About
Fiona Dieffenbacher is an Associate Professor of Fashion at Parsons School of Design whose career cumulatively spans over twenty five years in industry and academia.
Research
TEACHING
Education
“The central question to be considered today is: “What does it mean to be a Fashion Designer?” Let’s be clear- we do not need more clothes. We have long since reached an over-saturation point as consumers. So what are we doing training more designers?
The fashion industry is at a critical juncture, with increasing pressure on graduates to offer solutions and imagine a more sustainable, inclusive future. Talent is not enough. Students need to think critically and interrogate the issues facing society in order to envision a future that does not exist currently. They need to redefine the term ‘Fashion Designer’ for themselves, and think holistically about what they have to offer at the intersection of Fashion + x + y + z = ?”
PUBLICATIONS
Fashion Thinking
“If we are content with merely training students to design clothes via a rote process that replicates the past, then we have missed the point entirely. It is incumbent upon educators to deliver a future generation of designers who will see the world as it should be, not what it has become, and to design for that (future) reality.
Because, as always - Fashion has more to say!”
FASHION
Ethical Business Model
Established in 1998, Fiona Walker Inc. was founded on ethical business practices that sought to support local production, quality fabrication, fair wages, as well as diverse and inclusive representations of beauty. The collection was sold in the eponymous boutique in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, and retailers in the U.S and Asia.
“Fashion is a system we all participate in, whether we are conscious of it or not.
It is so much more than aesthetics:
It enables us to express ourselves to the world around us.”
