Университет Западной Англии, BA (Hons), Fashion Design

Year 1: Semester 1 is a diagnostic stage of the course allowing students to study two out of the following; fashion design; fashion/textile design and textiles; through a common introductory module, students are introduced to processes of exploratory drawing; ideas generation; design development and a range of processes and textile techniques within the workshops; the development of an individual visual language is key and students are encouraged to investigate and test notions of textiles and fashion in the development of their ideas. Year 2: At this level students refine their specialist design-led, technical skills and begin to establish a personal style; within the programme students encounter live projects with industry as part of modules addressing professional practice; projects are based around garment design and production and magazine design and production; the second half of the year builds on the specialist approach through diversification of the subject area; the fashion practices module covers fashion drawing and technical drawing; styling and photography and innovative cutting alongside garment production and finishing. Year 3: The final level of the programme concentrates on self-directed study and aims at exploring and further developing students design philosophy; this culminates in a collection of either two or three dimensional works or a combination of both; options for study may include fashion illustration; styling and photography; fashion prediction and marketing and garment design and construction for a collection; the work should be appropriate to students specialisation and future professional interests; a programme of studies in visual culture runs throughout the course culminating in a final major written project.

Fashion design is concerned with the development of the skills; knowledge and understanding applicable to work within the fashion industry; students undertake studies based in design and around fashion design and visual culture in order to establish a personal position from which to design and critique fashion; the study of fashion design places emphasises on research; marketing; design; presentation and a broad understanding of the fashion industry; modules in fashion drawing; design and realisation and visual culture promote an understanding of the culture; organisation and presentation of fashion for the fashion industry.