BA (Hons) Fashion Jewellery

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.

The BA (Hons) Fashion Jewellery course will equip you to become a professionally involved, self-reliant and reflective practitioner within your subject specialism. In addition, projects within the curriculum provide opportunities for you to collaborate with students from other disciplines (Womenswear, Menswear & Textiles), nurturing teamwork, Personal and Professional Development skills (PPD) as well as ethical, social, technological and environmental awareness. You will acquire through the course the relevant professional, communication and entrepreneurial skills to succeed as a fashion jewellery designer / maker in today’s global fashion industries.

There are opportunities within the course to enter Fashion Jewellery design competitions, including the ITS (International Talent Support) jewellery competition in Trieste. Our students and graduates have won a number of competitions, including the Swarovski Jewellery Award at ITS Trieste 2013, and the prestigious Norwegian Nåløyet Design Award 2013. Links with industry occur through projects with particular companies and the short industry placement in the second year. Placements this year have been with a number of companies, including Mawi London, Fannie Schiavoni, Erickson Beamon, Mary Katrantzou, Tatty Devine, Love Magazine, Sarah Angold, Imogen Belfield, My Flash Trash, Noemi Klein, and Tiffany & Co. The course curriculum is enhanced by a series of industry lectures and recent guest speakers have included Melanie Georgacopoulos, Marloes ten Bhomer, Una Burke, Naomi Filmer and Mawi Keivom, creative director at Mawi London. At the end of the course you will be able to make an innovative contribution as a fashion jewellery designer to the fashion jewellery industry.

This course draws on a broad range of specialist facilities at our Golden Lane and Mare Street sites. There are specialist rooms for casting and mould making using a variety of resins, plaster and wax, as well as specialist equipment for metal casting. There is a range of 3D equipment, and jewellery benches, equipment and tools for metal jewellery making. You will have access to CAD software such as Rhino, Flamingo and Adobe Illustrator, a laser cutter and a CNC router for realisation of digitally designed prototypes and engraving.

Term one

Introduction to Fashion Jewellery (20 credits)

Approaches to 3D (20 credits)

Term two

Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits)

Technology and Creative Interpretation (20 credits)

Term three

Introduction to Collaborative Practice (40 credits)

Term one

Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits)

Concept, Context and Innovation (20 credits)

Term two

Work Experience and Professional Studies (40 credits)

Term three

Research Methods (20 credits)

Aesthetics and Identity (20 credits)

Terms Two and Three will be changed if your placement is in Term Three.

Term one

Design Synthesis (40 credits)

Term one and term two

Contextualising Your Practice ( 20 credits)

Term two and term three

Final Major Project (60 credits)

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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 Jewellery

This unit 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.

The Approaches to 3D unit introduces you to design through practical experimental processes which form the basis for working three dimensionally in an innovative and experimental way. You will gain a practical understanding of the language relating to basic solid geometry and form, and you will explore the relationship between 2D visualisation and working in 3D. You will be introduced to the practical and technical knowledge and skills you need to interpret research through a process of design development. You will gain an understanding of basic making techniques and different materials can be manipulated through demonstration and your own workshop practice. You will focus on initiating ideas that you can develop through samples, test pieces and practical investigations into materials and processes. You will be introduced to ways of documenting and presenting your work in a visually effective, stimulating and informative way.

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.

Technology and Creative Interpretation builds on the skills acquired in the first term and further explores the translation of ideas from 2D to 3D through form, surface development, measurement, scale and proportion. Three dimensional forming processes will be introduced, including casting in both hard and soft materials and more advanced joining and linking techniques. You will develop and further resolve test pieces and sample, and progress towards considered prototypes. You will learn more about presentation skills through the use of appropriate software, and this will help you to communicate your design ideas and final proposals effectively.

In the third term you will do the Introduction to Collaborative Practice unit where you will respond to a live or simulated professional brief. You will be working individually and as part of a group, and you will learn about the importance of being able to cooperate and collaborate with others to achieve successful final outcomes through being part of a creative team. Networking, communication, team work and presentation are all essential skills for working in the creative industries.

In the first term you will be able to study a Cultural and Historical Studies unit 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.

Also in the first term, the Concept, Context and Innovation unit gives you the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained so far to a live or simulated professional brief. You will explore concepts of historic and contemporary body adornment and consider the impact of trend cycles on fashion accessories. You will be encouraged to challenge existing conventions and preconceptions, while still responding to the tastes and demands of an identified market and customer. Emphasis will be placed on the aesthetic evaluation of material, silhouette and fashion image in the final design responses. You will further develop your presentation skills through the use of CAD, drawing and oral articulation of your research, design development and final outcomes.

