Sarah M. Oliver
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
In May 2026, seven students from the Global Adornment & Attire: Fashion and Costume course traveled on a faculty-led education abroad program to Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. Designed as an applied, field-based complement to the on-campus course, the program allowed students to investigate fashion, costume, textiles, and adornment directly within their cultural and historical contexts.
Japan provided an especially rich setting for the study of global dress because it brings together deep traditions of textile production, garment construction, and cultural preservation with highly visible and influential contemporary fashion movements. Students explored this dynamic contrast through site visits and guided research experiences at Bunka Fashion College, Orinasu-kan Obi Weaving Studio, Itchiku Kuboto Shibori Museum, and Nipponri Textile fabric market. Through these experiences, students encountered both historical and contemporary approaches to Japanese fashion and costume, including weaving, dyeing, textile design, kimono traditions, obi production, and the role of fashion in everyday life and subcultural identity.
By engaging directly with garments, artifacts, markets, museums, studios, and urban fashion environments, students practiced close observation, visual analysis, and cultural interpretation. The program emphasized experiential learning, encouraging students to connect course concepts to real-world examples while deepening their understanding of how dress communicates identity, tradition, social values, innovation, and cultural exchange.
