By CHRISTIAN ZARAGOZA
Staff Writer
Starting next year, University High School (UHS) will offer a new course called “Fashion Arts” to students interested in discovering the perspectives, ideas and history pertaining to the art of fashion.
Mrs. Judy Marquez (Visual and Performing Arts Dept.) is especially excited to begin teaching this new class. Marquez hopes that students who take the class will leave with an “understanding of the fashion cycle, awareness of career paths in the fashion industry, knowledge of the evolution of fashion throughout history and a realization of the differences between ‘couture’ and ‘ready-to-wear’ as well as the differences between the ‘fashion figure’ (what the media portrays the image of humans to be) and real people.” Students will be taught about many components of fashion and clothing, such as styles, terminology, fibers, fabric, accessories and costuming, to name a few. In addition, students will learn the art elements of fashion like line, form, color, texture, light and space, as well as art principles of balance, rhythm, harmony and interest.
Students will be able to utilize their knowledge of fashion in exciting art projects throughout the year. For example, students will design and create their own unique scarf. Another project will be to create a purse crafted from recycled material. They will also be given the opportunity to create clothes and gain experience in the art of costuming. Marquez “hopes to see that students utilize the tools and skills that they [learn] in her class to assist the theatre department in its creation of costumes for school plays and musicals.”
When informed of this new class, students’ responses have been strikingly positive. Anne Jang (Jr.) said, “I’ve always wanted to learn more about fashion but did not [always] have the time to take classes outside of school. However, since there is going to be this new addition to the arts classes, I will have an opportunity to learn more about my passion and prepare for my major, Fashion!” Jang added, “I dream of attending Parsons The New School for Design, and this class will definitely assist [in] my preparation for this college. I’m very excited!”
Another student, Ashley Kim (So.), said, “The Fashion Art class sounds super interesting… because of the class, I will be able to learn more about fashion and be able to express myself in a unique yet still fashionable manner.”
The class, which has yet to be finalized, is definitely an exciting opportunity for students who are interested in fashion.