Artwear

Catalog description

This course will examine the overlaps between art, fashion, and theater as well as the way garments become activated. Students will consider what their roles are beyond consumers, as makers and wearers. This is a studio-based course that will introduce students to different ways of repurposing and reusing textiles found in the home through mending, dyeing techniques, sewing, and patternmaking. No prior experience in sewing is needed. There will be a strong emphasis on using non-traditional materials. Each method will be introduced through demonstrations and reinforced through assignments which include making a soft sculpture to wear, recreating an object/garment from a movie, making a costume that also functions as a set for one person, and creating an expandable piece. The class will cover different themes: storytelling, soft sculpture, color, activism and live performance. Lectures will introduce the work of artists and designers: Lee Bul, Leigh Bowery, Alexander Mcqueen, Franz Erhard Walther, Pat Olezko, Iris Van Herpen, The Cockettes, Piero Gilardi, and others who incorporate materiality and costume making as a way of expressing their creativity and ideals. Reading and viewings will be supplemented with updates on current designers collections and innovations in the field. Group critiques will function as a design laboratory, a place to share with their colleagues and get feedback for future pieces.