BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear

The BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear course, situated in the School of Design and Technology, prepares students for a career in the highly competitive womenswear sector of the fashion industry by ensuring that graduates have the necessary combination of creative, technical, intellectual and communication skills. Students on this course have a strong work ethic, are energetic, focussed and highly motivated, and are drawn from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

Through this course you will develop the core skills of researching, designing, pattern cutting and realisation, including problem solving, to achieve the finished product. As well as learning these skills you will gain an intellectual appreciation of fashion and its place in society through studying relevant academic units, and acquire the visual and verbal skills necessary to be a successful designer.

The course considers market levels, from high street to designer, through a range of projects, many of which are in conjunction with specific labels or companies, or are for a particular sector of the market. The course takes advantage of its global positioning in one of the fashion capitals of the world, and you will have the opportunity to interact with the city’s thriving fashion, art, music and club cultures.

The short work placement will enable you to experience the reality of working within a particular company, together with the chance to make useful contacts for your future career. This wider involvement with industry and society is invaluable to your development as a designer, as is the opportunity to enter national and international design competitions and to take part in collaborations across the College on specific external projects.

You will be encouraged through the course to develop your individual identity through your work, by a fusion of your design direction and the excellent craft skills and knowledge of technological developments that you have acquired. You will understand every aspect of a garment through both the creative detail in the design and the technical skills used in production. By the end of this course you will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to respond creatively to a design brief within the womenswear market. Graduates are working in high level jobs in the industry, or working as designers with their own label, or pursuing their studies at postgraduate level.

BA Womenswear is based at Curtain Road in Shoreditch, on the edge of the City of London and very near to Hoxton. The area is rich in creative studios, fashion PR companies, magazine head offices, art galleries and hip restaurants, bars and clubs. Specialist markets nearby include Spitalfields and Columbia Road, the White Cube Gallery is just down the road in Hoxton Square and the Geffrye Museum is a short walk away at the bottom end of Kingsland Road.

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.


Course Structure

Year One - Stage One - level 4 - 120 credits

• Term One

Introduction to Fashion Design Technology - Womenswear (20 credits)
Research and Design Process (20 credits)

• Term Two

Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits)
Techniques of Making (20 credits)

• Term Three

Introduction to Industry Practice (40 credits)

Year Two - Stage Two - level 5 - 120 credits

• Term One

Cultural and Historical Studies Option (20 credits)
Professional Product Development (20 credits)

• Term Two (or Three)

Research Methods (20 credits)
Aesthetics and Identity (20 credits)

• Term Three (or Two)

Work Experience and Professional Studies (40 credits)

Third Year - Stage Three - level 6 - 120 credits

• Term One

Design Synthesis (40 credits)

• Terms One Two and Three

Contextualising Your Practice (20 credits)

• Terms Two and Three

Final Major Project (60 credits)
Travelling across London

The renowned London College of Fashion library is at our John Prince’s Street site, and you will need to travel to this site, and possibly others, during your course to use the library, which is open seven days a week in term time, and for tuition and special events.


Course structure

The information outlined is an indicative structure of the course. Whilst we will aim to deliver the course as described on this page, there may be situations where it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, for example because of regulatory requirements or operational efficiencies, before or after enrolment. If this occurs, we will communicate all major changes to all applicants and students who have either applied or enrolled on the course.

Please note that due to staff research agreements or availability, not all of the optional modules listed may be available every year.
In addition, the provision of course options which depend upon the availability of specialist teaching, or on a placement at another institution, cannot be guaranteed. Please check this element of the course with the course team before making a decision to apply.