Fashion Design Innovation BA

Program Overview

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It emphasizes social, ethical, and sustainable design thinking, equipping graduates with resilient skills to tackle industry challenges and create innovative design solutions for both virtual and physical environments.

Program Outline

It combines digital technologies with practical skills and applications to create innovative design solutions for both virtual and physical environments. The program emphasizes social, ethical, and sustainable fashion design thinking to lead innovation. Graduates will be equipped with resilient skills to positively impact the fashion industry.

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Objectives:

• Develop understanding of fashion and textile design.
• Combine digital technologies with practical skills.
• Create innovative design solutions for virtual and physical environments.
• Focus on social, ethical, and sustainable fashion design thinking.
• Equip students with a broad range of resilient skills.
• Enable graduates to positively impact the fashion industry.
• Examine the relationships between sustainable design and virtual/physical making.
• Develop understanding of diverse market sectors.

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Outline:

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Year 1:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Fashion Essentials: Design, Materials and Production (40 credits):
This module builds a foundation of digital and practical knowledge and skills in fashion design development, garment construction, and textiles for fashion. It explores practices and processes in the fashion and textile industries, examining where change is needed and how to adapt to meet these challenges. Students develop creativity through research and practical projects, incorporating individual and group work. They engage with problems such as waste reduction and fashion surplus, exploring how the industry is adapting to meet these challenges and proposing potential design-focused solutions.
• Design Studies: Foundation (20 credits): This module provides opportunities to develop foundational skills of scholarly research, academic writing, and critical thinking.
Students are immersed in key issues and debates informing the changing values and future of design, considering how these have been influenced by social and historical forces. It equips students with the skills to read and understand academic texts and apply theoretical ideas to their own design practice. Students are introduced to research methods for finding and analyzing texts and images. They develop awareness of the complexity of challenges that design and society face and their ability to analyze the relevance of and make connections between the contexts, issues, and subject fields that will shape their future studies and professional careers.
• Creative Challenges and Communication (20 credits): This module involves a range of rapid and team-led design jams, teaching students a variety of design thinking skills that are both broad and discipline-specific.
Being able to visually communicate design solutions in a range of formats is fundamental to this module – principles of type choice, layout, and image usage are taught.
• Optional Modules (20 credits each):
• Introduction to Photography
• Colour Design and Application
• Creative Thinking

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Year 2:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Fashion Experimentation: Challenges and Transformations (40 credits):
In this module, students research, experiment, and challenge current thinking and practices in fashion. They learn about the materials innovations and technology research that’s informing fashion and textile futures and advance their digital and practical skills from Level 1. Extending their knowledge and creative development through a series of design projects, they utilize specialist software and practical hands-on skills to address industry-focused briefs that require speculative problem-solving, thinking forward to future impacts and solutions encompassing local to global perspectives.
• Design Studies: Exploration (20 credits): This module develops research and analysis skills and shows how these can be used to tackle the complex challenges faced by society today.
This module equips students with an understanding of how they can use design research to create positive change in the world and the confidence to put this knowledge into practice.
• Design for Interaction and Experience (20 credits): This module teaches skills in planning and designing post-digital experiences.
Team-based demonstrations introduce students to the potential of emerging technologies that may shape the future of design. Students engage with new media theories that help contextualize their work. Practical principles of designing for physical interaction (such as designing installations or digital experiences) are introduced, and students learn how best to present their creative responses using a range of techniques.
• Optional Modules (20 credits each):
• Marketing, Creativity and Innovation
• Contemporary Illustration
• Collage Culture
• Advanced Colour
• Contemporary Photography

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Year 3:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Major Research Project (40 credits):
In their final year, students carry out an academic research project, building on the research and analytical skills developed throughout their studies. They select from a range of project types, enabling them to focus on a subject of specific interest, developing the skills required for their future career. Students take ownership of the entire process, developing a negotiated brief that identifies their key design objectives and encompasses each stage of the design process, from research and concept development through to final outcomes.
• Fashion Design Innovation (20 credits): The premise of this module is to develop fashion that is socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible, creating innovative design solutions around these key principles in digital and/or physical form.
A key focus of this module is how students' work will bring benefits to society. They can elect to collaborate with a community-focused group, not-for-profit organization, or charity, or respond to an external competition brief, to develop a responsive project addressing real-world needs.
• Optional Modules (20 credits each):
• Contemporary Advertising
• Collaborative Marketing and Promotion
• Fashion Styling and Photography
• Social Design
• University of Leeds Discovery Module

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Assessment:

Students are assessed through a variety of methods, including:

