Overview
Create a cohesive presentation of your portfolio materials that tell your story.
- Consider your portfolio as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Your portfolio should be unified and cohesively reflect your design approach.
- Include 12 - 15 examples of design work that demonstrate a breadth of skill.
- Priority work should include fashion illustration; clothing, costumes or accessories you have designed and/or made; textile design projects; fashion sketch book pages; and/or examples of wearable technology and computer-aided design.
- Secondary work such as examples of ceramics, crafts, glasswork, graphics, leatherwork, metalwork, painting, photography, sculpture and/or woodwork that has a connection to or is inspired by your interest in fashion may also be included.
- At least one example should show your design process from ideation to execution.
Format
- Include a brief description with each item, including title, inspiration and design intention, materials, techniques, date of completion and originality (for example, “original design using commercially available pattern”).
- For each image, indicate how the work was created:
- Individual work created entirely and independently by me
- Class work, portfolio workshop, or Summer Pre-College program work
- Work created with the guidance and advice of others. Please describe the type of assistance and your role in the project.
- Scan original sketches.
- When you photograph portfolio items, choose your background and lighting with care. Tip: use a plain, wrinkle-free sheet as a backdrop. Do not use professional photography or models.
- Submit 1 page per image/item, with a maximum of 15 pages, to SlideRoom.
Respond to these prompts to help our faculty understand your design process and thinking, sense of aesthetics and perception of fashion:
- Describe one garment, accessory, textile, image, or object that changed the way you think about fashion or design. What did you notice about its form, material, construction, proportion, movement, or meaning? BE specific about what you saw and why it stayed with you.
- Tell us about something you have made, altered, repaired, styled, drawn, or imagined. What choices did you make, what constraint di you face, and what would you change if you returned to it now? Formal training is not require; we are interested in your process and how you think.
- Fashion design involves translating ideas into material form for real bodies, lives, and contexts, but it can fall short of those goals. Tell us about one critique of fashion that you hope to explore through fashion design, and why does it matter to you?
Format
- Submit your responses via the Fashion Design Index form on SlideRoom.
- Each response has a 150 word maximum.
Upload your résumé, highlighting out-of-classroom extracurricular activities.
You may include work, community engagement, school activities, etc. If you submitted a résumé as a part of your Common Application, you are welcome to upload that document.
You may submit a maximum of two pages of your résumé to SlideRoom.
No. Fashion graphics and garment construction are taught during the first two semesters at Cornell and are required of all Fashion Design students. We understand that not all students have opportunities to participate in fashion experiences or coursework. Consider using the Fashion Design Supplement responses to expand upon your interests and your opportunities to develop your unique design perspective.
We are not scheduling faculty appointments. You can email FSAD-DUS [at] cornell.edu (FSAD-DUS[at]cornell[dot]edu) with questions about the program or the required Portfolio and Design Index.
Black and white sketches work well for fashion illustrations. You might want to include images of fabric swatches or written descriptions of fabrics with some of your sketch work to give us an idea of how you envision the finished garment(s). Our design faculty are interested in your thoughts about the design process, fabric selections and color choices.
Photograph front and back views of the design on a model or mannequin. Include close-up shots of any detail work you wish to highlight. Choose your background with care and make sure the room is well-lit. The focus should be the garment. Tip: use a clean, wrinkle-free sheet as a backdrop. Professional photography/models is not necessary.
You may include images or written descriptions of fabric swatches with your photos. Make note of the source of the commercial pattern and how you made choices during the construction process to assert your design perspective.
Create and include storyboards or collages around fashion themes and colors to demonstrate how you coordinate apparel and accessories. You can also include photos of your friends in the outfits you have coordinated for them and briefly explain your selection decisions.
Two letters of recommendation from your high school teachers are required to complete your application. However, a recommendation letter from a designer who you work with can be included in your portfolio.
Contact the College of Human Ecology Admissions Office (607-255-5471) to learn more about your candidacy. You can also send a statement of continued interest to the College of Human Ecology Admissions Committee through your application portal. Additional letters of recommendation are not helpful.
The summer before you matriculate at Cornell is an excellent time to establish a basic understanding of fabric and machine handling. Fashion design is a design field where it is possible to make what you design using your own hands. Background work will enhance the quality of projects in your fashion design studios. Fashion design work in the major includes original sketch ideas, textile color and surface design, apparel pattern development, and construction of garments by the student. Enrolling students who need to improve their sewing skills on campus will be enrolled in appropriate coursework their first semester.
You can email FSAD-DUS [at] cornell.edu (FSAD-DUS[at]cornell[dot]edu) with specific questions about the design supplement.