FASHION DESIGN BA (Hons) at Bath Spa University

A fast-paced, dynamic and demanding course for determined and ambitious individuals who want a career in fashion.

• A reputation for producing highly individual, award-winning designers and practitioners.
• Member of the British Fashion Council Colleges Council and Graduate Fashion Week.
• Unique partnership with the world famous Fashion Museum – students have access to an unrivalled collection of fashion.

The course offers a comprehensive design education for dedicated and ambitious individuals looking for a specialist career in the fashion industry. Our philosophy is to develop students as individuals to become innovative and creative designers with a design aesthetic relevant to the contemporary fashion industry.

There is an emphasis on ideas, creativity, and developing your own personal design philosophy underpinned with strong pattern cutting and product development skills. We aim to take the fear out of the ‘technical’ side of fashion by combining the ‘technical’ and ‘design’ into one creative endeavour. We look for highly motivated students with a strong creative focus and a clear determination to enter the highly competitive world of fashion.

Overview

Fashion is a dynamic and challenging discipline that is an expression of what people feel and think. It is about evolution and change through design, influenced by cultural, social, historical, economic and political change. To this end you’ll cover all aspects of the design process, from research and design development, drawing and illustration, colour and fabric development, historical and cultural studies, as well as the ability to translate ideas from 2D to 3D.

We foster active, experiential learning; encouraging you to become a critically engaged, independent thinker.

Opportunities

Work placements, industry links and internships

Live projects are incorporated into the course. Previous projects have been set by companies such as Hobbs, Old Navy, Jaeger, Nicole Farhi, Karen Millen and Griffin Menswear.

You’ll be expected to undertake a work placement or internship during the summer vacations, however these aren't assessed and can be undertaken nationally or internationally (finance permitting). Work placements have been undertaken at Erdem, Issa, Adidas, Nicole Farhi, Alexander McQueen, Karen Millen, Griffin, Pentland Group, New Look, Matthew Williamson, Tom Ford, Betty Jackson, Whistles, Stella McCartney, Chloe, Boudicca, Vivienne Westwood, Roland Mouret, Warehouse, Ted Baker, River Island and Twenty8Twelve.

Our partnership with the Fashion Museum introduces you to an unrivalled archive of fashion as well as termly facilitated sessions with museum staff and an internationally respected fashion journalist / writer.

Careers

Graduates have been employed at Zara (Spain), Chinti & Parker, Osman, Peter Pilotto, Old Navy (San Francisco), Erdem, Berghaus, Issa, Toast,  Dune, Mulberry, Roland Mouret, Boudicca, Coast, Karen Millen, Giles Deacon, Gieves and Hawkes, Esprit (Cologne), French Connection, Sharon Wauchob (Paris), Joseph, Zara (Spain) and Nicole Farhi. Other graduates have progressed to study Masters’ degrees or set up their own businesses.

Careers could include:

• In-house designer
• Freelance designer
• Design consultancy
• Creative pattern cutter
• Freelance pattern cutter
• Designing/pattern cutting for manufacturers
• Forecasting
• Styling
• Buying
• Product developer
• Technical designer