Fashion Accessory Design, BA (Hons)

This new course offers you the opportunity to develop design and manufacturing skills for accessories such as contemporary bags, luggage, cases, belts, footwear, jewellery and textile products. It has exceptional links to the leather goods and accessories industry and you'll benefit from live industry projects and visiting professionals.

This course was launched by the School of Art & Design in 2012, in response to the growing accessories market. It includes the design of a diverse range of products:

• pattern making and illustration
• manufacture
• 3D materials
• processes
• technologies.

Why choose this course?

You will have the opportunity to:

• Work on live projects with industry.
• Experience the design and manufacture processes for a range of fashion accessories.
• Work with advanced technologies including laser-cutting, Rhino 3d, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and rapid prototyping.
• Learn in our extensive art and design facilities with support from expert technical staff.
• Study collaborative projects in areas like journalism, global sourcing and visual merchandising.
• Undertake work experience placements.
• Transfer to our BA (Hons) International Fashion Business course in Year Three.
• Exhibit your work in Year Three at our Degree Shows in Nottingham.

You will also benefit from the fantastic industry links we have established through our award-winning BA (Hons) Fashion Design course.

Open days
To get a real taste of this course, why not visit us on one of our open days?

Can't visit us? Talk to us online...
We know it's not always possible to come along to one of our open events, particularly if you don't live in the UK. Throughout the year we will be running a series of live chat sessions, where you can log on and talk to us remotely.

Find out more about live chats for this course on our live chat webpage.

Latest news
Find out what's going on in the School of Art & Design on our news pages and the Facebook page.

Any questions?
Email us
Telephone: +44 (0)115 941 8418
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How many places are available on this course?

There are 15 places available in Year One.

When does the course start?

This course starts in September. Take a look at our academic calendar for details of term start and end dates.

What will I study?

Year One

• Design Principles: Form, Function and Application (100 credits)
• Design, Culture and Context (20 credits)

Year Two

• Design Context: Product, Technology and Innovation (100 credits)
• Design, Culture and Context 2 (20 credits)

Final Year

• Negotiated Fashion Accessory Design; Portfolio and Research Project (120 credits)

Find out what you'll cover in each module of our Fashion Accessory Design course in more detail.

Degree Shows

In your final year you will exhibit your work as part of our Degree Shows at the University. The Degree shows include all final year students across NTU's Art and Design-based courses, and are a great platform for you to celebrate your studies and showcase your work to members of the creative industries.

You will also have the opportunity to be selected to exhibit your final year work at Graduate Fashion Week in London.

How will I learn?

You will be taught through a variety of teaching and learning experiences which will include:

• lectures and briefings
• studio workshops
• textile workshops
• seminars
• tutorials
• peer and self-evaluations
• verbal and visual presentations
• teamworking
• live projects
• personal development planning
• external visits.

You will also be involved in self-directed project work where you will have the support of NOW, our virtual learning environment.

In Years One and Two you will spend an average of 67.5% of your time in scheduled learning. This includes things like:

• lectures
• seminars
• tutorials
• project supervision
• demonstrations
• practical classes.

For the remaining time you will undertake self-directed independent study which may be spent researching or completing coursework, either at University or at home.

In Year Three you will have less scheduled learning (around 60%) as you will be working more independently on your final year coursework.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment for this course is 100% through coursework.

You will be assessed at the end of each module and awarded a grade band (1st, 2.1, 2.2 etc). You will receive feedback throughout the module so you know what level you are working at.

At certain points during and at the end of modules you will be asked to present your work. This may be through:

• 2D visual research
• sketchbooks and design development work
• 3D development work
• toiles and final product
• portfolio work
• reports and evaluations
• essays
• dissertation or alternative projects; and
• visual and verbal presentations.

To progress through the course you must achieve 120 credits each year. Your final degree mark will be based 100% on your final year work.

Links with industry

This course has strong links with the leather goods and accessories industry through its teaching staff. Industry live projects and competitions are a key feature of this course, giving you the opportunity to be exposed to current practices within industry.

You will be actively encouraged and supported to undertake work experience placements, which usually take place during holiday times, outside of term time.

You will also benefit from visiting professionals, such as Kat Marks, who will give you insight into industry practice.

