FITS Course Listing
FITS 100 Digital Warriors
Effective digital communication is integral to every facet of life. In this course, students will learn about current and emerging technology utilized to communicate within the fashion industry and applicable to many other career paths. Digital literacy and digital design skills will be at the forefront of the course through multi-disciplinary, hands-on experience using industry software. Students will develop and refine their abilities to become successful communicators in the digital world.
FITS 110 Apparel Components
Apparel Components is an introductory fashion drawing and flat pattern course that explores the connection between the design and the production of a sewn product. A sketch can be turned into a garment by the use of a pattern which interprets the design in the form of the garment components. Similar to puzzle pieces which are fitted together to create an image, the garment components are the puzzle pieces, when put together will create a sewn product which can be reproduced many times over. In this class students will learn the basics of fashion and technical drawing to communicate accurate garment proportions and be introduced to the manipulation of a basic fashion pattern block to create several different sewn product pieces.
FITS 145 Basic Sewn Product Production
The purpose of this course is to introduce basic hand and machine sewn product techniques and how they are used to produce a sewn product. Students will develop a working knowledge of the sewing machine, terms, supplies and skills used in the assembly of the sewn product. Evaluating sewing quality, and developing written instructions for a specific sewn project will also be addressed. The course will cover sewing machine basics such as changing the needle, winding the bobbin, adjusting tension, sewing a straight line and various seam finishes used in the production of a sewn product. No sewing experience is necessary.
FITS 195 Introduction to the Fashion Industry's Science & Technology Program
Successfully transition into the Fashion Industry's Science and Technology (FITS) major. Explore ethical and professional behavior within the FITS programs, content and sequencing of courses, and careers in the fashion industry through discussions, in-class activities, and writing assignments.
FITS 200 Design Warrior
This course is intended to prepare students to use Adobe Creative Cloud applications in Fashion Studies. Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign will be used to create and manipulate digital images of apparel designs.
Students will practice using photo correction tools; layers, masks, and channels; selection tools; vector drawing and paint tools; and advanced layer techniques to create designs and mockups, learning to select the appropriate Adobe CC tools for each step, moving seamlessly between applications. Students will learn to create and publish completed designs in print or web formats with attention to layout designs in each medium.
FITS 204 Fashion Consumers and the Shopping Economy
A study of consumer behavior and fashion adoption processes in contemporary society, the nature of fashion theories, the life-cycle, social and cultural processes and evolution of fashion, and the role of fashion in the global economy in general and in the fashion business industry in particular. In addition, because of the size and reach of fashion we will recognize the cause and effects of this industry on the world's environment and inhabitants.
FITS 215 Mechanics of Fashion
A comprehensive overview of how the fashion business works. The course will feature topics covering the past and present in fashion personalities, fads, pop culture, product development and retail. The class will go through examples of people, principles, management practices, and retailer. In addition, we will examine fashions ethical awareness of the twenty first century.
FITS 296 Introduction to Special Topics in the Fashion Industry's Science & Technology
This course provides an introductory exploration of varying special topics within the fashion industry's science and technology field. The topics of the course vary depending on instructor and semester. Each course will overview core concepts, foundational knowledge, and practical applications about the topics presented. The course will focus on contemporary issues in the field and those issues' contextual positioning within industry, community, and societal contexts.
FITS 300 The Business of Beauty
An introductory course which will provide students with a dynamic overview of the global beauty industry. Students will gain an understanding of the different sectors of the business and will experience through assignments, and case studies, the many unique aspects of beauty as a business. The course will explore the history of the beauty industry, the distinctive aspects of beauty marketing, and the role of cultural differences, which mold the business of beauty throughout the world. Prominence will be given to the influencer phenomenon and its impact on global beauty trends.
FITS 330 Fashion Trend in Time
The class will consist of a systematic exploration of the various realms: Egyptians to present where the relationship between fashion and history can be observed. These realms include gender, race, class, law, capital, religion, and the like. A thematic exploration of the topic of the class should serve as a double introduction to fashion history, Arizona history (expands from indigenous cultures that have contributed to Arizona fashion) and fashion theory (especially from the post-structuralist era onwards). The class will be about fashion as theory, rather than theory applied to fashion.
FITS 333 Fashion Promotion
The fashion industry is, ever-changing and a greater understanding of all aspects of fashion promotion is necessary for student success. Communicating effectively across a range of platforms with respect to the consumer and maintaining consistency to navigate the global landscape in fashion communication along with managing emerging trends in social marketing and event planning is necessary for all fashion promotion.
