Fashion Design BA(Hons)

Through design and practical projects, you’ll build an awareness of the fashion industry’s social and environmental impact and seek innovative and sustainable solutions. Through tutorials and workshops, you’ll develop core skills in research, design development, drawing, pattern cutting and construction – utilising professionally equipped studios to create original works. 

Modules

Cut and Construct

This module will help you to grow core garment production techniques. In-depth analysis of specific techniques and processes will inform your knowledge of the pattern/construction process and their application in the fashion industry.

Redesign

In the Redesign module, you’ll create original garments using circular design methods – deconstructing garments to inform design ideas that you’ll translate, pattern cut and make into three-dimensional garments. 

Belonging

In this module, you'll be encouraged to build an unbiased and progressive understanding of the ethical language of fashion. Harnessing your emerging research and design skills in the context of clothing design, you’ll engage with themes of inclusivity and diversity in the context of global histories and subcultures. 

Histories

You’ll learn to critically evaluate and position your design practice in the context of cultural, theoretical and historical concepts. Integrated with the delivery of your studio module, you’ll produce your first written piece of work. 

Colour and shape

The aim of this module is to develop your professional identity and technical skills through investigation, play and creative risk-taking. Working with companies’ deadstock fabrics and garments, you’ll experiment with silhouette and proportion, considering colour, materials and environment, while recording your design processes. 

The second year focuses on industry knowledge, responding to global challenges and exploring how digital and traditional fashion practices can invoke positive change. By investigating brands and sustainable business models, you’ll continue to build on your creative design skills and start to align with sustainable practices.

Modules

Industry Practice

You'll develop a collection in response to a live or simulated brief. Throughout the project, you’ll explore concepts of ethics and sustainability as well as brand building, market and customer theories.

Core Skills: Digital

You’ll learn to experiment with new ideas using the latest CAD technology – avoiding the fabric waste produced through traditional physical sampling. 

This module runs in conjunction with Industry Practice.  

Core Skills: Stretch

Also running alongside Industry Practice, in this module, you’ll diversify your growing garment production knowledge by learning construction skills for activewear and knitwear. 

Collaboration

Working as part of a team, you'll work on 'Challenge Briefs' that reflect the sort of assignments you could expect to be working on in industry. Developing your 'soft skills', like communication, problem-solving, critical thinking and leadership, you'll sharpen your ability to work well as part of a group to produce outstanding work. 

Innovation

Innovation is all about harnessing creative risk-taking, sustainable approaches and conceptual thinking to develop original and meaningful design outputs. 

Throughout the module, you’ll continue to fine-tune your skills in evidencing design processes, technical development and garment production, drawing and digital communication. 

Theories

In this module, you’ll produce your second written piece of work to further enhance your skills in criticality and positioning your practice in the context of cultural, theoretical and historical concepts.

You’ll also develop ideas for your final year dissertation. 

You can choose to take an optional placement year after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the RealWORKS employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your placement year 

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

In the final year of your Fashion Design degree, you'll develop a graduate collection by intensively researching, developing and exploring 2D and 3D concepts. Your collection will be underpinned by a consideration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and supported by a dissertation. 

With sights set firmly on launching your career, you’ll also produce a professional portfolio and lookbook and have the opportunity to participate in live competition briefs set by professional fashion organisations, such as the British Fashion Council and the Graduate Fashion Foundation. 

Modules

Pre-Collection

In this module, you’ll reflect on your interests, strengths and weaknesses to help focus the direction for your graduate collection and form ideas for your final portfolio. 

Investigations

In this module, you will complete a dissertation on an agreed subject relating to your individual interests and practice. You will reflect on personal research strengths and practice and engage in considered debate and detailed discussion of the chosen topic.

Collection

Reflecting on your pre-collection, dissertation, and sustainability goals, you’ll research and develop your graduate collection. This body of work will accurately represent your professional identity as a fashion practitioner and will align with your career aspirations. 

Professional Strategies

This module will support you in developing a range of self-promotional materials relevant to your individual ambitions following graduation. Industry guests and careers/employability specialists will share advice and guidance regarding interviews, placements, contacting potential employers, and postgraduate study.

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route?

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree.

What you'll learn

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver and accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject.

If you apply for and enrol onto a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year, you’ll have the option to switch onto a five-year version including a placement year. That means you’ll complete the first three years of your course before completing a placement in industry in your fourth year and returning to Falmouth for the fifth year of your programme. 

The Integrated Foundation Year pathway for this course is new for entry year 2023 and subject to validation.