Fashion Department, SAIC

Fashion Department, SAIC This is the Department of Fashion Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's page. Stay tuned for updates and student highlights!

The Department of Fashion Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago offers a BFA in Fashion, Post-Baccalaureat Certificate in Fashion, Body, and Garment, and a Master of Design in Fashion, Body, and Garment. In addition to our core design and construction classes, we also offer several elective courses in Millinery (hat making), Accessory Design, Footwear Design (shoe making), Fashion I

llustration, Computer Imaging for Fashion Design, Costume Design, Knitwear, and Shape and Theory (an abstract look at garments and body). The Department of Fashion Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is proud to have educated fashion designers and artists who have blazed their own trails or work for some of the industry’s top names. SAIC alumni hold senior design positions in firms as varied as:

Yeohlee
Jones New York
Levis
Nike
Charles Chang Lima
Tommy Hilfiger

Our students also design for:

Anna Sui
Calvin Klein
Tiffani Kim
Betsey Johnson
Triple5Soul
Moschino
Marc Jacobs

Upon graduating, many have chosen internships for international houses such as:

Viktor & Rolf
Alexander McQueen
Wendy & Jim
Castelbajac
Zac Posen
Threeasfour
William Ivey Long
Vivian Westwood
Givenchy

The success of the program and its interdisciplinary approach is reflected in a list of alumni that includes such notable designers as:

Matthew Ames
Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters of Creatures of the Wind
Abigail Glaum-Lathbury
Gary Graham
Halston
Eunwha Kim
Maria Pinto
J. Morgan Puett
Cynthia Rowley
Lawrence Steele

For more information about our classes, class descriptions, and award winning faculty please visit our website at
http://www.saic.edu/academics/departments/fash

Join us on May 1 for the annual runway presentation featuring the Senior Capstone collections of SAIC’s Fashion Design s...
04/15/2026

Join us on May 1 for the annual runway presentation featuring the Senior Capstone collections of SAIC’s Fashion Design students. Offering two showtimes— the matinee show and 4pm and the evening show at 7pm.

This year’s showcase, In Media Res, draws inspiration from the literary device of starting a story in the middle of the action. Rather than a traditional introduction, the runway presents the senior Capstone collections as an ongoing dialogue—where months of work meet a singular, transformative moment. The runway show will take place at 167 N Green St. in Fulton Market.

Don’t miss out— links for both shows in bio!

Un / Form explores identity hybridization by deconstructing occupational uniforms. Using “Hybrid Construction,” the coll...
04/15/2026

Un / Form explores identity hybridization by deconstructing occupational uniforms. Using “Hybrid Construction,” the collection merges disparate professional codes—from surgical whites to industrial harnesses. These garments materialize the collapse of rigid social facades, revealing the visceral, unedited self beneath the curated exterior.

Guided by the structures, systems, and patterns already present in the natural world, Flight Studies examines the anatom...
04/12/2026

Guided by the structures, systems, and patterns already present in the natural world, Flight Studies examines the anatomy of Leonardo da Vinci’s flight machines and the physical frameworks of the natural bodies they attempt to mechanically replicate, informing a collection that explores the tension between weightlessness and rigidity.

Depth psychologist Carl Jung conceptualized the psyche’s shadow as the disowned aspects of the self, asserting that the ...
04/11/2026

Depth psychologist Carl Jung conceptualized the psyche’s shadow as the disowned aspects of the self, asserting that the less it is integrated into consciousness, the more pervasive it becomes.

This collection examines the evolving relationship to the shadow through shadow work. Heavy, restrictive silhouettes gradually lighten and loosen as the unconscious is confronted. What once concealed the self opens, revealing protective and illuminating potential. The helical nature of this process is expressed through spiraling pattern cutting and pleats, while pyrite emerges, referencing Jung’s alchemical metaphor of transformation from lead to gold, symbolizing psychological refinement through integration of the repressed shadow.

Softness meets strength. Beneath the Surface draws inspiration from the swan, exploring the tension between fragility an...
04/09/2026

Softness meets strength. Beneath the Surface draws inspiration from the swan, exploring the tension between fragility and power. What appears calm and effortless carries an underlying intensity, a quiet force that reveals itself through movement, structure, and presence.

This collection reflects the desire to remain composed while holding something deeper beneath. Silk painting creates fluid, water-like surfaces that echo stillness in motion, while wool roving felting on organza builds soft yet structured forms, suggesting both protection and pressure.

