creativity, as well as our industry and community partnerships.
Decolonization — Fashion aims to disrupt the Eurocentric and colonial perspectives and narratives underlying Western fashion education and to centre the fashion histories, worldviews, and practices of Indigenous, Black and Peoples of Colour.
Inclusion — Fashion centres the bodies and perspectives of fat, disabled, queer, trans, non-binary and otherwise marginalized students, scholars, designers and wearers and values equitable access to educational and employment opportunities in fashion.
Sustainability — Fashion reimagines a fashion system and production practices that protect environmental and human resources and promote environmental and social justice.
Accessibility — Fashion acknowledges and respects makers’ and wearers’ different and differing abilities at all stages of life. Fashion making and thinking includes the wide diversity of skills and capacities of all people.
Bachelor of Design, Fashion
Foundation courses introduce fashion systems, design literacy, fashion history and theory, and research methodsStudents also choose fashion electives with hands-on studio experiences in areas that include fashion photography, event planning, apparel design, web design, exhibition and curation, textile design, and more! Students will expand their learning through university-wide liberal studies and open electives in their chosen subject areas.
Studies will culminate in a senior project in the last year of study. The final outcome will result in a focused body of work in a chosen academic and/or creative area.
Master of Arts, Fashion
The Master of Arts in Fashion is the only graduate program of its kind in Canada. MA Fashion is an interdisciplinary program, and we encourage applicants to apply from academic backgrounds in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, design and business. Our MA Fashion program takes a critically informed approach to fashion studies by examining the broader social, cultural and economic implications of the production, promotion and consumption of fashion.
Throughout the program, students develop advanced research skills and work closely with subject matter experts to complete a written or creative Major Research Project (MRP). The MA degree is earned after the completion of coursework and the MRP.
The Creative School
Housed within the Creative School, alongside eight of Canada’s best university programs for creative and cultural industries, we are part of a rich, interdisciplinary community at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Creative School connects faculty and students across its programs to provide innovative course offerings, global learning, technical resources, research opportunities, creative projects, and community collaborations.
FASHION Canada September Issue
School of Fashion Alumni and Faculty were featured in the September 2018 issue of FASHION Magazine. Profiles and interviews covered: Ethnic Futurism, Emerging Indigenous Designers, Cultural Appropriation, and Accessible Design.
Alumni featured: Susan E. Jean, Warren Steven Scott, Curtis Oland, Justine Woods, and Sonia Prancho
Faculty featured: Dr. Ben Barry and Anna Romanovska
Warren Steven Scott (external link)
“How These Shapely Statement Earrings Celebrate Coast Salish Culture,” (external link) contemporary Indigenous designer and alumnus, Warren Steven Scott featured on Vogue Magazine. Scott’s collection bridges the Western concept of luxury fashion with his ancestral worldview on ethics, craft, and aesthetic sustainability, representing a distinct contribution to a genuine Canadian fashion.
Photo Credit: Mckenzie James
Designing For Wellness 2018
A two-day symposium by FCAD and the School of Interior Design. School of Fashion’s Design Technician, Audrey Colphon-Reynolds presented about the process of fixing the furniture versus prescribing to disposable culture. This was a collaboration with the School of Interior Design, and industry professionals. Reynolds described the collaboration as, “working together to make us all better.
Devlyn van Loon (external link)
Fashion Design graduate, Devlyn van Loon launched her eponymous label in 2016. The Devlyn van Loon line is focused on sustainability, streamlined silhouettes and modern essentials. The line is handmade in small batches in Toronto using ethical labour, sustainable fabrics and a keen eye for striking yet understated elegance. Visit Devlyn van Loon (external link, opens in new window) for more information.
Sonia Prancho
Fashion Design Alumna, Sonia Prancho’s collection UN•FORM seeks to change the form of disability aesthetics in fashion through adaptive design techniques and forward-thinking branding. UN•FORM reclaims space for the disability community by un-forming, rather than conforming to traditional body and beauty norms. Visit UN•FORM for more information on Prancho’s brand.