BA (Hons) Sustainable Fashion and Management

Program Overview

BA (Hons) Sustainable Fashion and Management is a needed, educational directive that focuses on re-contextualising the process of design analysis, development and production in fashion education.

Consumption of new clothing is at an all-time high in the UK. We consume over 10kg more per capita than any other country within Europe. (Fixing Fashion - 2019 govt. report). The culture of throw away products is now an area of grave concern, with Barnado's alone receiving around 100,000 bags a week of used garments. (R. Clark 2019).

The professional designer of today and tomorrow needs to focus on their ability to design systems and products that utilise existing garments and digital technologies in order to tackle the humanitarian crisis of overconsumption. BA (Hons) Sustainable Fashion and Management focuses on the use of existing garments as a material resource. Collaborating with companies that have expertise in the area in order to develop a curriculum that would include garment analysis, consumer analysis, circular systems, production management and 3-dimensional exploration.

The course explores theoretical approaches that underpin the relevance of 'circular system' fashion production and the areas of 'repair and re-use.' The course will be utilising the expertise of existing fashion staff and industry experts in order to maintain a relevant curriculum that offers skills and attributes relevant to the industry. The course will explore the utilisation of 3D modelling and rendering software in order to develop a rapid prototyping discipline that drastically minimises the need for material resource and offers a key driver in specific digital skill sets that are relevant to cross-disciplinary subjects within the field of arts and digital industries.

Program Outline

Our sustainable fashion and management course will give you the tools you need to develop innovation within a sustainable context. You will be taken through key ideas of sustainable practice in fashion such as:

The course will share a series of modules with five other BA (Hons) courses within the fashion subject area in order to offer insight to students with regards to the synergies between different disciplines.

Key to many careers and employers - you will also develop thinking skills, including ideas and concept generation for fashion, individual and collaborative responses to set fashion projects, critical thinking, and appreciation of multiple perspectives and approaches.

Other skills for life and work include effective management and organisation of time, communication, computer literacy (Adobe suite: Illustrator, 3D rendering software and Microsoft Office particularly Excel), interpersonal and group skills.

The fashion subject area is made up of industry knowledgeable staff, entrepreneurs and business owners, so you can be sure you will be learning in real-time. We believe it is important that your education is consistent with the times and reflects the industry you will progress into.

Facilitating the awareness, utilisation and exploration of 'circular fashion systems' will be the main aim of the course. This will manifest via introductory projects, theoretical research study, live project challenges, industry visits, work placements, group work challenges and autonomous learning via final major projects. The introduction of a curriculum that focuses on the 'product design legacy,' meaning the entire lifespan of a product, as opposed to only focusing on inception to market retail.

Skills for life and work are developed through partnerships with industry, project-management skills, time management and planning, project work and presentations as well as reflection and reviews with your peers and academic advisor.

Students on the BA course will have the opportunity to collaborate and take part in cross and multi-disciplinary activities such as hackathons with other courses within our cluster.

If you opt for the year-long placement, our close industry contacts will be key to helping you find the right opportunity. Previously, our students have worked as fashion journalists, administrators and buyers for world-leading firms. The list includes Preen, Very.co.uk, Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, Karla Otto and much more.

Even if you decide not to take the placement option, you'll still have the chance to work on some exciting industry-led projects and companies as we approach key fashion calendar events such as London Fashion Week.

We'll assess you with a mixture of coursework, essays and presentations. Coursework includes essays, research files, sample and fibre portfolios, practical design development, group and seminar presentations and a final-year project.

In your third year, your assessment will be based on research coursework, written reports and a final portfolio outcome. You will have the opportunity to gain feedback from your lecturers, peers and our industry partners.