This Is How MDC’s Fashion Institute Has Tackled The Coronavirus

When Miami Dade College announced its transition to online learning due to the pandemic last March, most people settled for months of remote classes. 

However, students at the Miami Fashion Institute—along with the School of Justice, Miami Culinary Institute, Emergency Medical Services and a few other cohorts—returned to face-to-face classes this summer because its instruction couldn’t be replicated online

But reduced access to machinery and strict safety protocols have impacted the learning environment at the MFI, which opened its doors in 2016 and serves 275 students who are working toward associate’s degrees in fashion design or fashion merchandising. 

“It’s really all about learning how to do things in a different way,” said Asanyah Davidson, the Fashion Institute’s chairperson. “We try to make things a little bit easier for students because it is a new environment in a lot of different ways.”

Before the pandemic, students could go in and out of the Fashion Lab—a space with dress forms and industrial sewing, button-hole and overlock machines—to use the workspace, mannequins, machinery and worktables.

The institute, located inside building 8 at Wolfson Campus, also held interactive activities such as guest speakers, fashion movie nights and field trips to museums and costume collections. 

Today, classes are restricted to a maximum of 20 students—that was the same number in pre-COVID days but now they must sit six feet apart. Each student was assigned their own dress form and sewing machine to reduce the chances of coronavirus infection.

Lessons have also transitioned to a more digital format—students in the Apparel Evaluation and Production course now design three-dimensional clothing models through the computer software CLO. That reduces the need to make physical samples, which are more likely to be a  health hazard, and cuts production costs.

The institute currently doesn’t allow students to use the Fashion Lab during class time. They must schedule an appointment to use the facility so they complete assignments because most students don’t have that type of equipment at home.

Eating lunch outside the classroom is no longer allowed. Students must bring their own lunch and eat at their assigned stations to avoid possibly infecting multiple areas. 

“Students have to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. That is part of the fashion world,” said fashion professor Leonardo De Armas. “Fashion is constantly changing and evolving so you always have to find ways to be inventive and find new solutions to problems.”

But students said they are willing to go through the changes if it means getting a real sense of the fashion world.

“I get to experience what it’s like to be in a fashion environment,” said Heather Morey, a fashion design student at the institute. “I’m here with people that think the same way I do and want to do the same things I want to do. We are all here with the same vision.”

In the future, the Fashion Institute hopes to celebrate their students’ work. Although last year’s annual fashion show was canceled, the institute is considering hosting an exhibition that would showcase students’ garments and portfolios.

“We do have limitations [but] the institute creates motivation and relieves the stress we all carry from the outside world,” said fashion design student Teo Reyes. “While remote learning is necessary in times like these, there’s a limit to everything. Being here really allows us to disconnect and embrace the love we have for fashion.”