Programme summary for BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Fashion Design with Placement Year
About the programme
You will work in an art and design environment in a building designed specifically for Architecture, Fine Art, Digital Arts and Visual Communication and Visual Theories. In the area of Fashion and Textiles, you will work with students on three other BA programmes: Fashion Futures, Fashion Design with Fashion Management and Printed Textiles Design.
You will be involved in the following activities with project work, sometimes working with established designers or industry professionals:
- Design creativity and design development
- Visual research, drawing and visual communication techniques
- Trend prediction and forecasting
- Fabric and colour research
- Retail Analysis
- Pattern cutting and toile making
- Garment construction
- Range planning
- Visual communication and portfolio presentation
- Digital Media
Programme structure
| Level 1 EXPLORE / DISCOVER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Explore: Creativity | Explore Research: A | Fashion Consumers for Fashion Markets: Skills for Academic Learning |
| B | Explore: Materials | Explore: Process | Explore: Research B |
| Level 2 DEVELOP | |||
| A | Develop Design & Surface | Develop: Cutting Edge Design | Discourse for the Creative Industries: Employability |
| Jan - JanIndustry Placement (OPTIONAL) | |||
| B | Develop: Contemporary Couture | Fashion & the Body OR
|
Fashion & the Visual Media |
| LEVEL 3 / Final Year REALISE | |||
| A | Realise Design & External Competition | VT3405 Thesis: Research OR | FT3202 Textile Futures & Sustainability : Research |
| B | Realise: Collection | Realise: New Horizons | OR Realise: Alternative Practice |
The programme provides you with the opportunity to study fashion in a creative art school environment, delivered by a creative and professional staff team. The duration is three years, or four if you decide to do the optional year placement, It provides choice and flexibility in learning opportunities, and allows you to explore the discipline of fashion whilst developing your practice. All students are given the opportunity to take part in a professional static exhibition of their work in final year, however, collections are selected by an external / industry panel for the prestigious catwalk show held in central London.
Level 1 is about exploring and discovering creativity, fashion and design and may build on skills which you already have. Two and three dimensional development is encouraged through an innovative and original approach, where fundamental skills will be introduced to enable you to explore creativity, research, materials, and processes. You will discover new approaches to pattern cutting, construction, fabric, colour and trend prediction, retail scouting, and digital media, together with exploring contemporary contexts in fashion theory and visual culture.
Level 2 allows you to develop and build on the skills gained at level 1 through a variety of exciting modules and options which develop your personal and professional practice. You will develop your creativity through innovative cutting and design, and develop your discourse in fashion and visual media. The optional placement year is situated between Semester A and B, and is an opportunity to gain invaluable experience in the professional industry, working in a company which marries with your personal career trajectory. Semester B introduces couture, and the development of a future interpretation of the craft for the twenty first century, which is underpinned by the development of your discourse on cultural issues impacting on fashion which will enhance your professional profile.
Level 3 allows you to realise your creative potential through external connections, competitions and extended learning opportunities, in order to prepare for a successful career in the fashion and creative industriesor post graduate study. You have the opportunity to enter national and international competitions, and consolidate your theoretical knowledge in the production of a thesis on a specialist subject. You will either realise your own design potential in the production of a collection, or negotiate an alternative practical project with your tutor network. To compliment either choice is a module where you will devise your own exit strategy and negotiate your personal new horizon beyond graduation, whether in the creative industries or in post graduate education.
Career opportunities
You will have the opportunity to develop your skills and interests, focus on your strengths and recognise your ambitions and goals. Our graduates usually gain employment in many sectors of the Industry, or become successful entrepreneurs. We have strong links with our alumni who hold senior positions in the industry, supporting our students and graduates in finding work via internships and continued Involvement.
The broad range of destination possibilities includes
- Designer / Design development
- Design Co-ordinator
- Pattern Cutter
- Fashion Technologist/Sourcing
- Product Development
- Business start up / Entrepreneur
- Visual Merchandiser
- Retail Management
- Range Planning
- Public Relations/promotion
- Press and the media
- Events organisation
- Provides access to work in the cultural industries
* The programme equips you with a range of transferable skills. Therefore our graduates are able to apply their talents to a range of careers in the creative industries which may not be listed above.
Support
The University provides a comprehensive range of support services for students which includes: residential / student finance advice / careers advice / study skills development / IT learning resources. The programme provides strong personal tutor guidance and professional advice related to the practice and area in general. Visiting designers, researchers, and professionals will visit the programme regularly, and study trips to working environments (both UK and Europe) are important components. There are modules in research methods and practice, and an employability module in level 2 prior to the industrial placement. You will have the opportunity to enter national and international competitions sometimes as part of the programme, and sometimes as extra to the curriculum.
Admission
Students are selected on their suitability for the programme by a portfolio and skills interview. Applicants would normally have completed an Art and Design Foundation, GAD, or an appropriate BTEC, GNVQ or Access programme of at least one year's duration prior to joining the programme. Students with other relevant professional or life experience will also be considered.
Applicants should normally have GCSE Grade C (minimum) in English, Maths, GCSE Grade B in Art and 2 other subjects
Students may be admitted through Accreditation of Experiential Learning (AEL) or Accreditation of Certificated Learning (ACL) processes
In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6.0 (or equivalent) is required. International qualifications will be checked for appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education undergraduate programmes.
Key facts
You can start many programmes in either September or February and applications are simple to make. Click below to:
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