Fashion Design

Creating fashion means becoming involved and assuming responsibility for the shaping of the present and the future.

The Institute of Fashion Design regards fashion as a medium through which meaningful visions of human coexistence are formulated and advanced. With its leitmotif “Doing Fashion”, the Institute has chosen a progressive approach in the sense that it endeavours to radically change the way we make and use clothes. Such a focus implies questioning normative body images, developing new forms of body awareness, and articulating a relevant, pioneering vision of fashion. Owing to its charisma as a dynamic training facility, the Institute of Fashion Design is itself part of the contemporary fashion practice. Its experimental formats, which have repeatedly attracted international attention, aim to go beyond the conventional concept of fashion design.

Hence, producing conventional collections does not top the list at the Institute of Fashion Design. Rather, students rely on professional guidance to develop a holistic understanding of design which ranges from creating an innovative sketch, to choosing the right material and the distinctive look to go with it, to staging their work in a live performance. The Institute of Fashion Design offers a Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Product and Industrial Design with a focus on Fashion Design, and, in collaboration with the Institute Integrative Design | Masterstudio, the opportunity to attain a specialized MA degree in Studio Fashion Design.