Emily Kelley

She has worked to help update and create an industry approach to each of the classes she teaches, working diligently to broaden the scope and depth of the program. In the fall of 2019 she introduced a new special topics course where fashion design students were challenged to draw inspiration from an extant piece in Western’s Historical University Garment Collection while simultaneously developing a new couture technique to realize their design. The students also learned how to correctly handle, mount and steam historical garments. At the end of the semester a display of the finished product, titled, “Reinventing the Runway,” was put on public display.

In her advanced pattern making class, she improved the course by tasking students to design for a specific client rather than a target market of their choice. This pushed the students out of their comfort zone, helping them to grow as designers and truly understand a client’s point of view. The students received supportive critiques from their customers, providing authentic instruction in the art of designing for a target market.