This semester I had the opportunity to teach a continuing education course for Tufts Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. I have two more classes to go until the end. The class is called The Architecture of Fashion. Here is my description:
Initially the study of dress or fashion is met with apprehension. Dress is considered too ornamental, having no real purpose other than to satisfy vanities. However, upon closer inspection, dress is deep surface. Dress lends a hand in creating physical, philosophical and social boundaries, all of which must be negotiated on a daily basis. In this course we will explore the nature and philosophies of clothing via an architectural lens, looking deeply into their parallels. We will begin by exploring the foundations of materials and shape and how ultimately these configurations contribute to our overall sense of identity and place.
This has been my first time teaching, and I almost feel sorry for my students as I personally feel so green! Every week I have a bit of anxiety planning for my upcoming class. I am happy that I may get the chance to teach the class again in the Spring. I think it will be much better and more fun since I have already laid down a lot of the foundational work, ie comprehensive lecture notes, slides, etc. I also have a better sense of who my students are and what they are looking for in the class. I definitely wont be requiring them to read the entirety of Mark Wrigley’s White Walls Designer Dresses, and I may reconsider the Heidegger piece on dwelling. I think both these readings are excellent, but I think my students prefer contextual historical information to theoretical and philosophical information. I personally love theory but I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.
One thing my students love is the documentaries I show and my slides. I feel somewhat conflicted over documentaries. On the one hand they are great and really show more insight into the fashion designer or architect than perhaps I can, on the other hand I don’t want to just rely on the documentaries to do my teaching for me. I really liked this little short doc on LeCorbusier. It was just what I needed. We were doing a lot of reading about him and this film really summed up his philosophies nicely and was only 26 minutes. I do wish there were more docs on fashion designers though. So far I have showed Yves St. Laurent: His Life and Times, which is fabulous. And Notebook on Cities and Clothes, which is about Yohji Yamamoto, which is very good, although Wim Wendell, the director, is a little self-indulgent when it comes to the way it was shot. I know there is a doc on Issac Mizarhi and I caught a little bit of it on cable, but I really didn’t like it. I am excited about the new one on Karl Lagerfeld. Hopefully it will be on DVD soon, or show in Boston.
