Search UC Davis

Volume 24 · Number 3 · Spring 2007

Fashion Forward

By Teri Bachman

From fashion design to product development and marketing to industry oversight, UC Davis is preparing students to make a difference in what we wear.

It's the beginning of the winter quarter, and 28 students sit in a Walker Hall classroom, sharing their plans for their "Signature Collections"-a line of clothing that will be the culmination of their fashion design studies. Today the collections are still just pencil sketches, ideas inspired by a swatch of fabric or a favorite color, maybe the love of the beach or an ability to paint, a dedication to a political cause or environmental concern. But in just 10 short weeks the creations will go from idea to reality, modeled at shows on campus and in San Francisco — on runways that, for many of these students, will launch a career.

But they aren't the only ones hoping to work in the fashion world. Elsewhere on campus, students are studying to enter the apparel industry in product development or marketing, to work in the fashion media or nonprofit watchdog groups or serve as scientists in textile laboratories.

Davis is far from the fashion Meccas of New York, Paris and London. It is, however, centered in the state with the country's largest fashion production and distribution industry. Moreover, UC Davis has something special to offer: multiple majors in textiles and fashion that provide students with a broad liberal arts education, while preparing them in practical ways to work in the real world. Nothing comparable is found at any other UC campus or fashion institute.

For students wanting to create fashions, UC Davis' Fashion and Textile Design program provides a thorough grounding in the basic skills, from drafting and computer-aided design to fashion illustration and sewing techniques, but also teaches students the underlying principles of design.

"And that is really unique," says Susan Taber Avila, associate professor of design and 1996 M.F.A. alumna. "At fashion schools you learn technical skills; you rarely learn about ideation, design concepts or historical precedents. You mainly learn how to make clothes.

"Our students end up with a more analytical approach. That helps them think through problems and develop ideas and create solutions."

In addition, the program has a focus on global traditions and an interest in sustainability and new technologies that are seldom found elsewhere. And with funding from the campus and industry, the program now boasts an industry-caliber computer lab with cutting-edge design software and equipment, including a textile inkjet plotter that allows students to directly translate their textile designs from computer to fabric.

UC Davis' Division of Textiles and Clothing provides similar breadth for students interested in the physical science or social science aspects of the industry. Here, too, a liberal arts approach is combined with practical exposure through internships and connections with the industry.

"We analyze fashion and textiles from many different standpoints: physical, social and cultural," says Susan Kaiser, professor of textiles and clothing. "That is our strength. The breadth of the approach provides students with a sustaining degree and a well-rounded, solid background that enables them to move freely in a variety of directions in the future."

Students learn about material properties, consumer psychology, marketing and economics, international trade, cultural issues such as the interplay of fashion with gender, race, class and age, and societal concerns like sweatshops and body image.

"We are trying to get students to think critically, developing ways of connecting production with consumption. These connections range from fabric and garment quality to the aesthetics of fashion in concert with labor, environmental and ethical issues."

Strengthening the connections among production, consumption and social responsibility, Kaiser and Women and Gender Studies Professor Leslie Rabine received a UC Davis Presidential Chair award in 2003, allowing them to expand the ties between the textiles and clothing program and women and gender studies. They have used the award to create joint curriculum and research projects and to bring a student-led conference to campus now for the second time. The first conference in 2005, "Undressing Fashion," attracted international participants to explore such issues as global trade and production, mass-media images and consumer ethics. For information about this year's conference, see the box on the next page.

In a further validation of UC Davis' program, the campus was invited to join the National Textile Center — a university research consortium supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce to help revitalize the national textile and apparel industries. As a result of this support, students have collaborated with faculty on research in areas such as nano-fibers, protective textiles and clothing, sensory science and changing masculine appearance styles.

With the growth in reputation of the textiles and fashion programs has come an increase in student interest. Enrollment in the textiles and clothing major has more than tripled since 1998, from 26 to 89 students. The fashion design program has gone from 30 students two years ago to 45 today. It's a result, Kaiser believes, of both the local "buzz" about the programs and the country's current fascination with fashion and technology. With the big screen's The Devil Wears Prada; TV's reality show Project Runway, hit sitcom Ugly Betty and the Style Network; and the Web's Fashion Net, everyone seems to be concerned about what we're wearing.

And that's not as silly as it sounds. "Fashion is a necessity," notes Avila. "People wear clothes on a daily basis." Her goal is to teach students to make clothing that is aesthetically interesting, practical and doesn't harm the environment. Whether promoting those principles of good design or exploring the global human rights issues that the industry presents, fashion is indeed a serious business. "Fashion," she says, "is not frivolous."

---

Teri Bachman is editor of UC Davis Magazine and welcomes some lessons in fashion.

| Last updated: March 13, 2007

Copyright © The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. All Rights Reserved.