(Emma Schaible / Fourth Estate)
Students and faculty speak out about the scarcity of fashion-focused courses at Mason
BY NYLAH MITCHELL, COPY EDITOR
If you’ve ever needed to fulfill a Mason Core requirement, specifically an Arts credit, you’ve likely browsed through the list of beginner courses covering everything from art history to level-one acting.
With over 105 courses offered, fewer than three feature a section on fashion, let alone fashion design. The problem isn’t limited to Mason Core; the lack of lectures is a broader issue within Mason’s entire course catalog.
In Spring 2025, only two courses included keywords such as “fashion,” “garment,” “textile” and “costume”— one being a French course on food, fashion and finance; the other, a theater class on costume technology.
The previous semester offered just a single course, a theater class on costume design taught every fall. For next semester, Fall 2025, four courses will touch on garment production, ranging from costume design to the textile industry in Italy.
“If there was a fashion elective, I would have taken it, no hesitation! The STEM program has an art requirement, but I feel that lots of students do not understand what [easy classes] to take due to their rigorous workload,” said sophomore Jessica Lebrun, a forensic science major with a concentration in biology.
While Mason is gradually expanding its fashion course offerings, many require completed prerequisites before registering, such as understanding French and taking theater fundamentals. Added to this, many courses don’t focus on fashion itself, but rather a short unit during the course semester.
“We don’t have any fashion-led courses here. That’s the ultimate deal breaker at the end of the day,” said freshman and fashion designer Aniya Coffey. “So for us, [fashion designers], the only thing we have is The MIX when it’s open and closing at eight [p.m.].”
The MIX, a Makerspace, in Horizon Hall, is designed for collaborative and innovative projects. Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., it hosts workshops like the ‘Introduction to Sewing Works’ and ‘Embroidery.’
“While The MIX provides access to these tools, it doesn’t offer enough direct instruction for students who want to continue learning more about a specific area to develop their skills.
“The university offers some creative courses, [but] there isn’t a program that focuses specifically on fashion design or textile arts. Students interested in these areas often have to look outside the school for resources,” said junior Gabrielle Pamor, majoring in psychology and who wrote a piece on The MIX.
Beyond The MIX, Mason students’ only exposure to fashion design is through student organizations. Clubs like GMU Fashion Society, Garment District and Reign Model Troupe are among the few providing a creative space for fashion-interested students.
“I think Mason is missing some advertising sense to [promoting] clubs …where many individuals take time to create outfits, photoshoot ideas, find locations, etc,” said Lebrun.
Above all, courses are what drive students to gain skills outside of their degree. The fundamentals, set by professors, determine the course’s worthiness and significance to students, regardless of their major.
“We’re dealing with students who come from different levels of experience…It’s trying to present these techniques, whether they’re actual sewing or design techniques, and in such a way that they’re able to master and grow on it because my whole thought is if it’s not sustainable, then it doesn’t matter,” said Professor Dorothy Driggers, teaching sustainable costume design at Georgetown University.
Courses like design history explore production,theory and economic influence to help students “understand and navigate the complex world today,” according to Professor Lisa Lipinski, teaching history of design at George Washington University.
The trumaker of understanding fashion, surpassing design, is about learning everything besides the art itself, said Sally Singer. For example, the Mason course “Introduction to Architecture,” taught by Professor Lisa Bauman, is about understanding the skill of “problem-solving.”
“That sort of user experience design is something that [students] think about when designing everything,” said Professor Bauman. “So when they take an architecture class, they’re [focused] on satisfying these engineering principles, but also [thinking about] rounding the edges.”
Or, take the intersectionality of law and fashion. “What was once considered a frivolous field now stands at the forefront of key economic and societal issues — including intellectual property, global trade, environmental sustainability,” said Professor Kenya Wiley, who teaches fashion law and social justice at Georgetown University.
To professors, it’s more than a course. And to students, it’s more than a requirement. Fashion design courses serve as bridges— connecting student interest with faculty expertise to develop skills that carry into life after graduation. Whether it’s upcycling clothes, gaining a global perspective, or, as Professor Driggers put it, learning to “start with nothing, and ending with something.”
Students interested in exploring fashion-related courses outside of Mason should consult their college advisor about the Washington Consortium program.
Fourth Estate contacted Mason’s Director of Art Zoë Charlton for comment and has not received a response at the time of publishing
