Fashion BA (Hons)

Introduction to Design
You’ll be introduced to a range of contemporary design practices using 2D and 3D skills to stimulate creativity and innovation within the design process. Risk taking and problem solving skills will be developed through a series of stimulating project briefs., and you’ll build knowledge of the global fashion industry in order to begin to understand how you, as a designer, can find a place within it.

Visual Communication
You’ll be introduced to life drawing, design sketching fashion illustration and technical drawings through a series of creative workshops. Exploring various drawing styles and media, you’ll take inspiration from both contemporary fashion illustration and design research. You’ll also develop exciting and original drawing styles to enable you to visualize your design ideas and develop a body of work for a portfolio.

Creative Cutting and Construction
In the initial stage of this unit, you'll develop basic pattern cutting and sewing skills, before progressing to more complex and inventive cutting and garment construction techniques. You'll be encouraged to extend your own technical knowledge through independent research and examination of processes and practices used within historical costumes and the work of contemporary designers.

Introduction to Fashion History and Theory
This unit establishes the basic framework of historical fashion and cultural knowledge - vital for developing a contextual understanding. As well as debating contemporary issues, it also introduces the tools for visual and textual analysis, and you’ll learn to demonstrate connections between theory and fashion practice.

Innovative Design Practice
This unit aims to extend your creative process and design innovation through the development of design concepts and engagement with related 2D and 3D experimental and exploratory practices, such as a tailoring project.  You'll be taught how to make a half tailored jacket and then incorporate features into your own design and garments.

Creative Drape Practices
This enables you to extend your knowledge of contemporary design practices learned in the previous unit, and apply this to historical and modern cutting and drape practice by working on the mannequin to create your design and eventual outfit.

Professional Practice
You'll develop professional practices in relation to global industry contexts and prepare for undertaking a six-week period of work experience.

Theories of Culture, Identity and Communication
You'll encounter the key issues and academic debates which circulate in contemporary discussion of design culture. We'll provide interdisciplinary theories and methods for analysis, drawing on dominant theories of explanation and engaging in current debates.

Study Abroad (optional)
This optional unit will allow you to spend time in an overseas educational institution.

Final Major Project
You'll have the opportunity to reflect on your learning and future aims, and use this knowledge to inform a substantive and creative body of work.

Option 1: Includes the creation of a pre-collection and final collection in relation to your selected design discipline. For the pre-collection, you'll research, design and present a contemporary fashion collection, including the realisation of two fully styled outfits. For the final collection, you can either critically evaluate and extend successful aspects of your pre-collection further, or produce a new body of work through the realisation of an original and innovative six-outfit collection.

Option 2: This option incorporates two individual projects, which enables you to explore a particular area of interest within the fashion subject. The first project, industry design focus, provides an opportunity to apply market research, brand analysis and concept origination in order to create a contemporary body of work for a specific brand. Brand design innovation in the second term will extend the knowledge and processes from the previous project, to produce a seasonal collection for specific brands reflecting your future career aims. You will work with a manufacturer to make up two outfits from your designed collection.

Professional Portfolio
We’ll encourage you to critically evaluate your work so far, in the light of future career opportunities and aspirations. You'll be able to define your goals and demonstrate, through a personal promotional campaign and professional design portfolio, the commercial application of your creative skills and intellectual capital. You'll be able explore innovative ways to launch yourself into the next stage of your career (either employment or postgraduate study) through the formulation of a professional portfolio of work containing self-assessment, career planning, design portfolio, self-promotion and a personal website.

Dissertation
You'll undertake a period of self-directed and individually-negotiated research on a subject related to the contextual and/or theoretical concerns of your discipline/chosen area of practice.

This course offers the opportunity to study abroad for part of your second year. To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section:

• Study abroad information

Fashion at UCA Epsom enjoys excellent relationships with a range of household name fashion brands, and our students work with these companies year after year. You'll especially benefit from our strong industry links in the second year, where you'll secure your own work placement. You'll also receive the opportunity to work on live project briefs set by leading fashion companies such as Red or Dead, Warehouse and Ralph Lauren, as well as enter competitions with them throughout your degree.

Our industry connections include:

• Alexander McQueen
• Burberry
• Christopher Kane
• Erdem
• Hardy Amies
• Julien Macdonald
• Liam Hodges
• Paul Smith
• Christopher Raeburn
• Ralph Lauren
• Cottweiller
• Ted Baker
• The Future Laboratory
• Topman
• Vivienne Westwood
• Simone Rocha
• JW Anderson.

The flexibility of the BA (Hons) Fashion course helps our graduates to secure a range of positions at different levels of the industry, and for many high street, luxury and sports brands. Graduates have gone on to work all over the world for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, including:

• Ralph Lauren 
• Louis Vuitton
• Matthew Williamson
• Kenzo
• Julien Macdonald
• Gareth Pugh
• Henry Holland
• Givenchy
• TopMan
• Charles Philip
• Diane von Furstenburg 
• Hunter Gather
• Arena International UK
• Artefact Fashion
• Dr Martens
• Puma
• Adidas
• John Lewis
• Fat Face
• River Island
• Cos
• French Connection
• Ben Sherman.