Leading fashion educators speak out on remote teaching Part 1

Spring break was certainly different this year. From Parsons School of Design in Manhattan to Central St Martins in London, fashion students were instructed mid-March to remove their possessions and vacate the premises. The remainder of the semester was to be taught remotely beginning March 23rd. Students frantically booked flights home to Seoul, Beijing, New Delhi, Toronto, Pittsburgh, before borders closed and their adopted cities became pandemic epicenters. Educators had about a week to build kits of supplies, convert their syllabus to an online version, with many scrambling during their spring break to learn how technology like Zoom, Blackboard, Screencast, Google Meet could accommodate their professional needs. Lack of access to buy fabric, space to pattern cut, and inability to receive face-to-face instruction in the sewing lab meant that programs relaxed the garment making portion of the syllabus for juniors and ramped up the portfolio and drawing side. Graduating students wondered how they would complete their finals, or stage end-of-year fashion show, without access to looms, knitting machines, laser cutters, printers.