Studio Art: Fashion, BFASA
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Fashion Concentration
Students in the BFASA who choose a concentration in Fashion will focus on developing their own unique apparel design process with an emphasis on sustainable practices while becoming familiar with the various aspects of the fashion industry from concept to consumer. Students will be introduced to various modes of research and ideation, gaining the tools to be able to effectively communicate and produce their two- and three-dimensional designs within the context of the history of fashion and the theoretical underpinnings that drive fashion and contemporary culture.
Introductory courses in Fashion give students an overview of the industry from customer development, design and production through manufacturing, promotion and sales. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of textiles and clothing design, and the basics of creating a fashion collection through the use of hand and digital illustration techniques. Further courses focus on the exploration of experimental design, patternmaking, and sewing skills while encouraging the development of the designer’s personal creative vision within the context of fashion history and the consumer market. Additional courses bring a greater understanding of how to enact knowledge gained in an educational setting within the fashion industry, through sustainable fashion collection development and branding. Students are given the unique opportunity to showcase their constructed ensembles and mini-collections on the runway in the Re-Fashioned fashion show presented each spring. We offer experiences in a variety of classrooms designed to support explorations in bringing two-dimensional materials to three-dimensional forms, access to computer labs, digital output technologies including 3D printers, sewing and embroidery machines, and dress forms.
Students in the School of Art and Design must complete the Campus General Education requirements. Some Art and Design courses will also apply toward the General Education requirements.
Students majoring in this degree program must complete the First Year Curriculum requirements before beginning other major requirements.
A portfolio review is required for admission to the School of Art and Design.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Fashion Concentration
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 122 hours.
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in Art and Design.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
fulfilled by ARTH 110 | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | 0-15 | |
First Year Curriculum
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FAA 101 | Arts at Illinois | 1 |
| ARTF 101 | Contemporary Issues in Art | 2 |
| ARTE 101 | Art, Design, and Society | 2 |
| ARTH 110 | Introduction to the History of Art and Visual Culture | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | Design I | 3 |
| ARTF 105 | Design II | 3 |
| Select one Drawing course: | 3 | |
| Observational Drawing | ||
| Expressive Drawing | ||
| Visualization Drawing | ||
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Art History Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 200 level and above ARTH courses | 9 | |
Fashion Concentration Requirements
Students must declare one concentration, students may not declare more than one concentration.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTS 220 | Introduction to Fashion | 3 |
| ARTS 221 | Fashion Illustration | 3 |
| ARTS 223 | Experimental Fashion | 3 |
| ARTS 320 | Fashion and Textiles Design | 3 |
| ARTS 321 | Sustainable Fashion Development and Branding | 3 |
| ARTS 420 | Making Fashion: Apparel Design in Context | 3 |
| Choose 6 hours from: | ||
| Additional 200-level ARTS courses | ||
| THEA 242 | Introduction to Costume Production | 3 |
| GWS 275 | The Politics of Fashion | 3 |
| Costume Electives from Theatre | 15 | |
| Advanced Costume Construction | ||
| Introduction to Costume Patterning and Draping | ||
| Flat Pattern Drafting | ||
| Costume Draping | ||
| Costume History I | ||
| Costume History II | ||
| Costume Crafts | ||
| Technology and Costume Crafts | ||
| Leatherworking Techniques | ||
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS courses | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 48 | |
Capstone Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTS 392 | Current Art Issues Seminar | 3 |
| ARTS 451 | BFASA Capstone Studio | 4 |
Summary of credits for Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| First-Year Curriculum | 17 | |
| Art History | 9 | |
| Concentration | 48 | |
| Capstone | 7 | |
| Electives to bring the total hours earned to 122, including a minimum of 40 credits at the 300- or 400-level. | ||
| Total Hours | 122 | |
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Fashion Concentration
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree General and Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| FAA 101 | 1 | ARTE 101 | 2 |
| ARTF 101 | 2 | ARTS 221 | 3 |
| ARTH 110 | 3 | ARTF 105 | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | 3 | Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| ARTF ### (Drawing Category) | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTS 220 | 3 | ARTS 320 | 3 |
| ARTS 223 | 3 | ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | THEA 242 or GWS 275 or additional 200-level ARTS course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTS 321 | 3 | ARTS 420 | 3 |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | ARTS 392 | 3 |
| THEA 242 or GWS 275 or additional 200-level ARTS course | 3 | Course from THEA list | 3 |
| Course from THEA list | 3 | Course from THEA list | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Course from THEA list | 3 | ARTS 451 | 4 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | Course from THEA list | 3 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | Free Elective course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Total Hours 122 | |||
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Fashion Concentration
BFASA Studio Art:
- Students will understand and be able to apply basic principles of visual and material communication, including two-dimensional pictorial concepts, three-dimensional formal and spatial concepts, and a wide variety of media and formats for artistic production, and possess the ability to apply them to a specific aesthetic intent.
