Course Syllabus

Scandinavian Textiles and Fashion Workshop

Course Description 

This interdisciplinary course explores Scandinavian fashion and textile traditions through the lens of Swedish design, cultural history, and sustainability. Students will gain hands-on experience in fashion illustration, draping, upcycling, and creative concept development. Emphasis is placed on the Scandinavian approach to design—its minimalism, material sensitivity, gender awareness, and deep-rooted ties to nature and craft.

Combining theory and practice, museum visits, and guest lectures from prominent designers, students will investigate fashion as a tool of communication, identity, and social critique. Through sketchbook work and creative assignments, each student will develop a unique design voice and present a final personal collection at the end of the term.

Scandinavian Textiles and Fashion Workshop is appropriate for students in studio art, interior design, architecture, design history, information design, creative management or business.Students will work in analogue and digital media. User knowledge of Adobe Suite is helpful.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will:

• Understand key principles of fashion and textile design.
• Gain insight into Swedish fashion history and contemporary Scandinavian design culture.
• Explore the relationship between fashion, gender and identity. 

Faculty

Magda Marnell
Magda Marnell is a fashion designer, educated at the London College of Fashion and Beckmans College of Design, Stockholm. She has run her own fashion brand, exhibiting at several internationally renowned galleries and art venues such as DOX Centre for Contemporary Art and The New Stage of the National Theater in Prague. Between 2010 and 2024 she held different senior design positions at H&M in Stockholm. Magda holds a BA in Art History from Uppsala University and has worked as a freelance illustrator for customers like Uncommon Guidebooks and Sofar Sounds. She is co-founder and creative director of Matsson Marnell, a design studio with a holistic approach specializing in high-end collectibles and interior design. Featured in magazines such as Architectural Digest, Get Clever, Elle Decoration, Residence Magazine, Tidskriften Rum and exhibited at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2023 and 2024 and TräArt, Bodafors, Sweden 2024.

Readings

• Barnard, Malcolm. 2002 (reprinted 2008). Fashion as Communication. Second Edition. Oxon and New York: Routledge: 72 - 101
• Kollnitz, Andrea and Pecorari Marco (red) 2022. Fashion, Performance and Performativity - the complex space of fashion. Bloomsbury: 27 - 41
•  Julie Sommerlund, Ideological design,
• Recycling from waste in Fashion and textiles, Pandit, Pintu, Ahmed, Shakeel, Singa etc
• Fletcher, Kate. 2014. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. Second edition. London & New York,  Routledge: 139 - 161
• Svendsen, Lars. 2006. Fashion: A philosophy. London, Reaktion Books: 90 - 110

Field Studies

A vital portion of our learning will take place outside the classroom visiting museums, exhibitions, The Royal Swedish Opera and Stockholm Slow Fashion District. 

Guest Lecturers

Approach to Teaching & Expectations of the Students

Be prepared to participate, contribute, ask and answer questions, in other words, to explore:

• Are you willing to test new ideas and new ways of thinking?
• Do you promote an environment where everyone feels free to express their ideas and stretch their thinking?
• Do you contribute to the learning environment of the class as a whole by sharing your thoughts and experiences?

There will be about three hours of class time a week and you are expected to work an average of six hours per week outside of class (this includes time spent on individual urban explorations, activity on the discussion board, the development of your journal/lookbook, and the design of the moodboards).

Evaluation

Engagement: Be engaged in class and on field studies. Be inquisitive, daring, open-minded. Be patient to allow those who are not so keen on talking in class to gather their thoughts - depth is shaped by thought, not speed. Our guest speakers and people we go to meet are smart and busy people giving us their time. Prepare and respond with all you’ve got.

Designer Presentation: In pairs of two you will explore the work and creative universe of a given Scandinavian Fashion Designer. You will be asked to find references to the designer's work in the Stockholm fashion picture. Will be presented through written reflections and photo documentation.

Future Fashion Concept: In this group assignment you will create a sustainable future fashion/store concept. What does the future of fashion look like and how can it be sustainable to not deplete the Earth’s resources? Create a future fashion concept/store and describe it in text and images. How would you communicate and market the concept in the best way?

Personal Collection Project: In this final and individual assignment you will present a fashion collection from initial idea to final presentation with sketches/moodboard/lineup/mock-ups/colour and fabric swatches and target description. Presentation in class with visual material. 

The Moodboard - an initial definition: A mood board is a type of visual presentation or 'collage' consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. A mood board can be used to convey a general idea or feeling about a particular topic. They may be physical or digital, and can be effective presentation tools.

Grading

Individual grades for team assignments may be applied. The course policy is that late assignments are not accepted.

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org