Fashion Design, BA (Hons)

This degree has an established international reputation with extensive links to industry. You’ll combine project and studio work, have the opportunity to take part in live projects and benefit from visiting professionals from the fashion and textiles industry. In your final year you’ll present your work as part of catwalk show or product exhibition.

With more than forty years of expertise and excellence, this award-winning course combines fashion drawing and illustration, creative pattern cutting and garment manufacture.

It is recognised nationally and internationally for its students’ success in competition work and produces creative talent for today's fast-paced fashion industry.

Why choose this course?

You will have the opportunity to:

• Take part in live projects with industry.
• Choose alternative modules in Year Two such as journalism or visual merchandising.
• Benefit from visiting professionals from the fashion industry.
• Undertake work experience placements and internships.
• Work in our dedicated fashion studios with support from our expert technical staff.
• Gain an international perspective through overseas trips and exchanges.
• Exhibit your work in Final Year in a catwalk show or product exhibition at our Degree Shows in Nottingham.
• Be selected to showcase your final year work at Graduate Fashion Week in London.

Employability is a key feature of this course and our graduates have gone on to exciting jobs with companies including:

• Max Mara
• Paul Smith
• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Ralph Lauren
• Topshop.

Prizewinners

We had lots of accolades and prizewinners from this course, including:

• Dae Byn Lee, nominated for the Zandra Rhodes Textile Award at Graduate Fashion Week 2012
• Janine Clark, named as Alfa Romeo Young Designer 2012
• Emma Baldwin, shortlisted for the Alfa Romeo Young Designer 2012
• Alexandra Gardner, winner of the Adidas British Fashion Council Design Award 2011
• Alice Wedge, winner of the ESCADA fashion illustration competition, 2011
• Milly Jackson, winner of the Fashion Awareness Direct competition, 2011
• Louise Howell, winners of the ASBCI Student Design Award, 2010
• Frankie Yung, winner of the Graduate Fashion Week bag and T-shirt design competition, 2010
• Anna Belen Merono, nominated for the Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week and winner of the Fashion Awareness Direct competition, 2009.

Fashion Design student work gallery
Have a look at some of work our students have created, in our Fashion Design gallery.

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 60 places on Year One.

When does the course start?

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

What will I study?

Year One

• Design Process: Concept, Form and Image (100 credits)
• Design, Culture and Context (20 credits)

Year Two

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

Final Year

• Negotiated Fashion Design Portfolio and Research Project

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

Degree Shows

In your final year you will exhibit your work in a professional catwalk show and product exhibition as part of the NTU Degree Shows. 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 chance to be selected to exhibit your work at the prestigious Graduate Fashion Week in London. A selection of students from this course and our BA (Hons) Fashion Design degree will be chosen to exhibit their garments as part of a catwalk show, which is a great employment opportunity.

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
• teamwork
• live projects
• personal development planning
• 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 66% of your time in scheduled learning. This includes things like:

• lectures
• seminars
• tutorials
• demonstrations.

It also includes time you'll spend working in the workshops with technical support.

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

In Year Three you will have slightly less scheduled learning (around 65%) as you will be working more independently on your final year projects.

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 grand band (1st, 2.1, 2.2 etc). You will receive feedback through the module so you know what level you are working at.

How you are assessed will depend on the individual module, but may take the form of:

• 3D development work and final product
• 2D visual research and design development work
• portfolio work
• evaluations
• reports, essays, dissertation or alternative project
• visual and verbal presentations
• reflective learning journal.

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 developed strong collaborations with industry partners at regional, national and international level which are fully integrated into the curriculum at all levels.

Industry live projects and competitions are a key feature of this course, giving you the opportunity to network and be exposed to real life design situations.

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

Learn from expert staff

Our Fashion Design team is made up of expert academic and technical staff who have extensive experience in both education and industry.

Course Leader: Gilly Staples.

What do the course fees cover?

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

Where will I study?

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

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

Trips and study visits

An international perspective is embedded within the modules of this course and reinforced by optional structured visits to major fashion capitals.

Recently this has included a trip to Paris as part of Paris Fashion Week, in Year Three.

Exchange opportunities – study abroad

You will have the opportunity to apply for an exchange to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, USA and Bunka Fashion College in Toyko, Japan.

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 Design studios are lively, highly creative environments based in the Bonington building, a dedicated Art and Design building.

Access to facilities

The Bonington building is open during term-time from:

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

During these times you can access workshops and studios.

Technical support in studios
Technical support in our studios is available:

• 8.30 am – 5.30 pm (Monday – Thursday) (lunch break from 1 – 2 pm)
• 8.30 – 5.30 pm (Friday) (lunch break from 1 – 2 pm).

You can use the studio facilities outside of these times, but you won't be able to use any machinery or equipment that needs power.

Fashion Design facilities

• Fashion studios: include industry-standard pattern cutting tables and garment production machinery.
• Fabric Store.
• Laser cutting: Fabric laser cutting and laser engraving.
• Digital print facility with Mimaki TX2 digital fabric printers.
• Print room: hand screen printing, transfer printing, collograph printing.
• Digital Arts lab with IT and CAD facilities.

Fashion Design students also have access to the School’s photography studios and equipment.

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 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.

What our students say

"The accessibility to the studios was very good, especially for the third year. The best part of the courses is the amazing technicians – they're skilled, helpful and really lovely people."

Stephanie Dale
BA (Hons) Fashion Design