Use of current news, events, and personalities as a basis for writing and evaluating institutional and product publicity releases for news and feature stories. Students plan publicity campaigns and create a press kit. Students plan and develop sales promotion activities in order to achieve specific marketing and communications objectives. Both business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales promotion campaigns are developed
This online course provides an analysis of the principles and practices of e-commerce in fashion retailing and their relationship to customer service integrated as fashion promotion. Topics included a survey of brick & mortar fashion customer, its technology underpinnings; understanding and communicating with the e-customer. Case studies and projects will be used to apply the concepts.
FITS 335 Fashion Forecasting and Research Trends
Develop the science of predicting future fashion trends. Learn the relationship between forecasting, trend prediction, external, social changes, and historical style movements. Analyze past styled movements and establish an understanding of historical context, consumer trends, buying patterns, fads, and cults. Research color palettes, surface and fabric trends and concepts, form and silhouette changes, and product shifts. Learn to synthesis trends for new product by gaining insight into consumers' attitudes and lifestyles phases. Group and individual projects are used to access the students learning. This course is not intended for RCSC majors. No RCSC credit will be given for this course.
FITS 345 Science of Textiles
This course integrates the chemical composition, molecular arrangement, and physical structure of natural and manufactured fibers. Yarn and fabric manufacturing processes as well as finishing techniques are included. Attention is given to how these characteristics and techniques affect function, performance, and quality of textile products.
FITS 375 The Business of Fashion
This course provides an overview of the business aspects of the fashion industry. Students will explore fashion brand creation, design development, sourcing, production, global supply chain management and distribution. Students will also examine the legal aspects of fashion businesses including the law and copyright protections of patents, trademarks, trade dress, service marks, copyrights and licensing.
FITS 397 Fashion Collaborations - Fashion for a Purpose
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to working with a non-profit & for-profit organization creating a fashion event. Many non-profits & for profits today partner with fashion houses, company, brands or designers for many reasons. Some of the reasons include to increase awareness, giving back to the community, marketing a fashion product and sharing mutual interests in current challenges within different cultures. This course will have a physical event which is in-person held within the University of Arizona Campus. Students will work in committees that will address specific areas of the event. Committees will be formed, but not limited to research, accounting, promotion, staging, logistic planning and public relations. The final project for the class will an in-person event on the UA campus. The focus of the event will be determined by the type of organization the class will be working with at the time.
FITS 400 Digital Revolution and Cultural Trends: The Influencer Phenomenon
The rise of the digital influencer has propelled billions of marketing and advertising dollars into the social media economy. The construction and cultivation of influencers has resulted in self-branding, micro-celebrities who are Instafamous. The fashion industry has greatly benefited from this rapidly growing, dynamic, new digital space. This course will examine the influencer industry through close readings, videos, and in-depth analysis. Students will learn about how influencers create online personas, perform digital labor, and participate in the attention economy to commodify their labor. The course will further unpack the pros and cons of influencer culture, and question whether the future of human influencers will be replaced by CGI influencers (Computer Generated Imagery).
FITS 425 Apparel Production
This course presents an overview of the apparel production cycle, product design, creation, and distribution. Various assembly equipment used in the production process along with the importance of the technical package's relationship to the process will be stressed. Students will analyze garment design and construction features in order to understand their relationship to apparel cost and quality. Garment specification, time and motion studies, sourcing and sustainability are also covered. An introduction to the HIGG Index and how it is applied to apparel production will be discussed.
FITS 435 Society, Culture & Fashion
Universally, people make daily choices about what to or not to wear. This course presents a comparative examination of fashion across different cultural perspectives using Western and non-Western examples; we will take a three-pronged approach to distinguish dress across cultures, uncovering its relationship to human beings as biological, aesthetic, and social creatures. We will review readings collected from course text books, academic journals and other current articles from magazines and newspapers. In addition we will analyze the complexity of dress from a multidisciplinary perspective. Therefore we will explore topics that include anthropology, sociology, economics, fine arts, religion , natural sciences and technological changes.
FITS 450 Fashion and Technology
An in-depth look at how technology impacts the fashion industry. Examines uses of technology in the fashion design process, the emergence of wearable tech, the use of smart textiles, wearer-friendly interactive clothing, body scanners, and the Quantified Self (QS). The course further explores the revolutionary relationship between contemporary fashion and technology and how it translates into highly aspirational products that focus on self-expression.
FITS 491 Preceptorship
Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Teaching formats may include seminars, in-depth studies, laboratory work and patient study.
FITS 493 Internship
Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.
FITS 496 Special Topics in the Fashion Industry's Science & Technology
This course provides an in-depth exploration of varying special topics within the fashion industry's science and technology field. The topics of the course vary depending on instructor and semester. Each course will overview core concepts, foundational knowledge, and practical applications about the topics presented. The course will focus on contemporary issues in the field and those issues' contextual positioning within industry, community, and societal contexts.
FITS 499 Independent Study
In this course, qualified students work on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.