19 November 2012

BEIRUT: Lebanese American University in collaboration with fashion giant Elie Saab will offer Beiruts first English language bachelors degree in fashion design starting in fall 2013, helping to fill a critical educational void for a country teeming with aspiring trendsetters.

When we began discussing the possibility of offering such a course, I felt that LAU could be the first university to grant students a truly academic diploma in the field of fashion design, Saab said in a prepared statement.

Lebanon has churned out a disproportionately high number of international and regional fashion and jewelry designers, in spite of the countrys few official fashion design programs.

LAUs major will fuse technical know-how with courses that approach fashion through theoretical, historical and social lens. Future collaborations with LAUs business school and exchange programs will provide students with marketing and entrepreneurial skills and exposure to international influences, respectively, program organizers told The Daily Star.

The creation of the major marks an important step in the history of the countrys influence on the industry, which giants like Saab, Reem Acra, Rabih Kayrouz and many others have helped shape over the past several decades.

Notre Dame University in Louaize offers the only other four-year bachelors degree in fashion design, while many of Lebanons leading designers chose the three-year technical program at Esmod Beirut.

Technical institutes and designer incubators such as Esmond, Starch and the Creative Space have cropped up in the past decade to fill what has been a clear educational void, especially in light of the huge interest and success in the industry.

Just as fashion houses of Lebanese origin have set up shop in industry capitals like Paris or New York, so many aspiring Lebanese designers have chosen to study in Europe or America if they can afford it, LAU program organizers said.

It really saddens me when I hear of parents sending their children abroad to continue their studies, Saab said in the statement.

I have no doubt that our program will be on par with those of universities abroad, he added.

Some among the newest generation of native fashion designers, such as those at the Starch Foundation, attended the countrys top universities but were forced to specialize in loosely related fields like interior design, interior architecture or graphic design.

LAUs School of Architecture and Design will house the new major, which was first envisioned in 2006 to round out the schools interior and graphic design majors, said Elie Haddad, dean of LAUs SArD.

The major will accommodate 20 to 25 students in the first year, some of whom will be accepted directly to the program, while others may transfer internally, said Yasmine Taan, head of the task force to create the major.

Over the past five years, LAU has prepared for the major by developing curriculum, studio equipment and space, and instruction, Taan said.

The design curriculum will start with foundational courses in the first year putting fashion in a cultural and historical context. Subsequent years will begin technical pattern design and clothing construction, as well as higher level theoretical classes. The senior year will culminate in an exhibition fashion show as a way to link new graduates with possible employers, Taan said.

Students will also have the access to state-of-the-art equipment, such as sewing labs with embroidery machines, fabric dying labs, laser pattern cutters and other high-tech tools.

The task force is now in stage of finding a couple of full-time and many part-time instructors. Though the country has an abundance of experts designers and tailors Taan said it will be tricky deciding on the character of the future fashion design faculty.

The fashion industry is about youth and newness, Taan said. This is not like teaching medicine, where you really need this white-haired professor, this scientist.

As with all of LAUs bachelors programs, the students will also have to fulfill general education requirements that will round out the technical aspects and hopefully help inspire innovation in their designs, Taan said.

By putting fashion in a social and cultural context, she also hopes future program graduates will have a more democratic vision for the industry for example, creating clothes incorporating Eastern- and Western-style traditions or understanding a well-made piece is more important than a high-selling piece.

We want to make designers that are trendsetters, Taan said.

Copyright The Daily Star 2012.