APFS
5112

Fashion and Sustainability

Parsons Paris: Parsons Paris

Liberal Arts
Undergraduate Course
Graduate Course
Degree Students (with Restrictions)
Fashion and Sustainability
Fall 2024
Taught By: Morna Laing
Section: PC1

CRN: 15555

Credits: 3

This course questions the interfaces between fashion, social justice and the environment. Taking the ‘anthropocene’ or ‘capitalocene’ as a starting point, we reflect on the interrelationship between humans and machines, nature and culture, biology and technology – as they pertain to fashion and textile cultures. The relationship between design and the natural environment is explored, through Donna Haraway’s idea of ‘staying with the trouble’ and her call for artists and scientists to collaborate in order to find concrete ways of surviving on a ‘damaged planet’. Sustainability is here conceived not only in relation to environmental degradation but also in social and economic terms, with questions of labour rights, oppression, and migration in the twenty-first century, explored. This discussion intersects with consideration of the global environment in terms of nationalism, fascism and progressive counter-politics. A number of responses to contemporary crises have emerged and we will study some of the forms these have taken, such as fashion manifestos, hashtag activism, craftivism as well as more conceptual or poetic interventions. The idea of utopia as ‘no-place’ provides an entry point for thinking dialectically about nostalgia and utopia, using longing for the past as a springboard for imagining the future differently. Affective environments are explored, through literature on resilience, hope and courage in the face of fashion’s futures as well as new ways of engaging with materials and the environment, such as emotionally durable design, biomimicry and virtual reality. Perspectives on temporality, rhythm, plurality and circularity are introduced as ways of progressively imagining fashion in the future. The aforementioned debates will be framed through readings from Fashion Studies, Critical Design Studies, Critical Theory, Geopolitics and Gender Studies.

College: Parsons Paris (CP)

Department: Parsons Paris (PPAR)

Campus: Paris (PC)

Course Format: Seminar (R)

Modality: In-Person

Max Enrollment: 16

Add/Drop Deadline: September 9, 2024 (Monday)

Online Withdrawal Deadline: November 17, 2024 (Sunday)

Seats Available: Yes

Status: Open*

* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 6:12pm EDT 3/28/2024

Meeting Info:
Days: Wednesday
Times: 12:30pm - 3:10pm
Building: Parsons Paris
Room: 502
Date Range: 8/28/2024 - 12/11/2024