Having a creative eye and a talent for fashion design is only half the story. If you’re going to make it in the fashion industry you also need to have the practical skills and technical ability to succeed. This course aims to give you a great head start in this exciting sector; we want to give you the chance to study in a stimulating environment so that you can build up your aesthetic, intellectual and multi-disciplinary skills.

On this course we’ll:

• Develop your awareness of, and skills in, contemporary fashion design, innovative textile applications, industry standard pattern cutting and garment manufacture techniques. While you’re here we’ll help to develop your portfolio of skills to professional standards, through fashion and textile design, illustration, CAD, pattern cutting, and garment manufacture.
• Offer you the opportunity to explore contemporary design for menswear, womenswear, and gender neutral. Awareness of sustainable practice is embedded throughout the course too.
• Give you the chance to become technically prepared to start your career in the dynamic fashion industry. On your course, you’ll be able to use a range of technology to bring your ideas to life, including industry-standard sewing machines, computer aided embroidery, laser-cutting, digital ink-jet fabric printing, as well as pattern cutting equipment. Competitions and live briefs, along with an exciting schedule of visiting speakers from industry, will give you the opportunity to be inspired, and truly engage with this diverse industry.

Fashion Design with Textiles is one of our newer courses within the school. This course focuses on fashion design but adds the speciality of textile design as a raw material for fashion design through surface embellishment and fabric manipulation. We’ll give you the opportunity to design constructed textiles, such as knitwear, making this course stand out from its sister routes.

Fashion Design has an 84.6% student satisfaction rating (NSS 2020)

Placements

The course offers an optional one-year (36 weeks minimum) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects.

Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

Students on the course have previously taken up placement opportunities with companies including: LK Bennett - London; Matthew Williamson - London; Vivienne Westwood - London; Stella McCartney - London; Me and Thee - Huddersfield; Jo-Y-Jo - Manchester; Christy Group - Barnsley; Temperley - London; Oasis Stores- London; Emilia Wickstead - London , Faustine Steinmetz - London; Christopher Kane – Paris and Eliaz Bridal Fashion - Bulgaria.

Alternatively, if you are a student from within the UK or the EU, you could consider starting your own small business by applying for the Enterprise Placement Year in conjunction with the University’s Enterprise Team.

You’ll have the opportunity to benefit from business advice, mentoring and networking sessions. You can find out more information on the Enterprise Placement Year here.

Your Career

This course aims to help you develop the skills needed to go on to work in design, styling, merchandising, buying, selection, management, marketing and promotion, fashion journalism, product development and manufacturing. Some companies our graduates have gone on to work for include Bonmarche, Burberry, Christy's by design, IJP Design and Visage.**

Recent placements include Alexander McQueen, Mary Katrantzou, Faustine Steinmetz, Private White VC, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, LK Bennett, Matthew Williamson, Preen, Boohoo, and Christopher Kane (Paris).

Competitions and live briefs, along with an exciting schedule of visiting speakers from industry, will give you the opportunity to be inspired, and truly engage with this diverse industry.