BA (Hons) Fashion Contour

Course detail

This course is subject to revalidation. Revalidation is a process that makes sure students get a high quality academic experience. During revalidation there may be some changes to course content. Please contact us if you have any questions about this course.

Recently students in the second year have worked on a variety of projects with leading contour designers including Fleur of England, La Perla, Coco de Mer, Chromat NY and leading French lace manufacturer Sophie Hallette. Students but also work with leading high street brands including Debenhams, H&M, Victoria's Secret, Triumph International and Speedo. You will have the option of doing a placement year between the second and final year of the course. Successful completion of this year will give you an additional qualification, and you will have the opportunity to make contacts and build relationships within the industry before the end of your studies. Students undertake placements in the UK with companies including Agent Provocateur, Bordelle, Fleur of England, Lascivious, Pistol Panties, Paulita, Jenny Packham, Marks and Spencer, Aura, Debenhams, Ace Style, AJM Sewing, ELai, Reckless Wolf, Playful Promises, Olivia Van Halle, Nicole de Carle, Sweaty Betty, Vollers Corsets, Harlow and Fox, and Holloway Smith Noir, as well as placements with International brands including Tommy Hilfiger, La Perla, Chromat, Lulu Lemon, and Lambert and Partners.

This course focuses on producing graduates who are encouraged to make an innovative and visionary contribution to the fashion contour sector of the fashion industry, and you will acquire the creative, strategic and practical skills to succeed. Students also have the opportunity to take part in a variety of external competitions including The Link Award at MarediModa in Cannes, the ASOS print design competition, ASBCI Student Innovation Award, SET Enterprise Challenge and Playful Promises Lingerie Design Competition.

Year one - stage one - level 4 - 120 credits

Term one: Introduction to Fashion Contour (20 credits); Product Technologies (20 credits)

Term two: Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies Options (20 credits);Product Creativity and Communication (20 credits)

Term three: Product Design and Development (40 credits);

Year two - Stage two - level 5 - 120 credits

Term one: Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits); Creative Professional Practice (20 credits)

Term two: Research Methods (20 credits); Creative Industry Practice (20 credits)

Term three: Industry Project (40 credits)

Professional placement year (optional)

Diploma in Professional Studies

Final year - stage three - level 6 - 120 credits

Term one: Concept Development (40 credits)

Terms one, two and three: Contextualising Your Practice (20 credits)

Terms two and three: Product Design and Realisation (60 credits)

Students on this course might be invited to participate in study trips. This may involve, for example, visits to key areas of capital cities, factories, stores and museums. Attendance on these trips is not compulsory but recommended. Details regarding timings and costs will be issued closer to the relevant trips.

Haven’t found the information you’re looking for? Want to ask us a question about this course?

Enquire

Autumn term:

Monday 17 September - Monday 7 December 2018

Spring term:

Monday 7 January - Friday 15 March 2019

Summer term:

Monday 15 April - Friday 21 June 2019

Course units Year one

In the first term you will study two units.

Introduction to Fashion Contour" "has three core purposes:

• to introduce you to learning at undergraduate level;
• to orientate you within your course, the College and the University;
• to induct you into the specific practices and knowledge base of your discipline.

The unit will enable you to acquire and improve your skills, understanding and approaches to learning that underpin your studies in Stage 1, in your course as a whole, and beyond. Emphasis is placed on the skills needed to locate, navigate and communicate information effectively and appropriately. You will be introduced to resources that support your studies.

Product Technologies will introduce you to the essential skills required for the development and production of fashion contour products. You will learn about materials, pattern cutting, construction methods, production techniques and prototyping skills, as well as the essential knowledge regarding health and safety requirements.

In the second term you will study two units.

Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies introduces you to key concepts and ways of thinking about fashion and its context in society and culture. You will attend lectures, seminars and workshops, and do a significant amount of reading of academic texts in order to complete a formal academic essay for assessment. Completion of this unit will allow you to make an informed choice of subject for study in the second year Cultural and Historical Studies unit.

Product Creativity and Communication explores the creative design process and introduces a series of practical skills including research, finding inspiration, initial ideas, design development of fashion contour ideas, design development, design finalisation, drawing skills and presentation skills. You will learn the essential skills of visually and verbally communicating your work to others.

