Simon Collins is Dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons The New School for Design. In this position
since April 2008, Collins oversees the school’s renowned BFA degree program in Fashion Design;
Associate Degrees in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing; and a new MFA in Fashion Design and
Society initiated through a gift from Parsons alumna Donna Karan.
 
During his term as Dean Collins has elevated Parsons’ engagement with the industry launching successful
collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Kering, Barneys New York, MCM, Bergdorf Goodman, Christian
Louboutin, Coach, MADE Fashion Week, and many others. The School of Fashion has made its mark on
accessories design and has continued to make its presence felt internationally, in particular China, Brazil,
Italy and France. Additionally, his creative leadership has contributed to making the Parsons Fashion
Benefit a significant industry event, raising millions in scholarship funding each year.
 
The appointment of Collins as Dean of the School of Fashion came at a significant time in the development
of fashion education at Parsons. The new MFA program in Design and Society is the first of its kind in the
United States, and has already received significant acclaim and honors. With a global focus, the selective
program draws on connections with the other areas of study at Parsons and The New School, from the
social sciences to business, marketing, media, technology, and sustainability. This reflects the future
direction of all design studies at Parsons. In addition, the school recently offered its first fully online degree with the launch of its career-changing AAS Fashion Marketing program online.
 
Collins is regularly featured in U.S. and international media including The New York Times, Women’s Wear
Daily, CNN, CBS, NBC, NPR, Style.com, The Wall Street Journal and many others. Fast Company has
featured him as one of the Top 100 Most Creative People in Business. He speaks publicly around the world
on a range of issues from sustainability to design thinking. His speech about transforming a design school
into a global brand at the PSFK New York conference received international attention. At Parsons he hosts
a series of conversations with prominent designers including alumni Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, Jenna Lyons, Derek Lam and Anna Sui. He is on the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University in Beijing, and also appears as chief fashion judge on the national Chinese television program Creative Sky. He is also a mentor in Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Venture Fellows program
 
Collins is a seasoned creative director and design thinker, whose practice brings together design, strategy,
communication, business and innovation. He serves as an advisor to Carlos Miele in Brazil, Fashion GPS,
Byronesque and Duncan Quinn in the US and Semeiotics/Rue du Mail in Paris/Hong Kong. He also works
closely with Milk Studios and MADE Fashion Week on projects that showcase emerging designers. In his
career, he has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, from Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren to Fila,
Zegna, and Marks and Spencer. As Creative Director for Nike’s Asia Pacific division, he led a $900 million
apparel business that included the launch of new collections created in collaboration with Junya Watanabe
of Comme des Garcons and Naoki Takizawa of Issey Miyake, among others.