Course summary

Fashion is synonymous with change. Through this course, you will be able to propose an alternative future for fashion. One that rejects boundaries of gender, established fashion culture and wasteful and exploitative fashion systems. With a curriculum designed to question the current inherited practice and value systems in fashion education and the industry at large our BA (Hons) Fashion Design seeks to create fashion innovators who eschew a standard approaches and create and design new processes to address the challenges of waste, inclusions, and environment facing the industry. Our approach is tactile, three dimensional, human centred and empathetic. It is agile, responsive and encourages uncompromising quality. BA (Hons) Fashion Design students will work to this vision, defining fashion’s future as well as their own. In parallel to our alternative approaches, you will gain an understanding of how to question traditional fashion archetypes. You will show curiosity towards learning supported by a willingness to unlearn what you may already know, overcoming challenges through resourcefulness and inquisitiveness. A playful approach to individual and group projects will help forge key working relationships and provide the foundation to affect positive change. Working across multiple fashion disciplines, you will develop a foundation for your practice to be continuously refined and added to throughout your studies and as you progress into industry. Creativity, imagination and innovation are at the heart of all our practice in keeping with our guiding principles of design: • Social Inclusivity • Innovative Design • Inventive Method • Ethically Produced Year One Students will focus on developing their core skills and creative capabilities to enable them to fully engage with the curriculum. Project briefs are designed to embed core competencies in analysis, reflection, and synthesis to cultivate effective communication. Integrated research skills training, written components, digital competencies, and the generation and development of design ideas builds confidence and equips students with the skills to explore pathway specific methodologies. Full induction into relevant equipment, tools, hardware and software. Year Two: Students will refine their creative fashion practice through project briefs that inspire and guide them to define their fashion identity. Digital integration and creative materials exploration aimed at bridging the physical-digital gap will further develop skills in research, analysis, speculation, and innovation. A work placement unit at the end of the year will encourage links with industry to include up-and-coming design innovators alongside more established fashion brands and provide a valuable step to networking and progression. This exposure to professional life will support students in their coursework, allowing them to refine their workflow and project management skills in support of independent working practice. Year Three: Conceptual development and experimentation through 2D and 3D processes allow students to excel in their practice, extending their boundaries through independent investigation with the potential for collaborative projects. Through thorough exploration of the juxtaposition of the idealistic and the realistic using personal research and analysis, students will distil their work into a cohesive professional identity articulated by the development and realisation of a final collection. Collaboration will form an integral part of the graduate collection, elevating final outcomes and supporting the development of key working relationships Exploration of funding streams and sponsorship for innovation and invention may support product research and development. A focus on outreach and engagement will facilitate the transition from student to professional fashion practitioner through critical analysis of career options and entrepreneurship in relation to personal interest.