- Students will demonstrate an ability and willingness to experiment and explore the expressive possibilities of various media, and artistic and creative strategies for self-directed art-making, and investigate the diverse activities and conceptual modes available to the contemporary artist, including work that directly addresses or engages with recent developments in the field of fine art as well as broader social questions and challenges. Students are trained in the production and critique of artworks that explore forms and technologies identified as new or emerging.
- Students will gain knowledge of, understand, and be able to apply concepts of visual rhetoric in the development of content, and be able to recognize and critically analyze an evolving variety of communicative practices in art and visual culture, including those that represent diverse cultures and sociopolitical positions, and to demonstrate openness to new social possibilities and a critical empathy towards both audiences and culture producers of differing histories, origins and identities.
- Students will develop an innovative, imaginative, and entrepreneurial self-directed studio practice, will gain a deep understanding of their own creativity, be able to apply it in any context, and will learn to independently generate thematic investigation and implementation of research in a broad variety of social locations, including art and educational institutions, activist forums, and cyberspace.
- Students will be willing and able to investigate and accommodate broad-ranging types of knowledge and artistic strategies for the purpose of synthesizing diverse and even disparate ideas in order to create sophisticated, unique works of art, participate in new types of collaboration, and to make innovative statements and hypotheses, or propose creative solutions to social, organizational and societal problems using aesthetic strategies.
- While pursuing a BFASA, students prepare for work as artists at a time when artists are employed in a variety of spheres: artistic direction, project management, education, research, fine art, curation, performance, non-profit work, activism, advertising, and many others. As digital medias evolve, our graduates will be flexible, able to understand the best use of emerging technologies while crafting new economic and social connections.
- Students will produce an integrated, cohesive, critically informed body of work for a thesis exhibition, supported by a written thesis document that serves to position their artistic practice within the broader sphere of contemporary art practices, exhibition strategies, audiences, and economies.
In addition, each concentration has discipline specific learning outcomes:
Fashion:
- Students in the fashion concentration will have fluency in their own personal apparel design process, including a strong working knowledge of the various modes of research, ideation, and design sketching.
- Students in the fashion concentration will be able to effectively communicate their design philosophy and personal aesthetic visually; through portfolio quality two dimensional representations of developed fashion collections and verbally; through presentations, critique response and in a post academic professional fashion industry context.
- Students in the fashion concentration will be able to communicate their design philosophy within the context of the history of fashion and the theoretical underpinnings that drive fashion and contemporary culture.
- Students in the fashion concentration will demonstrate skills appropriate for designing and researching within the fashion industry.
- Students in the fashion concentration will understand the various aspects of fashion industry, from design and production through manufacturing, promotion and sales.
- Students in the fashion concentration will be able to demonstrate construction and pattern making skills. They will have a knowledge of materiality, fibers and textiles in relationship to apparel production.
- Students in the fashion concentration will be prepared for professional careers by developing technical competency, creative/independent problem solving and conceptual understanding necessary for the challenges of a career in the creative industries.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Fashion Concentration
School of Art & Design
School of Art & Design
Art & Design Faculty
Academic Coordinator of Undergraduate Academic Affairs: Michael Foellmer
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 244-8462
Academic Coordinator of Undergraduate Academic Affairs email
College of Fine & Applied Arts
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