Politics and country status are strong influencers on fashion; not only does each society have its own ‘appropriate dress’, but fashion has also been used to maintain or create social power. Consisting of six lessons designed for students at second year undergraduate level and above, this unit explores how politics and social power have influenced fashion across various global contexts, and examines political influencers such as colonization and socialism.

Men’s fashion styles are influenced by, and have inspired, global culture. The global shifts in the diversified and multicultural men’s fashion markets have created questions about what is masculine, and what is appropriate attire for a man to wear. Consisting of four lessons designed for students at first year undergraduate level and above, this unit presents an introduction to men’s fashion from the 1700s to the present day.

Fashion magazines are frequently referred to as the taste makers or “opinion leaders” in the field of fashion. The visual representations of fashion in the media contribute to the fashioning of gender identities. Consisting of five lessons intended for first or second year undergraduate students, this unit evaluates the construction of gender difference in the fashion media, in addition to: fashion photography; femininities and masculinities within fashion magazines; and fashion blogs, gender, and the gaze.

Creating the tailored designs of Western clothing required the specific cutting of fabric to fit the shape of the body. During the 19th Century, guides were created and the paper pattern evolved. Consisting of six lessons designed for first and second year undergraduate students, this unit explores the paper pattern industry from its earliest emergences to today, placing focus on periodicals, technological developments, and how the industry fared in periods of economic difficulty.

Fashion can be used to affirm and subvert gender stereotypes. Gendered selves are fashioned in dialogue with visual culture, consumer culture, and fashion history. Consisting of ten lessons designed for second or third year undergraduate students, this unit evaluates the role fashion has played in the construction of gendered identities by focusing on theoretical approaches, such as performativity, myth, the gaze, symbolic resistance, technologies of the self, and gender parody.

Dress is an assemblage of supplements and modifications to the body, behaviours, or acts. It communicates information about individuals to others, such as their place within society. Consisting of six lessons designed for students at first year undergraduate level and above, this unit examines the relationship of dress with culture and society, and the meaning of dress across locations and time periods.

Dress can constitute as art. Taken together, art, identity, performance, and fashion create a pattern of expression of the human condition. For this reason, dress is also frequently utilised within the arts to communicate character. Constituting of four modules designed for students at first year undergraduate level and above, this unit explores how dress and art interact globally and includes how costume represents character in the visual arts.

It is vital for students of both historical and contemporary fashion to be able to identify an era through clothing and to place dress within context. Consisting of ten modules, this unit encourages the use of selected images and texts to create an overview of the significant cultural and political events and attitudes that contributed to the changing shape of clothing throughout the 19th Century across Europe and the USA.

The massive social, technological, and industrial changes that defined 19th-century England under Queen Victoria were reflected in the century’s changing fashions. Consisting of eight lessons designed for first or second year undergraduate students, this unit explores these changing fashions alongside the sociocultural context that both shaped sartorial trends and were shaped by them. Lessons follow both themes and decades within the era, such as the corset, menswear, and weddings.

In recent years there has been an ever-increasing drive for fashion to become sustainable; the popularity of ethical methods of production, the vintage fashion show, slow fashion, and upcycling, has likewise increased in response. Consisting of five lessons designed for second year undergraduate students and above, this unit explains the various definitions of sustainability within the fashion industry. Ecological issues, second-hand clothing, the retail market, and apparel design are explored.

The Fashion Museum is a fairly recent phenomenon. Founded in 1969, the Museum at FIT contains over 50,000 international dress objects from the 18th Century to the present day and has a program of critically acclaimed fashion exhibitions. Consisting of three lessons designed for first and second year undergraduate students, this unit introduces museum and curatorial studies for students of fashion by examining the Museum at FIT.

Dress is a visible symbol of subcultural affiliation and allows the wearer to make strong statements about standards of beauty, gender, sexuality, social mores, and values. The study of subcultural dress is valuable in gaining an understanding of how alternative lifestyles develop. Consisting of ten lessons designed for upper-level undergraduates or graduate students, this unit evaluates the social relevance of subcultural dress by examining its aesthetics, impact, interpretations, and evolution.