Industry and Academia

Abstract

Around the world, fashion design programs are reexamining their long-held academic philosophies in order to respond to several circumstances. These included a highly
accelerated and globalized industry, the industry’s demand for new graduate attributes, and
an evolving student generation. Fashion design education is attempting to address these
challenges by placing greater emphasis on “design thinking” and conceptual processes that
will produce designers who can understand broader global contexts, innovate fashion design, and rethink business systems. These changes are leading the fields of Academia and
Industry to question the future role of the fashion designer. As a leader in art and design
education, Parsons the New School for Design in New York City is questioning the future
of the fashion designer and the fashion industry through ongoing conversations and evolving academic philosophies. It is in this environment of the changing academic landscape in
both Fashion Academia and Industry, and the importance of discussing fashion in broader
contexts, that this journal is presented. The Parsons contributors represent each of the five
Schools and were asked to contribute papers through their own unique discipline’s lens. The
papers are rich in fashion context and include areas of business and entrepreneurship, history, student development, architecture, craft, pedagogy, and, of course, fashion education.