‘Fat Fashion’ course coming to New School next semester

A New School course next semester will teach students about “Fat Fashion” and emphasize the work of “fat activists.” The New School is a private research university in New York City.

“This course honors the work of fat activists by intentionally reclaiming the word ‘fat’ as a celebration of larger bodies,” the course description says. “Students are introduced to concepts from the field of Fat Studies as lenses to inform their fashion design practices.” 

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Students of the course will study how the current state of fashion, such as “‘plus-size’ clothing design, marketing, and retail,” demonstrates fear of fat people. 

In opposition to this system, the course will teach students how to design clothing “that center fat bodies as the starting point in the design process and as aesthetic inspiration.” The design must also understand the intersectional identities of the fat person.

“Students will learn how to design clothes that value and desire fat bodies and will develop a personal framework for Fat-Centered Design,” the course description says.

Leila Kelleher, an assistant professor of Fashion Design and Social Justice, is the listed faculty member for the course. Kelleher’s research “intersects fashion and biomechanics, with a specific emphasis on the marginalization of fat and plus sized bodies within the fashion industry.” 

“Her diverse expertise reflects a commitment to inclusivity and innovation in both academia and the fashion industry,” her bio says. She is currently writing a book with the working title “Plus Size Apparel Patternmaking.”

[RELATED: Northwestern ‘Critical Fat Studies’ course will study ‘queer fat liberation movement’]

Several colleges and universities offer courses on fat studies. Next semester, the University of Maryland will allow students to study “Intro to Fat Studies,” focusing on “Fatness, Blackness and Their Intersections.”

Students will “[e]xamines fatness as an area of human difference subject to privilege and discrimination that intersects with other systems of oppression based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and ability.”

Earlier this year, a University of New Mexico fat studies course had students assemble a plus-sized outfit during a “Fatshion Assignment.”

Campus Reform contacted The New School and Leila Kelleher for comment, asking what they hope students get from the course. Campus Reform also requested a course syllabus or reading list. This story will be updated accordingly.