“Fashion has been sidelined and denigrated as a serious object of study for far too long,” says Dr. Alison Matthews David, Assistant Professor at the School of Fashion at Ryerson University. “Popular debates over it are highly polarized: we either love fashion, celebrating it uncritically, or we hate it, criticizing it as frivolous, feminine, and irrational. It is in fact a highly-rationalized, multi-faceted, multi-billion dollar industry that touches the lives of everyone who gets dressed in the morning.”

It is this bias which ‘Convergence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Fashion,’ a graduate student symposium hosted by the Research Committee of Ryerson’s School of Fashion, seeks to correct. On Saturday, November 5, graduate students with backgrounds in fashion design, art history, psychology, photography, philosophy, fine arts and journalism will present on a wide diversity of topics, from Pre-Raphaelites and ballerinas to globalization and guerilla marketing.

The interdisciplinary nature of the symposium reflects the mosaic nature of fashion studies. “It is still becoming established as its own field,” David explains, “which means that graduate students interested in fashion are largely trained in other disciplines. But these diverse backgrounds bring a lot of different perspectives to our discussion.”

While David thinks we’re getting better at unabashedly discussing fashion, she still meets people who have trouble understanding what she does. “I often get a surprised reaction from people when I say I’m a fashion historian and theorist. They immediately ask if I sew. I tell them that I’m the ‘intellectual nerd of the fashion world’ and try to present a critical perspective on fashion.”

While studying art history at Stanford University, David began researching the history of tailoring (which became the topic of her PhD) and has “never looked back.” Her work has focused on gender, social class, and material culture in 19th century France and Britain, but she says she likes to pick topics from all over. Last year, she co-wrote a chapter with colleague Dr. Kimberley Wahl about clothing in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. “We were fascinated with the fact that fashion plays such a prominent role in transforming Anne from an ugly ducking to a beautiful, aesthetically-attuned and accomplished young lady.”

David was recently awarded a grant by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to continue to examine the dangers of fashion. “Corsets and heels cause mechanical harm to the body but fashion has also killed people through chemical contamination, accidental entanglement and fire, and the transmission of contagious disease through second-hand or contaminated clothing…

“I’m writing about mercury poisoning and ‘mad’ hatters, arsenic-containing green dyes during the Victorian period, and tulle and gauze skirts which present fire hazards for the wearer. I have been researching a ballerina whose tutu caught on fire at the Paris Opera,” says David.

Technology has solved some problems but created others, such as carcinogenic chemicals used by the garment industry. “The problem has not gone away and the problems the fashion industry and rampant consumerism still create are far from frivolous, unfortunately.”

David hopes the symposium will encourage students interested in fashion to pursue what inspires them and become “fashion nerds.”

‘Convergence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Fashion,’ will open to the public, free of charge, in Kerr Hall South at Ryerson University on Saturday, November 5th at 9 a.m.

Click here for the list of presentation topics.

text by Max Mosher
image source unknown

When I lived in residence last year, there were a few permanent fixtures in our floor’s common-room: a sewing tool-box, a ruler, stray threads, and a frazzled first-year fashion student. She wasn’t frazzled because she was a slacker and rushing to catch up. She was frazzled because she had a pattern for a dress due the same day as three other hefty projects.

This year - my friend’s second year in the program - she’ll see a model walk down a runway wearing one of her creations. Finally.

In the school’s annual 2nd and 3rd year fashion show, students in Ryerson’s Fashion Design program will show off their final projects of the year: women’s evening-wear and menswear.

Serpentinata: Get Twisted will showcase the work of emerging Toronto designers, and Jessica Biffi - former Ryerson Fashion Design student and runner-up in Season 2 of Project Runway Canada - is just one of several anticipated industry attendees.

On Friday, April 9, 2010, Ryerson University Fashion Design students are getting twisted - and not just because they’ve worked ridiculously hard for the past 7 months and deserve a break. The show promises “a surreal glimpse at the work of these student designers as they enter the Toronto fashion industry,” according to Alex Fox, a fashion student who is overseeing the show’s production.

- Stephanie Fereiro

There’s a certain glamorous aspect to being at a fashion show –- any sort of fashion show. As long as there’s pulsating music and the flash of the photographer’s cameras, I’m sure you could parade a line of models down the runway wearing nothing but cardboard boxes and it’ll still have the feel and excitement of Parisian haute couture. So I was excited when I found out I was going to the Ryerson School of Fashion show at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week (and no, I am pleased to report that none of the designers used cardboard). I attended the show with Worn Crush, Norwegian Wood’s Angie Johnson (who was recently recognized for her fringe necklaces in this weekend’s National Post), and my old friend, Erica, who, in her own words, “likes fashion, but doesn’t really follow it.” It was interesting to attend an event with two women of very different fashion industry perspectives (although I can safely say we were all equally fawning over the Barbie exhibit taking place just outside the show – Holly Golightly Barbie, anyone?)
from other projects in order to create a new piece.

The show consisted of six former students who graduated from Ryerson’s School of Fashion 2008 program: Kat Marks, David Chou, Dayna Phillips, Sara Duke, Heidi Ackerman and Sidney Holloway. I had no idea on what to expect for the runway. Considering how my own DIY capabilities extend about as far as stringing painted macaroni together and calling it a necklace, it’s always inspiring seeing people my age turning out much more complex visions.

The first designer, Kat Marks, was by far the most experimental. She seemed to draw her inspirations from other avant-garde designers: her thermoplastic back braces extended into exaggerated hips (very Balenciaga-esque), and the over-the-top ornaments on the shoulders (ranging from gilded wings to black padding so heavy that the models had to prop them up as they walked) was reminiscent of the Comme des Garçons Fall 2008 show. In contrast, David Chou took a much more minimalistic approach to his collection (which was Erica’s favourite because “it was the most wearable”). While his silhouettes were simple, his charm lay in the subtle detailing: sleek blazers with layered lapels, pencil skirts with ruched pockets and darting on the back of the hem, and slim trousers with a bit of frill going down the back edges.

Heidi Ackerman had designed a set chunky knit sweaters in warm colours like orange, deep purple and cream. Angie observed that “it’s nice to see a Canadian designer recognising our cold weather and doing something creative with knitting.” Although I agreed, the practicality of one particular sweater dress lacking arm holes — modeled by a girl who seemed terrified of the possibility that she might trip — was definitely up for debate.

The show ended on a fun note, with a collection that can only be described as “snazzy.” Pillbox hats covered in sequins with huge bows and veils, a fur vest that seemed to be dipped in glitter, lots of little black dresses with bedazzled sashes and a white gown with fur stole and a train on the end; it was a bit ironic then, when the designer Sidney Holloway (who participated in the Fur Council of Canada’s fur mentorship program) came out in an Iron Maiden t-shirt and a Harley Davidson cap.

Overall I was left impressed with the show. Each designer already seemed to have a distinct style and technique that it was easy to forget they only just graduated fashion school. There was enough variety between the designers that Erica, Angie and I, three women with different tastes, all walked away liking elements of the show, something that doesn’t happen often (except for of course that Audrey Hepburn doll). It was refreshing to see an eclectic mix of clothes showing in our own city.

text by Anna Fitzpatrick, photography by Sidney Halloway, outfit by Lexi McKenna