Course summary

Fashion is synonymous with change. Through this course, you can propose an alternative future for fashion: one that rejects boundaries of gender, established fashion culture, and wasteful and exploitative fashion systems. The curriculum is 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 challenge standard approaches, and who create and design new processes. Their innovations will address the challenges of waste, inclusions, and environment facing the industry. Our approach is tactile, three dimensional, human centered and empathetic. It is agile, responsive and encourages uncompromising quality. BA (Hons) Fashion Design students will work with vision, defining fashion’s future as well as their own. Alongside our alternative approaches, you will gain an understanding of how to question traditional fashion archetypes. You will show curiosity towards learning, be willing to unlearn what you may already know, overcoming challenges through resourcefulness and inquisitiveness. A playful approach to individual and group projects will cement key working relationships and lay the groundwork for positive change. Working across multiple fashion disciplines, your practice will be continuously refined and added to throughout your studies, as you progress into industry. Creativity, imagination and innovation are at the heart of all our practice, in line 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 . Students are equipped 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, to inspire and guide them to define their fashion identity. Digital integration and creative materials exploration, 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. This will 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 for 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 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. Development and realization of a final collection. Collaboration will form an integral part of the graduate collection, elevating final outcomes and 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 transition students to professional fashion practitioners. Critical analysis of career options and entrepreneurship will facilitate this.