Fashion Studies
Explore a diverse range of perspectives on the critical interpretation and practice of fashion through this cross-school undergraduate minor. Courses support a wide range of students: from those with an enthusiasm for fashion to those seeking careers in the fashion industry and further studies through programs like NYU Steinhardt’s Costume Studies MA.
Degree Details
Official Degree Title
Minor, Fashion Studies
Format
Full-time or Part-time
Credits
16
What You'll Learn
The 16-credit, 4-course Fashion Studies minor provides a versatile pathway into the field of fashion. You’ll become fluent in the terminology, history, and theoretical frameworks necessary to understand fashion as a cultural force. After completing two core courses, tailor the minor to your educational and professional goals through electives in curation, fashion politics, brand development, and more.
Spanning five of NYU’s global campuses and study away sites, this interdisciplinary minor situates fashion in an international context. Whether you are curious about fashion, want to work in design and marketing, or hope to pursue graduate research in fashion or textile studies, Fashion Studies provides a strong analytical and practical foundation for your next steps
For further information on the Fashion Studies minor, please contact artadvising@nyu.edu.
-
Core Courses
Core courses for the minor are typically offered in both fall and spring. ARCS-UE 1088 is additionally offered as a summer course.
ARCS-UE 1088 Fashion in Context, 4 credits
Why do fashion designers and brands exert such influence in contemporary society? What explains the trajectory from The House of Worth to Chanel to this season’s hottest label? This course investigates the interlocking forces shaping fashion: the designer system, celebrities, technology, politics, the arts and media. Through lectures and film viewings, readings, discussions, and individual research, students explore fashion as a crucial aspect of culture with an emphasis on how the contemporary fashion system evolved from its roots in Parisian couture to become a global phenomenon.ARCS-UE 1098 How to (analyze) Fashion, 4 credits
This course is a how-to manual for students who are interested in fashion, but don’t know how to explore it. It offers a toolbox of theoretical concepts, interdisciplinary scholarship, and historical and contemporary case studies. Students learn to ask questions like: How is taste mapped onto bodies in social space? Who works in fashion, and how is this work classified? How do images and clothes (both new and old) circulate around the globe? What does the science of sustainability look like? And, where is the body in fashion’s new digital imaginaries?Electives
Steinhardt
ARCS-UE 1020 History of Fashion Photography, 4 credits
ARCS-UE 1099 Paris to New York: 19th Century Fashion, 4 credits
ART-UE 1421 Design Studio for Non-Majors: Wearable Design, 4 credits
OT-GE 2900 Developing Assistive Technologies (Steinhardt course code, cross-listed at Tandon as DM-GY 7053 and Tisch as ITPG-GT 2446)
Gallatin (NYC)
ARTS-UG-1437 Fashion as Art: Contemporary Collaborations
IDSEM-UG 1563 Women’s Text(iles)
IDSEM-UG 1956 Fashion and Socialism: The Politics of Dress in the Cold War Era
IDSEM-UG 1618 Media and Fashion
IDSEM-UG 2282 Fashion and Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (new course, offered Fall 2025)
PRACT-UG 1301 Practicum in Fashion Business
PRACT-UG 1350 Advanced Practicum in Fashion BusinessGlobal Programs
IDSEM-UG 9051 West African Fashion: Concepts, History, and Utility (Gallatin, NYU Accra)
IDSEM-UG 9200 History of Italian Fashion (Gallatin, NYU Florence)
IDSEM-UG 9252 History of British Fashion (Gallatin, NYU London)
IDSEM-UG 9254 Fashion, Culture & The Body (Gallatin, NYU London)
PRACT-UG 9200 Global Fashion Industry: Italy (Gallatin, NYU Florence)
PRACT-UG 9250 Global Fashion Industry: Britain (Gallatin, NYU London)
REMU-UT 1189 The Sound of Fashion: Music’s Influence on the Iconic Fashion Brands (Tisch Recorded Music, NYU Berlin, launching Fall 2025)
MCC-UE 1345 Fashion and Power (Steinhardt, NYU Paris)
IPHTI-UT 1133 Introduction to Fashion Photography (TSOA, Florence; Spring only)
IFMP 5 Luxury Aesthetics (Gallatin/IFM Institut Français de la Mode, Paris; Spring only)
B2S1 Fashion Branding (Gallatin/IFM Institut Français de la Mode, Paris; Spring only)
B2S2 Introduction to the World of Retail (Gallatin/IFM Institut Français de la Mode, Paris; Spring only)NYU Shanghai
IMBX-SHU 262 Global Beauty Industry
IMBX-SHU 263 Fashion Industry in East Asia
INTM-SHU 185 Interactive Fashion
EAP-SHU 100N English for Academic Purposes: Fashion ConsciousnessCollege of Arts and Sciences
SCA-UA 253 Couture/Culture: Fashion and Globalization
ITAL-UA 410 La Bella Figura: Self and National Identity in Italian FashionStern
MULT-UB 104 Experiential Learning Seminar: Fashion Industry: Creativity & Business
MKTG-UB 89 Retail Management & MerchandisingTisch
IMNY-UT 260 001 Introduction to Wearables
Department of
Art and Art Professions
Barney Building
34 Stuyvesant Street, New York, NY 10003
212-998-5700
nyuart@nyu.edu