Each look moves between serenity and command, openness and restraint. It reveals that elegance is not fragile, but a balance of control and emotion, where delicacy and strength exist within the same form.
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Navigating 한 (Han), this collection explores the constant coexistence of sorrow and resilience within the history of Kor...
04/09/2026

Navigating 한 (Han), this collection explores the constant coexistence of sorrow and resilience within the history of Korean female laborers. The dual lens of motherhood and survival reveals a burden physically manifested in the Podaegi; a traditional baby carrier that functioned as a permanent extension of the body in fields and kitchens alike. This motif is put in parallel with the Haenyeo of Jeju Island, breadwinners who dove into the sea without breathing equipment while simultaneously raising their families. Bridging the two motifs, the collection examines the weight of “Han” through the intersection of ancestral history and contemporary design.

Aqua Tofana explores themes of female desire, power, and what it looks like when women step into roles traditionally hel...
04/08/2026

Aqua Tofana explores themes of female desire, power, and what it looks like when women step into roles traditionally held by men. Inspired by the story of Giulia Tofana, who secretly created and sold poison to women trapped in abusive marriages during the 16th century. Each look captures a different chapter of her life across the thirty years starting in her time working in apothecaries all the way to her capture and ultimate death.

I Don’t Dream of Marriage exists as a balancing act between desire and evasion. Garments range from heavy to nearly tran...
04/07/2026

I Don’t Dream of Marriage exists as a balancing act between desire and evasion. Garments range from heavy to nearly transparent, with structured silhouettes that force the body to move in deliberate ways, reflecting the contradicting duties of wifely life—burdens to carry, what should be seen versus covered, and for whom. Still upholding the beauty of bridalwear and what could be, the work incorporates repurposed materials, traditional and non-traditional fabrics, laser cutting, and braided hair.

Work-Rest-Eat-Die (Systemic Death)  originated from Omar’s interest in the current political state of the country and th...
04/05/2026

Work-Rest-Eat-Die (Systemic Death)  originated from Omar’s interest in the current political state of the country and the societal division the government has been pushing. In this exploration Omar dove into the aspects of a “systemic death”, signifying the end of a person as a living being in the context of America’s two-party system failing to serve the public.

What informed Work-Rest-Eat-Die (Systemic Death) is straight-forward messaging, silhouettes that form fit and uncomfortable to be in and hard to look at yet simple. This collection is meant to express nonconformity to not only the fashion world but the political system.

Once a staple for communication across territories, pigeons now find comfort in the steep ledges of big cities. Two eras...
04/04/2026

Once a staple for communication across territories, pigeons now find comfort in the steep ledges of big cities. Two eras where pigeons were seen is the Renaissance and now the modern day.

This collection juxtaposes two themes, streetwear and a way of dress so complicated you couldn’t even try to do it yourself. Rejecting the idea that only a certain image can wear Renaissance clothing, this collection celebrates the different identites and bodies we see in the city everyday. Anyone is welcome in Renaissance City Baby!

“Scotophilia”是对“被凝视”欲望的探索。时尚长期活在被观看与凝视的框架之中，而我们习惯使用的服装元素，并非源于对美本然的追求，而是来自结构性不公所塑造的刻板结果，服装也因此成为行走的刻板表达。当今的时代不再需要天才设计师，而处于...
04/03/2026

“Scotophilia”是对“被凝视”欲望的探索。
时尚长期活在被观看与凝视的框架之中，而我们习惯使用的服装元素，并非源于对美本然的追求，而是来自结构性不公所塑造的刻板结果，服装也因此成为行走的刻板表达。
当今的时代不再需要天才设计师，而处于这个时代下的我们又该如何设计。

在这个项目中，设计师通过不断解构形态，让一切回到一种无意识的美的状态，再进行重组与融合，去寻找那些源于美的，想要定格的瞬间。

“Scotophilia” is an exploration of the desire to be gazed upon. Fashion has long been confined within the framework of being watched and gazed upon. The elements of clothing that we are accustomed to using do not stem from the pursuit of natural beauty, but rather from the stereotypical results shaped by structural inequality. In this sense, garment has become a walking stereotypical expression.

Hana began to think about how we should continue to design when we no longer return to the era of “genius designers”. In this project, she constantly deconstructs the form, bringing everything back to an unconscious state of beauty, and then reorganizes and integrates it to seek out those situations and moments that she truly wanted to express.

Quantum is a response to the growing anxiety around emerging technologies. It specifically looks to quantum computers an...
03/31/2026

Quantum is a response to the growing anxiety around emerging technologies. It specifically looks to quantum computers and smart speakers as physical representations of malicious modern technology

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