I Declare Fashion Forward

Fashion Forward I, a junior from GCE Lab School declare my right to take “Fashion Forward” as an independent study. In this class, I will learn about the different garments certain decades offered, and how that was able to affect our Nation socially. I decided to create a independent study that can relate to today's problems in our Nation. As a 17 year old, who is a woman I have been affected by the womens fashion industry and as a woman, I want ​everyone​ to get a chance to learn about the fashion industry and how it can affect a generation and their actions so greatly. As we are experiencing movements in our Nation, such as DACA, Black Lives Matter, and the #neveragain, we can connect them to movements that also shaped our nation in the past such as the Women’s Liberation movement and the Civil Rights movement.

P1: Clothing is entirely a reflection of who you are as a human and as a student.

P2: Women’s fashion is global.

P3: Clothing is part of our daily lives.

P4: Women’s Fashion goes hand in hand with social movements.

Conclusion: I should be able to take “Fashion Forward” as an independent study.

Fashion Forward is a humanities course, where we look at how social and historical events in the United States shaped women’s fashion.

Guiding Question: Can fashion move an entire generation forward or take it backwards?

Unit 1: 1920 The Modern Era This post world war 1 fashion, was the first time women left restricting garments behind and adopted more comfortable, freeing garments. Short skirts with slits all over, fabric patterns that were unthinkable and lots of bling. For the first time in history, the womens fashion industry allowed the woman to express herself more openly, no more skirts to their ankles, and no more covering the shoulder. The very beginning of a modern era.

Unit 2: 1950 The Big Setback As men we're away during World War II, women took over the workplace, and took over the place of the man. Women’s fashion consisted of comfortable clothing like suits and shirt dresses, and even began to regularly wear pants, especially to work. Now with the men back from the war, they would also be back to their workplace. This creates chaos in the womens fashion industry in the 1947, creating the “New Look” that would later dominate the next decade.

It consisted of very mature, glamorous and very put-together dresses, skirts and undergarments. Creating a big setback in the womens fashion industry.

Unit 3: 1970 The Fashion Revolution For the first time in the Fashion Industry, we saw both male and female reflect the same insterest in fashion, both sex’s showed interest in the general silhouette the 1970’s offered.

The Civil Rights Movement encouraged other groups to grasp at their own freedoms, which consisted of self-expression through fashion. Women's Liberation loosened the structures of uncomfortable undergarments and women's wear in general. The Gay Liberation Movement led to gender bending styles which left the young generation to break gender stereotypes and lead a revolution into the new fashion eras.

Logistics: -This course will last 9 week, with three units.

-AP’s would be to design a garment that represents a social act during the decade of the unit.

-FE’s would be to the Art Institute, The SAIC Fashion Library, and Costume Design Departments of Theaters.

A advisor that I would chose for this class would be Vihanga Sontam. She went to the School of the Art Institute, and mayored in Fashion History. Vihanga has the credibility and sources that would work perfectly with “Fashion Forward”.

A freedom movement that really impacted what I wanted to teach in “Fashion Forward” was the movement that overtook social media which was #metoo. This hashtag was being used by those who were sexually assaulted, mainly used by women to show how we as a society still have changes to make. This thread started in the hollywood cinema community, as a very well known director was accused of sexual assault by many women. This inspired women from all over our nation to use the hashtag and show support.

There are three historic pieces that inspired my independent study “Fashion Forward”, the first being the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen States. In this declaration, the thirteen states declared independence of the father land (England), the crown. In this declaration, they state things that the King has done, which is essentially what “Fashion Forward” does.

Obviously not talking about the King but of the Fashion brands that really helped either move the nation’s generation forward or the ones that helped bring it back.

The second historic piece that inspired my independent study was Mexico’s fight to their independence against Spain starting in 1810 and ending in 1821. This inspired the years I

would be choosing to add in “fashion Forward”. As you see Mexico’s fight lasted 11 years, and that just let me know that a lot of stuff can happen in a decade which is why in “Fashion Forward” you study the fashion of only a decade.

The third historic piece that inspired my independent study, was the poet Phillis Wheatley.

There isn't a specific poem that spoke to me, but I really did love her story. Phillis Wheatley was an African woman who was brought to the states, but she did not do the kind of work slaves would do, she was an African woman who knew how to read, and write. She read books that even some white people couldn't, and had a way with words that left the whole Nation shook.

Her story, is just one of many women who against all odds persevered and was able to inspire others even after her death. This inspired my route in choosing women’s fashion specifically, because there are women like Phillis Wheatley that can inspire other young people to be the change they wish to see in society.