Course summary

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University? With a history of delivering expert craft, art and design education for more than 130 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career. Led by a dedicated and experienced course team, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. You’ll get direct access to guest lectures, who are specialists in the sector, and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and networking opportunities. As a member of the British Fashion Council, UKFT and WGSN our students are supported by industry to reach their full potential. We’re also only 30 minutes by train into London, enabling you to visit exhibitions, shows and watch emerging styles from one of the world’s fashion capitals. Our fashion and textiles programmes are ranked 3rd best in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2023) and we celebrated 95% overall student satisfaction in the 2022 National Student Survey. Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. What facilities can I use? Our Fashion and Textile Studios the perfect creative space and one of the best-equipped workshops in the country. You will master materials, both through traditional methods and using digital software. This includes an in-house fabric and yarn store, screen printing facilities, a dye laboratory and sewing and garment production facilities. In our professional-working studio you’ll have you own workspace which you’ll be able to turn into your own personal area, where you can bring your designs to life and surround yourself with inspiration. What will I study? Creativity, innovation, holistic thinking and the development of your personal design philosophy are at the core of this degree programme. The course aims to develop your knowledge and skills in fashion design on both an artistic and professional level. You will be encouraged to research, interpret and develop your own appreciation of the use of traditional techniques, new technologies, materials and innovative design solutions. During your time with us, you’ll learn approaches that will enable you to understand the design process from concept, through design to production and product placement. Starting with the the core fundamentals, including 2D and 3D, pattern cutting, manufacturing, illustration and an introduction to a range of processes and materials, you’ll begin to get hands-on within our professional working studio. You’ll then continue to develop, with a focus on the fashion industry, through a series of design and live industry projects, advanced pattern cutting, CAD, manufacturing processes and materials workshops. You’ll also start to build your portfolio, putting in place newly learnt promotional skills. In your final year you’ll have developed your aesthetic style, which will then lead on to the completion of a final capsule collection, an industry ready portfolio and promotion package, all of which is shown at our end of year summer show, which both industry and friends are invited too. Upon graduation you’ll be skilled and experienced in creative problem-solving, with a good range of techniques in pattern cutting, manufacturing, processes and materials, and a clear understanding of how these can be applied to create innovative design solutions. Your portfolio will be well-rounded, ensuring you have what current employers are looking for.