In the third term you will bring all your learning and developed skills so far, to answering a complete research, design, development and making brief for fashion contour. Through the Product Design and Development unit you will begin to develop your understanding of the industry, fashion trends, fabrics for fashion contour, market levels, consumer behaviour, competitors and relevant ethical issues. Some of your research will be undertaken in small groups, as successful team working skills are essential for working in industry. You will also be developing one 2D design into a final 3D prototype.

In the first term you will be able to study a Cultural and Historical Studies option of your choice that will broaden or deepen your learning of areas relating to your interests in your chosen field. You will have the opportunity to participate in lectures, seminars and workshops with students from other courses within your School, and will read relevant academic texts and complete a formal academic essay for assessment.

The Creative Professional Practice unit introduces you to the wider context of the fashion industry and the study of design and development for a specified market. It explores areas that affect the development of a product, such as sustainable and ethical sourcing, costing and the environments in which the product will be consumed. You will have the opportunity to engage within an industrial context through forward thinking creative responses to the project brief.

In the second term the Research Methods" "unit allows you to explore and experiment with different critical and methodological approaches to research, as well as looking at the range of established research methods and research within design and technology. You will learn more about primary and secondary sources and how they relate, ways of originating and developing research, and appropriate methodologies for your discipline. You will also become aware of any limitations, and this will enable you to choose the most appropriate research method for a particular project. This prepares you for later projects where research skills are needed by helping you explore what research you need to do, how you will be doing it and how you will manage and evaluate the process.

The Creative Industry Practice unit tests your critical thinking and broadens your professional skills set. You will develop your creative, strategic and practical skills through traditional and IT based development with visual and written work. Your critical judgement will be used to develop appropriate solutions to the brief and you will be expected to evaluate and justify your decisions as you develop your outcomes.

In the third term the Industry Project unit gives you the opportunity to consolidate your understanding of the research methods you have learnt by responding to live or simulated industry-set challenges. Your knowledge and professional understanding of the product design and development process will be enhanced, and you will combine creative, practical, intellectual and entrepreneurial skills within an industrial context to answer the brief.

The work throughout the second year is focussed on live projects with national and international companies and brands, and you may have the opportunity to participate in the prestigious Triumph Inspiration Awards, and the Lingerie Insight/Lingerie Collective competition. Recent industry collaborations have included the V&A and English National Ballet, Speedo, Ellesse, Gilly Hicks, a division of Abercrombie and Fitch, and Sophie Hallett, the French company that supplied the lace for Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. In 12-13, student projects included shapewear with Marks and Spencer, ‘contour for couture’ with Sophie Hallett, and maternity bras with Debenhams.

This year is optional. If you take up this opportunity you will undertake a 30-week industrial placement, where you get to experience the atmosphere, pace and discipline of working within the fashion contour industry by total involvement in the day to day activities of a company. You will be required to write a report on your placement, which will develop your study skills and allow you to demonstrate your research, analytical and evaluative skills. Successful completion of the year will give you the additional qualification of a Diploma in Professional Studies. LCF Careers will run a preparatory programme before your placement, and you will be expected to be involved in securing a suitable placement for your own personal development, skill set and career aspirations.

Students undertake placements in the UK with companies including: Agent Provocateur, Myla, Bordelle, Fleur of England, Lascivious, Pistol Panties, Paolita, Jenny Packham, Marks & Spencer, Aura, Debenhams, Ace Style, AJM Sewing, eLai, Reckless Wolf, Playful Promises, Olivia Van Halle, Nicole de Carle, Sweaty Betty, Vollers Corsets, Harlow and Fox, Holloway Smith Noir.

In the first term you will undertake the Concept Development unit which provides the foundation from which you will be able to formulate your own innovative and enterprising project and strategy for the major piece of fashion contour product design and development work that you will do in the final two terms. This work will be industrially relevant and informed by appropriate research. This unit allows you to explore and justify the means by which this work can be realised, and will demonstrate to the industry your direction and potential career path.

Contextualising Your Practice in the first and second term affords you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the critical and analytical perspectives developed within cultural and historical theory and your ability to apply these in a specific study. You will research the topic you identified in the Research Methods unit, which will lead to the production of an extended essay. It is the opportunity for you to undertake a substantial piece of structured research that examines in depth practical and theoretical issues related to your field of practice; it will build on the critical debates and concerns raised throughout your course.