In the second term the Work Experience and Professional Studies unit will provide you with the opportunity to further develop skills learnt on the course and apply them within your industry placement. Your experience of a real industry environment and working practice and will provide you with opportunities to observe ways in which professional practitioners respond to various situations. The unit will increase your awareness of the realities of the industry and of the opportunities for career progression within the professional sector. You will be expected to take an analytical and reflective approach to the placement. You will complete a report detailing your experience, which will include a profile and analysis of your company together with a personal reflection of your experience on placement. Recent internship and placement destinations have included Tatty Devine, Fannie Schiavoni, Dominic Jones, Una Burke, Holly Fulton, Love Magazine, Erickson Beamon, and Natalia Brilli in Paris.

In the third term the Research Methods unit provides a broad overview of the different critical and methodological approaches to research and introduces you to a range of research methods. You will learn the role of research in design and technology, and ways of originating and developing research which will prepare you for later projects where research skills are needed to underpin your work.

Also in the third term, the Aesthetics and Identity unit will further prepare you for the commercial world by developing your understanding of the demands of working with an external professional client, either simulated or actual. You will be introduced to an extended range of specialist materials, processes and techniques, which includes emerging prototyping and digital technologies. Building on skills developed previously, you will be required to analyse the client’s brief and establish independent working methods in order to identify and solve problems. The importance of market awareness and product knowledge will require research and investigation. Awareness of quality, feasibility and ethical production issues will be fostered through the development of self-reflection, critical awareness and rigorous outcome evaluation.

In the first term you will do the Design Synthesis unit which informs and prepares you for your Final Major Project. You will be expected to negotiate a project brief that will allow a full investigation into an exploratory research and practical journey towards a body of work showing innovative design and technical experimentation with material, process and prototype solutions in 2D and 3D form. Extensive primary and secondary research will inform your work on this unit. The focus is on using your skills to show extensive creative experimentation, whilst considering the practical aspects of problem-solving, through use of materials and techniques. You will identify your proposed market level and customer, and produce a Statement of Intent which identifies your brand ethos and core philosophy as a designer. The completed prototypes will form the basis of your collection for your Final Major Project.

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.

Depending upon your chosen concept or theme you are expected to undertake research which covers a range of related art, design and /or media based practice as well as any relevant issues related to your concept exploration, i.e. cultural, societal, political, environmental or economic. Your research should involve you in both primary and secondary research practice which must be assimilated and interpreted before presenting in your Design Project Report.

In terms two and three you will undertake your Final Major Project. This is the culmination of your undergraduate experience and gives you the opportunity to fully develop the work started in the Design Synthesis unit to produce a body of work that reflects a deep engagement with the exploration and development of your design ideas through to your final design collection. Your work should evidence your ability to construct, direct and organise an overall professional outcome, which will launch you into the next stage of your career.

• BA Fashion Jewellery Programme Specification (PDF 86KB)

Staff

We take a more flexible approach to jewellery design than traditional jewellery and sustainable practice and innovation in craft and technology are at the heart of our course.

Bernadette Deddens, Course Leader

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Bernadette Deddens

Bernadette Deddens is Course Leader for BA (Hons) Fashion Jewellery and has been a lecturer on the course since 2010. Bernadette has extensive experience as a designer and curator with her ongoing studies on design and the act of designing reflected in the work of Study O Portable, her design practice. The practice is idea-based and does not limit itself to any material, process or object. In 2014. Study O Portable won the Icon Emerging Design Studio of the Year Award. Bernadette co-founded Workshop for Potential Design, a platform for speculative and collaborative design practice. The work of Study O Portable and Workshop for Potential Design has been published in publications such as Icon, DAMn, T Magazine, The New York Times, Disegno, Case da Abitare and Wallpaper.

German born Husam El Odeh, Associate Lecturer, studied fine art at the renowned UDK in Berlin and worked successfully as an artist in Berlin until he relocated to London in 1999. There he exchanged the canvas for the body and started to make jewellery.
He received awards by respected talent finder FASHIONEAST and the British Fashion Council and the international award for cutting edge accessories design; and the “so fresh award” given out by Pierre Lang and unit f in Austria in 2009. In 2010 he was awarded the British Fashion Award as Emerging Accessories designer of the year 2010.
Projects with Topman, Topshop, Pringle, Swarovski and Kickers and collaborations with Ann-Sofie Backs and Siv Stoldal as well as with Marios Schwab, have established him as a vital part of British fashion.
His latest collaborations with Acne were endorsed by the likes of Kylie Minogue and Chloe Sevigny.

Jessica Saunders is the Programme Director for the Fashion Design Programme, which includes BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Menswear, BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear and BA (Hons) Fashion Jewellery.

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.