Fashion Design & Marketing

Starting from essential and conceptual hand drawing techniques, participants begin to develop fashion designs and learn how to further advance their own design ideas from creative research. They are shown how to investigate important topics in today’s apparel and fashion retail environments, including sustainability and environmental issues, and are introduced to existing and emerging technologies that inform fashion design. From an analysis of clothing manufacture through deconstruction, participants study the language of couture composition and ready to wear, progressing through various stages of the design process from the proposal of a fashion illustration, pattern making and construction, right through to the finished garment. While designing fashion collections and creating garments, participants are introduced to the main principals of marketing and understand the global luxury consumer, in order to recognise and create specific communication strategies for the fashion market. They will learn how to identify and define their own individual collections, and further develop them by considering aspects of range planning, pricing, product development, and the organisation of manufacturing processes. By applying these skills to their own collection planning, participants learn how to manage various aspects of production within the broader fashion supply chain. Finally through the creation of business strategies linked to the development of their own design work, presented through a professional portfolio, participants are able to produce business plans to support the entrepreneurial flair of a collection proposal. This programme gives participants a breadth of skills and knowledge in fashion design and marketing, in preparation for a career in the global fashion, luxury and creative industries. With an extra vision and aptitude in communication and fashion marketing, participants have additional versatile skills that can be adapted to any career in the vast world of fashion and luxury. This course is part of the fashion design study pathways. With fashion design as the core subject, participants specialise in the chosen area of interest, completing the course with a distinct professional profile. This course is also available as a BA (Hons) four-year course (including Sandwich Year Placement).

• Fashion drawing & Illustration (2D, 3D)
• Pattern cutting & construction
• Digital design
• Professional design & portfolio
• Visual communication & professional presentation skills
• Marketing & fashion business practices
• Product management
• Business plan development
• Fashion entrepreneurship
• Fashion buying & range planning
• Consumer behaviour & analysis

• Menswear/womenswear designer
• Studio director
• Product manager
• Distribution manager
• Brand developer
• Marketing manager

Year one

• Fashion Drawing Fundamentals
• Fashion Design Fundamentals
• Fashion Collection Fundamentals
• History of Art and Fashion

Year two

• Fashion Brand Exploration
• Marketing in the Fashion Sphere
• Crafting the Fashion Market
• Fashion, Art and Cultural Context

Year three

• Personal Research & Product Management
• Final Major Project Fashion Design & Marketing
• Final Dissertation

Badges of Excellence recognise a school’s strengths in four key areas: Best Overall, Best in Global Influence, Best in Learning Experience and Best in Long-Term Value.

• Global Influence – The global reputation and influence of a school, based on the selectivity of a school in admitting applicants and the enrolment rates of admitted applicants.

An Overall BoF Score was then awarded to each institution based on the sum-weighted score across all three key indices.