This stimulating course challenges motivated graduates from fashion and textiles disciplines to explore their chosen specialism and take their development to the next level of creative innovation. Choose from one of the following three areas to specialise in:

• Fashion Design focuses on womenswear, menswear and fashion knitwear.
• Footwear Design and Accessories covers women’s, men’s and children’s footwear and accessories for sport, leisure or fashion.
• Textile Design examines printed, constructed and mixed media in relation to fashion, interiors and lifestyle.

You will focus on building creative, technical and academic knowledge, while developing a critical and contextual understanding of wider issues facing the global fashion industry. Complement your creative practice by selecting from a range of optional modules to tailor your skills to your career aspirations from marketing and business planning to responsible design and manufacture.

Learn independently and direct your own studies, with encouragement and support from our  specialist teachers who bring their industry insights to the curriculum. You will benefit from outstanding facilities that will both push your creative boundaries and advance your technical skills.

Key features 

• We have been recognised as one of the most sustainable fashion and textiles schools in the country as winners of the Next Generation Learning and Skills Award in the Green Gown Awards 2021.
• We will empower you to authoritatively choose your creative direction and tailor your learning around your own academic and professional interests
• Our stimulating, practice-based environment will help you to contextualise your own work, develop real-world skills and collaborate with international practitioners
• Learn from our research experts with a strong technical focus, alongside leading industry professionals who deliver outstanding guest lectures
• Benefit from an optional year-long work placement to gain valuable experience and enhance your practical and professional skills
• Join our close-knit interdisciplinary community which fosters a supportive learning environment for students from around the world
• Our award-winning Vijay Patel building has been designed to provide the space and facilities where all of our art and design students can develop their ideas and flourish.

Structure and assessment

Course modules

Modules

Term one

Research Methods (Compulsory)
Teaches you a range of conceptual and practical research skills, such as questionnaire design and interview techniques. As part of this module, you will formulate your major project proposal, specifying your aims, objectives, research methods and expected outcomes. You will also learn how to undertake the literature review for your major project.

Design Innovation (compulsory)
Is a subject-specific module that explores the development of conceptual thinking, creative approaches to design and the technical aspects of product realisation. An introductory design brief considers the use of primary research sources as inspiration for the generation  of innovative subject-specific product design statements.

Choose one module from the following:

Design Communication
Helps you to develop a detailed understanding of the fashion portfolio and to hone your 2D communications skills. Using CAD and hand-crafted illustrative work, you will explore communication tools and techniques in order to fully communicate your own design and experimentation work in a variety of media formats.

Fashion Promotion and Marketing
Provides students with a toolkit of both theoretical concepts and current, relevant approaches to communication and commerce within a global fashion context. Key strategies  within fashion marketing are explored and promotion via case studies of retailers, brands and designers analysed, enabling students to develop creative strategies and commercial solutions in response to real-life industry challenges.

Term Two

Design Research and Development (compulsory)
Is a subject-specific module that further develops your design research capabilities, creative thinking and sees you demonstrating your design expertise and specialist technical skills. You will investigate potential new designs and technical applications within the subject specialism, which will culminate in developing a pre-collection and proposal for your Major Project.

Promotion and Portfolio (compulsory)
Is a practice-based module that will equip you with an understanding of the marketing process for the fashion industry as well as methods for self-promotion.

Choose one module from the following:

Critical Perspectives in Ethical and Sustainable Fashion
Investigates the impact of ethical and environmental considerations on designed products, garment production and business ideology. It will enable those looking to work in fashion manufacturing or retail to provide future designers and buyers with a clear overview of the major sustainability issues within the industry.

Business Planning for the Creative Entrepreneur
Develops your business knowledge and planning skills enabling you to identify the potential for a new product or service. You will study the key issues in starting a business and covers topics such as business plans, leadership, investment and risk management.

Global Markets: Designing businesses for international growth
Examines the key issues involved in developing new international markets and the role of the design manager and entrepreneur in enabling design and creative businesses to compete effectively in the global economy.

Managing Business Web Presence
Teaches you how to critically appraise website designs, social media activity and wider networking channels while learning about creative production and management processes. You will learn how best to evaluate the role of website design in business, marketing and the creative industries, while examining advances in web architecture, technology, interface and management.

Term Three

Major Project
Gives you the opportunity to explore the aesthetic, conceptual and technological considerations of your chosen research area within your subject specialism. At this stage in your programme you have the opportunity to further tailor your learning to your strengths. You will be able to produce either a 3D garment/prototype collection with a 2D portfolio, supported by a personal illustrated critical and reflective thesis (5,000 words), or a design concept/product supported by a more extensive body of written work (8-10,000 words).

Note: All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current.

Facilities and features