Nobody can deny the impact of fashion on our everyday lives. It helps us express ourselves. It makes us look the part. Luckily, we have a need for embellishing things. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be nice shoes, fancy sweaters, or appropriate accessories.
In a multi-billion dollar industry, fashion education is becoming an important thing. All those supermodels wear creations of people who use their imagination to create their wardrobes.
Designers are artists of sorts, like Picasso or Andy Warhol. They embed visions of colors or patterns into their creations, forming undeniable works of art. It takes effort and a creative mind to achieve such results. That’s why education in the fashion department can’t be all routine or technical in nature. Creating personal items requires a different process than chopping blocks of wood or welding twisted metal.
The Importance of Student Creativity
Many recent studies emphasize the importance of playfulness in learning. Expressing self or engaging in a free debate proves useful for understanding certain concepts. Art schools or drama studies encourage every student to achieve his full potential by using his imagination. Unsurprisingly, fashion designer education is no different.
Teaching or Preaching
Getting into any debate about education is like jumping into a pool of hot lava. Everybody has an opinion. Professors emphasize classical teaching techniques, while students prefer debate, free personal essays, or a more creative approach. It’s more freedom vs. the good old carrot and stick system. Maybe pupils have a point if exploring narrative examples and topic ideas for research paper is the issue at hand. Otherwise, our academic community would disagree. But it is fair to say that not many colleges support fashion studies as a part of their usual curriculum.
That’s why young graduates in this department have a dilemma. Adopting previous creeds, styles, and trends or developing their own. While expressing personal narrative is welcomed in fashion, just as in writing, it is often met with criticism or prejudice. Most talented designers must fight for their vision or standpoint. Trending isn’t so easy nowadays. So many talented people are given a space to freely express their ideas. After all, fashion is all about spontaneity and creative freedom. Every student need to be allowed to experiment and not be confined by norms of mediocrity.
A Student And A Gentleman
The suit doesn’t make a man. It’s what is inside that counts. But the wardrobe is a reflection of each individual that signals to other people what you are all about. It helps us pass the vibe check. Those who design good suits know what’s inside the mind of all who wear their suits. That is how they set fashion trends. Notable creators understand the following:
- Cultural differences and traditions
- Social or economic disparities
- Needs and desires that shape our actions
- Ever-changing tastes or preferences
All of this is embedded in the fabrics of your clothes, shoes, and winter sweaters. Most times, creativity in fashion requires knowledge of people. That is why each designer is above all a student of humans. He is a free spirit who embraces people in all their beauty and diversity. Otherwise, a creative mind cannot create. Denying such an approach is devastating for creativity in education everywhere. Certain steps should be taken to ensure creativity is encouraged and fostered in young students.
Designer’s Career Goals
While most universities promote intensive cramming, fashion schools should reject such an approach. Future Armani or Calvin Klein need to learn things differently through experimenting, breaking the rules or patterns, and making unpredictable choices. Change is the name of the game. If it’s not fresh, new, or exciting, it isn’t fashion anymore.
Fashion Designer Dream
We live in a cancel culture where one must be brave to differ from the majority. They are quick to judge. On the catwalk, everything seems flashy, glittery, and glamorous. But there’s a lot going on backstage. Every designer needs to learn this early on in his career. The prevailing narrative of every show carries a theme or an idea. The designer’s idea is like his personal seal. He puts his reputation on the line every time. Such an individual cannot be driven by a routine. He needs constant stimulus, inspiration, and a challenge. His education should provide all these necessary ingredients.
Transforming Fashion Education
If a classroom is not a stimulating environment, perhaps a live show could inspire eager young minds. People who design clothes do not learn equations or trigonometry. They learn about fabrics, color theory, or art movements that shaped modern culture. Embracing all mentioned aspects is essential for their development as young artists of the garment world. Teachers have to try these techniques for boosting student creativity during studies:
- Visit galleries and ethnographic museums
- Visualizing alternate history clothing
- Using strange materials like plastic or cardboard
- Practicing meditation in the classroom
The idea of creativity in education isn’t something new or groundbreaking. It’s just too often used as an empty phrase. Fashion education doesn’t allow such mistakes. We need more creative young designers. We need schools that encourage such an approach. Hopefully, as a result, this global industry will experience an influx of incredibly talented people. Pupils who didn’t play by anyone’s rules. Pioneers who dared to be different. Outcasts and rebels. Artists who tailor a suit and tell a story with every stitch. A story about people and their lives embedded in the fabric of our everyday attire.
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