This course also benefits from the well-established links already developed with our BA (Hons) Fashion Design degree.

Learn from expert staff

Our Fashion Accessory Design team is made up of expert academic and technical staff who have extensive experience in education and industry. These, together with visiting professionals, provide a rounded, up-to-date education, informed by current practice and industry developments.

Course Leader: Lee Mattocks

What do the course fees cover?

Find out what is included in the course fees for our BA (Hons) Fashion Accessory Design.

It's a flexible course

This course gives you the option to transfer to our BA (Hons) International Fashion Business course in your Final Year.

Where will you study?

You will study this course on NTU's City site, based in Nottingham city centre.

Our Fashion Accessory Design studio and workshops are based in the Bonington building, a dedicated Art and Design building. You may have some lectures in other buildings across the site, including our recently renovated Newton building.

Trips and study visits

You will have the opportunity to go on a number of national and international trips during the course. In Year One you will visit places in the UK such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Wollaton Hall. In Year Two and Year Three you will have the option to visit an international destination, such as Amsterdam.

Exchange opportunities – study abroad

In Year One you will have the opportunity to apply for an exchange opportunity to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

In Year Two you can opt to spend a period of time studying at another university in Europe through our Erasmus scheme.

View the full course specification
Please note that course specifications may be subject to change

Our Fashion Accessory Design facilities are extensive and each area is supported by expert technical staff. The main studios and workshops for this course are based in the Bonington building, a dedicated Art and Design building.

Access to facilities

You will have access to a dedicated Fashion Accessory Design studio as well as other workshop areas.

The Bonington building is open during term-time from:

• 8 am – 8 pm (Monday to Thursday)
• 8 am – 7.30 pm (Fridays).

During this time you can access workshops and studios.

Technical support during workshops

Technical support in our workshops is available:

• 8.30 am – 5 pm (Monday – Thursday) (lunch break from 1 pm - 2 pm)
• 8.30 am – 4.30 pm (Fridays) (lunch break from 1 pm - 2 pm).

You can use these facilities outside of these times, but you will not be able to use any machinery or equipment that needs power.

Specialist facilities and equipment

• Laser cutting: fabric laser cutting and engraving facilities
• Print room: hand screen printing, transfer printing, collograph printing
• Digital print facility: Mimaki TX2 digital fabric printers
• Wood workshops
• Fabric store: you can purchase fabric directly from the store
• Casting and mould making
• Specialist leather manufacture: for accessories and footwear

You will also have the opportunity to use resources from across the School of Art & Design and wider University. This includes fundamental manufacturing machinery and equipment such as the water jet cutter in our Product Design workshops.

Books and library resources

In our library you will have access to an extensive and diverse range of resources, both print and online. The library's OneSearch system provides access to all our electronic resources, journals and books. It also offers group and individual study spaces, and has a large team of staff to help you find what you need for your studies.

Within the library there is a liaison librarian who has specialist Fashion Accessory Design subject knowledge and can offer detailed help in finding and using print and electronic resources and also support on things such as Harvard referencing and research skills.

Bonington Art Shop

Our specialist in-house art shop is based in the Bonington building. Run by experience and friendly University staff, the shop stocks a wide variety of arts and crafts materials.

The shop responds to the requirements of our students, and the stock on offer grows each year to support the courses offered within the School of Art & Design.

Bonington Colour Bureau

Located in the Bonington building, our Colour Bureau provides a range of in-house printing for NTU students and staff.

Specialising in graphic arts printing, the Colour Bureau offers high quality prints on a non-standard range of media in any size up to B0. It also operates a drop-off service so you won't have to queue, and aims to offer A4/A3 prints for same-day collection where possible.

The Bonington Gallery

The Bonington Gallery presents a number of exhibitions throughout the year as part of a comprehensive programme of visual arts and design events.

Exhibitors include national and international artists and designers, current students and staff from within the University and NTU alumni.

IT resources

Our IT resource rooms and PC clusters are distributed across the City site, with PCs providing access to:

• Microsoft Office
• email
• web browsing
• networked file storage
• high-speed online printing services (with a free printing allowance for each student).

Resource rooms are available 24 hours a day.