Fashion education is future-proofing its curriculum. What does this mean for the industry?

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This is the first in a new a series analysing fashion education’s impact on the future of the industry.

As fashion students become more aware of environmental and social issues, fashion education is facing an existential question. Its response will shape the next generation, with major implications for brands in turn.

“Fashion education is the birthplace of worldviews and practices for the next generation,” says Ben Barry, dean and visiting associate professor of equity and inclusion of the fashion department at Parsons School of Design in New York. “Historically, fashion education measured its success on its ability to match the ideology of industry and prepare students for careers in the industry as it was, rather than as it should be.”

When universities train fashion professionals to be critical of the industry, this has knock-on effects for their employment prospects. “There is a lot of conflict among recent graduates about where they work and where they feel morally safe to participate,” says Zinzi de Brouwer, head of society and context and interim head of design at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (Amfi).

On top of this, tutors are aware of the debts that students often rack up during their education and feel responsible for making this worthwhile. “It would be immoral of us to churn out 140 designers each year, just to join the queue to work in oversubscribed houses,” says Sarah Gresty, BA Fashion course leader at London’s Central Saint Martins (CSM).

Changing values lead to changing aspirations. “Employee expectations are higher than ever since the pandemic,” says Gena Smith, SVP of HR and head of global executive and creative recruitment at LVMH. “Not only in terms of development and wages, but how we’re adding to their lives in a meaningful, positive way.”

At CSM, Gresty says around 30 per cent of students now describe themselves as creative practitioners rather than fashion designers, with more pursuing art and activism over traditional roles. While the allure of heritage brands remains, increasing numbers of students are forming their own collectives or brands, and building careers outside of major fashion capitals, adds CSM fashion programme director Hywel Davies. Senior lecturer Maria Nishio, who manages third year placements, says students often return from industry placements concerned about sustainability, worker wellbeing and time constraints. In response, the university tries to equip them with more resourceful and less wasteful habits, using old hotel bed sheets as calico and partnering with LVMH startup Nona Source to utilise deadstock fabric.