• Visual 2D and 3D responses
• Portfolios of text and image
• Blogs
• Short videos
• Presentations
• Essays
• Reports
• Occasional exams
Some assessments are based on collaboration with peers, developing artefacts, proposals, and various forms of visual and textual communication in response to problem-based issues. The nature of assessment changes as students progress through the course:
• Level 1: Assessments focus on understanding and acquisition of new knowledge and practical, digital, academic, and professional skills.
• Level 2: Assessments focus on establishing how well students understand, analyze, and apply new knowledge and skills in relation to real-world, local, and global settings.
• Final Year: Study becomes more self-directed with forms of assessment often being negotiated and agreed with tutors.
Throughout each year of study, assessments become progressively more challenging. Formative assessment provides feedback on personal progress before summative deadlines. Authentic assessment means relevant assessment, in terms of contemporary contexts and relevant to personal interests and future aspirations. Dialogic teaching methods emphasize in-class discussion and support staff/student debate. Co-production of assessment tasks means that staff and students work together to devise fair and inclusive assessment.

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Teaching:

• Creative problem-solving and design thinking methods are central to teaching in the School of Design.
• A range of contemporary teaching methods encourage active learning and are underpinned by inclusive and authentic learning activities, including team working, creative sprints, and industry-facing scenarios.
• A campus-based blended learning approach is followed, with resources in the virtual learning environment accessible at all times, including videos and pre-work to help students prepare.
• Students attend lectures designed to invite engagement and participation, seminars to delve deeper into key topics, workshops to learn and practice design making, and critiques and tutorials to discuss work in progress.
• Collaboration with staff and peers is the foundation of teaching and learning, giving students input into their learning journey.
• Some core modules are studied with classmates from other design disciplines, benefiting from a community of learners, encountering diverse perspectives, and exchanging ideas with global industry practices in mind.
• A typical week in the first year may include eight to 12 hours of in-person and online study, one to three hours of specific workshop and studio activities, regular personal tutor sessions, and private study.
• Students have the ongoing support of their Academic Personal Tutor.
• Private study is important at university and a potentially significant change from previous teaching methods.
This is time for reflection and critique of materials from taught sessions, including further reading, writing, designing, and making. Tutors guide students through this process to help them develop their knowledge and research skills.
• Students are taught by expert academics, from lecturers through to professors.
They may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting them to some of the brightest minds on campus.

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Careers:

• Flexibility, resilience, and transferable skills are desirable attributes for creative industry professionals.
• The School of Design aims to equip students with the best possible skills for a variety of careers.
• Design thinking, combined with excellent research and criticality skills, are increasingly valued across a wide range of sectors.
• A degree from the University of Leeds opens opportunities across disciplines and multiple industries, as well as in course-related specialisms.
• Professional understanding and practical skills are central to the degree, preparing students for an exciting career in the fashion industry.
• Graduates become confident communicators with excellent presentation skills, analytical problem-solvers with strong research skills, and have great visual, critical, and commercial awareness, as well as an in-depth understanding of the key drivers of the fashion industry in the 21st century.
• Graduates have pursued a wide range of careers in the fashion industry, including design, pattern cutting, garment technology, buying, trend forecasting, PR, and journalism.
• They have worked for companies including Abercrombie & Fitch, Puma, Cos, All Saints, Next, Jenny Packman, Burberry, New Look, Next, River Island, Ted Baker, Tommy Hilfiger, Warehouse, French Connection, H&M, Christopher Kane, Hobbs, Mint Velvet, Victoria Beckham, Marks and Spencer, Oliver Bonas, Whistles, Superdry, Urban Outfitters, and Paul Smith.
• The Careers Centre and staff in the faculty provide a range of help and advice to help students plan their career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after graduation.

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Other:

• The School of Design offers excellent facilities and technical support for developing creative skills.
• Students have access to a team of excellent technicians across the full range of skills who can help them realize their work to reach its potential.
• The School also provides a range of other support to enhance the student experience and prepare students for the workplace: free dedicated software, a wide range of technical induction programs, free access to LinkedIn Learning, free cameras and video recorder on loan, supporting a Degree Show, external promotion, Yorkshire Fashion Archive, and Membership to the ASBCI (Fashion Design Innovation, Sustainable Fashion, and Fashion Marketing students), visiting speakers from industry or other institutions around the world.
• The School highly values research activities and contextual studies as integral to contemporary creative practice.
• Students have the opportunity to choose optional modules in a range of related subjects such as strategic fashion management, material explorations, and 20th-century fashion history.
• Discovery modules from across the University include popular subject choices such as business management and sustainability.
• Students have the opportunity to take part in the Study Abroad scheme or the successful placement year (Year in Industry) between Levels 2 and Level 3.
• The placement year is a great opportunity to experience the reality of the fashion and textiles industry.
• Students have worked in designing, buying, pattern cutting, PR, visual merchandising, and other roles for companies like ASOS, Amanda Wakeley, Monsoon, Christopher Kane, WGSN, Margaret Howell, Barbour, Mark Jacobs, River Island, Alexander McQueen, and French Connection.

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UK: To be confirmed International: To be confirmed