WMA puts Fashion Forward
Wilbraham & Monson Academy has a few well-known niches, namely The Global School® trademark and economics.
Within the last year, thanks in large part to a faculty member, the Academy has added another niche: global fashion.
WMA added three electives in the field of fashion to its curriculum for the 2014-15 academic calendar, with the hope of capping the school year off with a trip to France to attend an elite fashion institution for a week.
“We are excited to introduce this interdisciplinary track at WMA,” said Meg Hutcheson, Dean of Curriculum. “The global fashion program offers our students the chance to engage in the business cycle, from conception and design to production and completion. However, our students will also learn about the history of the fashion industry, analyze business practices and adopt the entrepreneurial thinking skills needed for success.”
Marvina Lowry-Brook of WMA’s Fine & Performing Arts Department pushed for and was granted the opportunity to add a one-trimester fashion class for the 2013-14 school year. The summer prior to the new course, Mrs. Lowry-Brook went to Paris and Milan to research fashion design schools and museums to learn the latest fashions.
“I went to the leading design schools in Europe,” she said.
Mrs. Lowry-Brook taught Fashion Design: Global Perspectives during the winter trimester last school year, where she covered all aspects of fashion, such as illustrating, designing, history, business and social aspects. Before the course concluded, she realized she easily had enough material to teach fashion year-round.
“At the middle of that trimester I proposed we do a three-part series, and (then future Head of School) Brian Easler decided he would like to implement a fashion program this year,” Mrs. Lowry-Brook said.
Now, WMA offers Fashion: Design Studio in the fall, Fashion: Production Studio in the winter, and Fashion: Global Business in the spring. A fashion show is scheduled for the end of the winter trimester, which will give students the chance to display what they’ve work on for 20 weeks prior to tackling the business side in the last trimester.
Mrs. Lowry-Brook took an online course at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) during the summer of 2014, and also attended classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Jennifer Zhao ’16 wasn’t sure what she wanted to pursue as a career a year ago. After taking the Fashion Design: Global Perspectives course last school year, though, that’s all changed. She took private drawing lessons for a month and attended a class at the Parsons The New School for Design for three weeks during the summer of 2014 prior to signing up for all three of the fashion courses at WMA, where she hopes to continue to hone her skills toward a career in the fashion industry.
“From the beginning, Mrs. Lowry-Brook built a foundation for us on how to draw the proportions,” Jennifer said. “At first I was awful and wasn’t sure I should stay in the class. I hadn’t done that at all. We practiced for about a month. Mrs. Lowry-Brook said I would get better, and I did.”
Mrs. Lowry-Brook plans to take the students in her class to Mod’Art International in Paris for a week in June to learn the ins and outs of fashion in France’s capital.
“The idea is to have this year-long program at WMA and cap it off with a great summer study abroad program to see firsthand places that are putting out high fashion,” Mrs. Lowry-Brook said.