Fashion: Design and Accessories BA (Hons)

In this module, you will build on critical thinking engaged in Level 4 and your understanding of ‘fashion’ within the context of fashion design and wider culture. The module will develop the historic and social focus of the Level 4 study into an approach that encompasses customer and brand ethos, personal and cultural identity, and environmental and economic concerns in relation to the fashion industry. You will be expected to use a live blog and engage with a wider audience to develop an individual portfolio of research demonstrating a more developed level of critical thinking with respect to key issues and debates.

In this module, you will explore entrepreneurial and creative practice in the context of a business start-up. You will be introduced to fashion business, the term ‘fashion’ and its distinctive position within the global economy, in addition, you will explore the importance of the fashion business cycle, fashion management processes and the development of creative and contemporary fashion marketing for the micro business. You will learn about the changing market environment through a PEST macro-environmental framework, gain an introduction to the four P’s in the fashion marketing mix and an understanding of how to apply introductory marketing and management research skills and methodologies to a start-up fashion business.

This module works alongside the Entrepreneurship and Creative practice module where you will have researched the fashion marketplace, identified the start-up opportunity, and demonstrated this within a business plan and visual portfolio.

The content of this module focuses on the exciting and growing area of innovation and technology involved in the design of accessories. In particular, the impact of new material technologies and/or wearable technologies in the practice of creative accessory design for fashion, which is a fundamental part of the module content. Building on concepts introduced at Level 4, this module provides you with the opportunity to analyse and apply innovative and future facing technologies and methods to further develop your design and make skills. The module examines emerging materials, technologies, and processes in the design of new smart materials and methods of design how they can be incorporated into the design of fashion products and accessories. Areas such as 3D printing, smart textiles, biomimicry are areas of current interest in the industry you can explore.

In this module, you will develop a collection of fashion concepts from 2D to 3D resolution. Throughout the module you will have access to a wide variety of resources, which will contribute to the production of a diverse, creative, exploratory, innovative, and ultimately directional body of practical and visual work, leading to the design of a fashion collection.

The module is focused on the production of an extensive research report concerned with your own practice. It will focus upon a topic of your own choice which will consist of a substantial and in-depth academic study based on significant research that addresses a specific argument, issue, theme, or question in relation to your practice/discipline. It is expected that this will have a direct connection to the theme of the final collection and be relevant to your own fashion practice allowing the consolidation and further advancement of your academic and professional knowledge.

This module focuses on visual research, creative concept development, design, independent study, and self-directed learning. You will be expected to engage with appropriate research methodologies to identify a design problem and critically evaluate key stages of the design process. Time will be spent developing a personal direction for a final collection in the negotiated fashion project in semester 2.

This module is focused on your personal investigation, negotiation, and creative fashion design. It involves demonstrating project management skills, independent study, and autonomous learning.  You will work on exploring concepts, design ideas and viewpoints to formulate a direction for your project demonstrating sensitivity to colour, fabric/material selection and the professional presentation of toile’s, collection of prototypes/garments and fashion portfolio. You will refine your creative, technical, and visual skills using CAD, drawing/collage/illustration to produce design concepts, development, initial samples, prototypes, and a final portfolio, which will make up the final body of the design, two dimensional and three-dimensional work.

This module will expand on the knowledge and skills developed in Level 5 – 'Entrepreneurship and creative practice' in the context of the micro business.  As fashion entrepreneurship serves as a vehicle for economic developments it is important that you are aware of what makes a business succeed or fail. You will focus your work on demonstrating an understanding of core business practices such as creativity and innovation, implementing a business plan, raising finance, sales, and the marketing of fashion products in addition to possessing small business management skills needed to operate and run a creative fashion or accessory design company.