In terms two and three the Product Design and Realisation unit is the culmination of your study through an extended negotiated project. You will be able to demonstrate your ability to utilise concept development outcomes through using research and experimentation to achieve the design development, experimentation, rationale and production of your own range of fashion contour garments. You will evidence full engagement with your responsibilities as a designer/product developer, together with an understanding of where your work will best fit within the fashion contour industry.

• BA Fashion Contour Programme Specification (PDF 87KB)

Staff

We are all passionate about Contour and our enthusiasm for what we teach is one of the nicest things that our students say about us. Contour is a specialist industry sector, and over the past three years we have built up some fantastic contacts within the industry.

Catherine Fuller, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Fashion Contour

Catherine Fuller is the joint Course Leader for BA (Hons) Fashion Contour and is a graduate of LCF. She returned to the College after a varied career in contour, lingerie and fashion design. She has worked for Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom and Macy’s in the US, and for several leading lingerie labels in the UK, specialising in design, brand development, sourcing, buying and technical development. Her own brand Outrageous Fortune was stocked Internationally. Catherine also developed specialist ranges of corsetry, plus size lingerie, swimwear and also post mastectomy lingerie and nightwear. Catherine is currently working on her MA In Learning and Teaching in Art and Design at the Learning and Teaching Exchange at University of the Arts London and has varied research interests.

Nicola Johnson joined LCF as joint Course Leader for Fashion Contour after a successful high profile career working in design, brand development and trend forecasting in the intimates industry. After graduating from Nottingham Trent University, Nicola worked for Corah, Delta and, most recently, as Intimates Design Director for Courtaulds UK where she managed the lingerie team working on the M&S account.

Claudine Rousseau is the Programme Director and a graduate of LCF. She has worked in the fashion industry for over twenty years, initially as a womenswear designer overseas and then as a design interpreter, both for an innovative design consultancy and as a freelancer. Brands she has worked with include PUMA, Hussein Chalayan, Adidas, Levi’s, Nike ACG. Claudine currently collaborates on projects with Rapha Cycling and Christopher Raeburn. Her research interests encompass how clothing can enhance performance, both professionally and recreationally, from both physiological and psychological perspectives.

Linda Wing, Year One Technical Tutor and Senior Contour Technician, has been a key member of the Contour teaching team since the launch of the course seven years ago. Another LCF graduate, Linda has had a career in the contour, nightwear and swimwear industries, and continues to work in the industry as a designer and technician.

Linda Taylor is Year Two Technical Tutor. After graduating from LCF, Linda embarked on a varied career in the contour industry working for brands including Gossard and Shock Absorber and has also had her own company supplying leading high street retailers. She continues to work as a contour designer and technician and has taught on the course for seven years.

Eva Lai is Design Tutor and Contour Specialist Technician. After graduating from BA (Hons) Fashion Contour at LCF in 2012, Eva launched her own brand eLai, and continues to work with a variety of clients as a freelance designer and technician. She works on the course as a design tutor and specialist contour technician.

Lynsey Allison is Design and Technical Tutor. After graduating from De Montfort University, Lynsey worked as Brand Manager for Elomi swimwear. Lynsey works with students across all year groups and is a specialist in grading for contour and plus size lingerie and swimwear.

Jasbinder Jhumat is Specialist Contour Technician and Technical Tutor After working for Courtaulds Lingerie as a sample room technician for several years, Jas joined the Contour team and works with all years in sample room and technical development sessions.

Rob Phillips is the Creative Director for the School of Design and Technology. Trained in fashion womenswear, surface textiles: print, menswear and illustration Rob went on to become the Fashion Editor for International Textiles magazine and consultant for fashion brands. Rob's broad skill set of fashion design, process, graphics, presentation, typography, advertising and communication led to his appointment as Creative Director of Fashion Forecast magazine, where his progressive work promoting young fashion talent garnered him much acclaim from industry. Rob continues to nurture talent at LCF across all courses within the School, teaching holistically about fashion, developing the students’ full potential so they can make their unique contribution to the fashion industry. He furthers the work of the College through many routes, including industry projects, collaborations and competitions. He also curates and directs the School’s events including fashion shows, films, photoshoots, publications and exhibitions. Rob continues to contribute to industry as a fashion commentator (BBC, The Guardian, SHOWstudio and more) and as creative consultant for fashion brands.