Design - Expanded Practice

Course Overview

Explore the social and cultural context of fashion through both theory and practice. You will combine research, debate and ethics with making to cultivate new and inclusive ways of thinking, doing and being fashion. The MA Fashion programme will enable you to: Challenge traditional boundaries and perceptions of fashion, Understanding the context that shapes fashion and in turn it-s far-reaching social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts is key to this programme. This means developing an understanding of the complexity of fashion on all levels, questioning the hierarchy and spectacle of the prevailing fashion system and imagining alternatives. We approach this through collaborative and experimental research, which enables students to develop individual and critical perspectives and the confidence to activate this knowledge in various professions across the creative industries. On graduating from the programme students will be equipped to cultivate innovative and inclusive ways of thinking, doing and being fashion. Engage in interdisciplinary learning, The programme has been designed to provide an interdisciplinary environment in which research, critical debate and ethics combine with, and inform, practice. Outcomes during the year can be writings, short films, conceptual prototypes, imagery, garments or combinations of these. These diverse outcomes will be driven by students previous studies/professions/expertise, that may be in fashion design, fine art, journalism, anthropology, textiles or another related fields. It is expected that students have the curiosity to explore both material and written forms through study and making practices. The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, field work, studio practice, excursions, workshops, seminars, collaborative and independent projects and exhibitions. Students will also take option modules in the departments of Visual Cultures, Media and Communications, ICCE (Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship) and also from other specialisms within the Design Department. Students are expected to play an active role in the studio culture, group discussions and peer review. Think and research through making, Studio practice is an integral part of the programme during which making is used as a reflective process to analyse and communicate. We wholly encourage students to be intellectually and viscerally engaged and to develop knowledge that is grounded in experience. Students are supported in gaining a clear purpose and focus in their practice and we provide guidance in creating meaningful work, whilst developing personal well-being. The studio spaces and workshops at Goldsmiths are shared with the wider MA Design community and the Department of Art creating a vibrant and dynamic space for experimentation and discussion. Students are encouraged to work with the broad range of technical equipment available at Goldsmiths and to pursue their work in a way that is uninhibited by the traditional parameters of disciplines.