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Parsons: The New School - fashionabc
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Parsons: The New School

A private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.

Summary

Parsons School of Design, known as Parsons: The New School, is a private art and design college in the Greenwich Village, New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art academies, Parsons is one of the oldest schools of art and design in New York.

Parsons was the first school to offer programs in fashion design, interior design, advertising, graphic design, and lighting design. It also became the first American school to found a satellite school abroad when it established the Paris Ateliers in 1921. And it remains the only private art and design school to affiliate with a private national research university, in 1970 when it became one of the divisions of The New School.

History

First established in Manhattan in 1896 as the Chase School by its founder, American impressionist painter William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), who led a small group of artists away from the Art Students League of New York in search of a less traditional, more progressive institution. The Chase School educated several luminaries of early American modernism, such as Marsden Hartley and Edward Hopper. But whereas Chase was a talented artist and teacher, he lacked the business acumen to run a growing school; in 1898, under new management, it became the New York School of Art.

In 1904, Frank Alvah Parsons joined the school as a professor and later became the sole director of the New York School of Art. Recognising the importance of art and design in industries, Parsons introduced the first programs in fashion design, interior design, and graphic design. The school was renamed the New York School of Fine and Applied Art to reflect these new offerings. Parsons advocated for a more inclusive approach to design education, emphasising the significance of industrial art for the nation. In 1921, Parsons and William M. Odom established the school’s Paris Ateliers.

Following Parsons’ passing in 1930, William M. Odom took over as director, and the school was renamed the Parsons School of Design in 1941 to honor Parsons’ influential teaching philosophy. Van Day Truex, a Parsons alumnus, succeeded Odom as director and later became Tiffany & Company’s design director. By the 1960s, Parsons had gained recognition as a leading institution for training designers in Seventh Avenue, the fashion hub. In 1970, Parsons joined the New School for Social Research, leading to the expansion of degree programs and partnerships. That same year, Parsons awarded the first university degrees in fashion design, interior design, and lighting design in the United States.

In 2005, the college was rebranded as Parsons The New School for Design when the parent institution changed its name to The New School. In 2015, Pentagram Principal Paula Scher led the redesign of The New School’s identity, drawing inspiration from the signage and architecture of the Joseph Urban building and the University Center building. The new branding featured a customised font called ‘Neue’ and was introduced through an environmental installation at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center and on the campus water towers. At this time, the school reclaimed the name Parsons School of Design.

In 2019, Parsons collaborated with IBM to develop university courses and a Quantum Design Jam. They also partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the MS in Data Visualization program, interpreting data from The Met Open Access API. In 2020, Parsons collaborated with the United Nations on projects related to climate change and gender equality. In 2022, Parsons’ communications design department celebrated its centennial with a book that highlighted its history and contributions to the field.

Today Parsons and The New School are committed to employing design thinking as a way to solve complex global problems. At the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, for example, scholars are joining forces with designers to explore solutions to climate-driven change, including migration. Other university research centers, such as the Tishman Environment and Design Center and the Healthy Materials Lab, produce knowledge and practice that bears witness to the potential of design to foster contemporary thinking on sustainability and wellness.

Projects with community, industry, educational, and government partners often emphasize tangible outcomes. Since 1998, the Design Workshop has provided pro bono design-build services to nonprofit clients. More recently, Parsons partnered with Habitat for Humanity and developed a new building typology using passive solar technologies. The initiative, called Empowerhouse, developed into Parsons’ entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s solar decathlon competition, in which Parsons brought home awards for its innovative approach to constructing a solar home.

Courses

Parsons The New School offers rigorous interdisciplinary programs across art and design, from fashion and technology to urban design, fine art, and management. Here creators and scholars master established disciplines and develop emerging ones, fostering innovation that transforms business, advances sustainability, and enhances social impact and health. The school’s practice-based programs — available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional learners — connect students with industry leaders and creative makers, building their network.

At the undergraduate level, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design provides a foundation in design, research, and technical skills. Parsons’ interdisciplinary first-year immerses students in art and design concepts, skills, and critical practices. From the second year, there are specialized pathways: Collection, Materiality, Fashion Product, and Systems & Society. This allow students to tailor their education to specific areas of interest.

Parsons’ MFA Textiles program is a dynamic hub of creativity in New York, where the school’s multicultural, cross-disciplinary community of designers engages in a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives through hands-on textiles making. Promoting authenticity, originality, and innovation, the faculty channel the power of textiles to transform art, design, and industry and raise awareness on a range of issues. Students learn and apply techniques such as fiber development, yarn sourcing and making, weaving, knitting, 3D printing, sustainable dyeing, pattern design, and embellishments.

In the Fashion Studies master’s program, students undertake the cultural analysis of fashion as dress, bodily practice, media, and industry. They hone their research and writing skills as they explore the visual and material dimensions of fashion and investigate their personal and political meanings. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, students develop a critical understanding of the histories, theories, and knowledge production around fashion and its role in shaping bodies, identities, and social relations. Graduates work in diverse fields including the fashion industry, media, museums, and academia.

The Master of Arts in Fashion Studies emphasizes the cultural analysis of fashion as dress, bodily practice, media, and industry. Students engage in hands-on research, utilizing diverse methods such as archival research and ethnography, to challenge prevailing narratives and uncover alternative histories of fashion. The curriculum includes two specialized pathways: fashion curation and fashion writing, enabling students to focus on areas like exhibition development, archival practice, and fashion journalism.

Parsons also offers certificate programs for individuals seeking to enhance their skills in specific areas of fashion. These programs cover fashion design, marketing, and business, providing students with the opportunity to gain specialized knowledge and expertise. Additionally, the school offers summer intensives in art and design, allowing for immersive learning experiences that can complement existing academic pursuits or serve as a standalone educational endeavour.

Job Integration Rate

Parsons School of Design boasts a strong track record in preparing its graduates for successful careers in the fashion industry. According to recent data, 89% of Parsons graduates secure employment within six months of graduation, with 75% finding positions directly related to their field of study.

The BFA Fashion Design program at Parsons equips students with a comprehensive education that spans design, creative and research practice, styling, visual merchandising, textiles, marketing and public relations, and production. This multidisciplinary approach ensures that graduates are well-rounded professionals capable of adapting to various roles within the fashion industry. Additionally, the program’s emphasis on internships  further enhances employability, allowing students to build valuable industry connections.

Parsons is recognised for being the alma mater to many influential theorists and practitioners in the field of art and design including painter Jasper Johns, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, sculptor Alexander Calder, chief creative officer at Google Creative Lab Robert Wong, film director Joel Schumacher, and painter Danielle Mastrion, among others.The school has educated some of the most famous fashion designers including Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Tom Ford, Anna Sui, Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, and Yeohlee Teng.

References

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