BA (Hons) Fashion Design

"Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, examinations may be replaced by an alternative form of assessment during the academic year 2021/2022. Please refer to the Programme Specification on these pages for further details."

Why choose this course?

You want to immerse yourself in studio practice

You want the freedom to design. You want to see your ideas come to life. You’re highly motivated and want to develop your unique style. We’ll set you broad assignment briefs which means you can bring your personality, your identity, and your culture into the heart of your designs. We’ll encourage you to work independently whilst being on hand to offer support. At Herts, you’ll join an inspirational and collaborative community. You’ll have the technical facilities to explore your creativity. Be curious... now is the time to take risks. Our studios have everything you need. You’ll have access to mannequins, sewing machines, cutting tables, and metres upon metres of fabric. You’ll use Computer-Aided Design to visualise and test your ideas. We’ll support you to create an inspirational collection. To promote your designs. Every step of the way you’ll benefit from our expertise and experience. We’re rated TEF Gold, which makes us one of the best universities for teaching and support. You know you can thrive in the right environment, so do we. We want you to feel right at home in our studio. This is your place. Your space to create.

You want to study fashion culture

You want to study art and design philosophy. You want to explore the evolution of fashion through culture, technology, and innovation. Perhaps you want to study gender stereotyping and the role of social media? You’ll extend your knowledge of expressive and functional fashion. Delve into ethical issues facing the industry. What is the true cost of fast fashion? We’ll encourage you to investigate how society responds to and influences the fashion world. You’ll critically approach a variety of topics as you delve into case studies. You’ll research, evaluate, and analyse texts. Most importantly, we’ll encourage you to form your own views. You’ll become a critical thinker who’s ready for the next design challenge. Inspire your creations with impassioned thought-provoking research.

You want to build a reputation as a designer

You’ll benefit from our team of talented technicians, industry experts, and guest speakers. We collaborate with leading brands and designers. These include F&F, Ellesse, and Sadie Williams. his means you’ll gain a range of opportunities including work placements and employment. You’ll work on live industry projects. Plus, there’s even the chance to win sponsorship. We’re a member of the British Fashion Colleges Council, which means you can compete in prestigious competitions. In your final year, you’ll have the chance to exhibit your work to industry leaders at Graduate Fashion Week. Could you become a finalist or win an internationally recognised award? Some of our graduates already have. In fact, two of our 2020 graduates won a week’s residency at a fashion house in London. With all this opportunity to be seen by the right people, you’ll have everything you need to launch a meaningful career in fashion.

What's the course about?

In the first year, you’ll learn core design and production skills. You’ll practice hand rendering techniques to produce technical drawings. You’ll visualise your designs with 2D and 3D technology. You’ll become competent in fitting and pattern cutting. We’ll teach you how different fabrics behave and the best way to construct garments. Together, we’ll explore the history of art and design. You’ll understand fashion in a wider social context. What are the issues facing the industry? With fashion, there’s always much more than meets the eye. You’ll visit fashion houses to gain insights from industry experts. You’ll research case studies. You’ll gain strong inquiry and analysis skills. We’ll explain industry-relevant language, so you’ll feel confident to write essays and design proposals. You’ll develop photographic, presentation, and portfolio skills. This is the first step on your journey to create a professional design portfolio.

In the second year, you’ll improve your technical design skills. Get stuck into sketching, drawing, and illustrating. We’ll teach you advanced pattern cutting techniques using 2D and 3D technology. We’ll teach you new ways to construct clothes. Get creative on a deeper level. Develop your own visual identity and design signature. We’ll teach you fashion communication techniques. You’ll study branding and promotion in print and social media. We’ll set you ‘live’ assignments from our industry partners. You’ll design functional and commercially viable fashion. You’ll design for real people, real shapes, real sizes. We’ll encourage you to enter your work in international competitions. You’ll create engaging and inspiring portfolios. You’ll expand your research into the theory behind fashion. What informs current design practice? We’ll encourage you to debate. To form your own judgments and present a compelling argument. You’ll have two opportunities this year to take a work placement. What will you discover?

Between your second and final year, you will have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for a year. This will not only give you an amazing experience to talk about, but you’ll also boost your cv. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too.

In the third year, you’ll produce your contemporary collection or equivalent. You’ll embrace traditional, new, and emerging technologies to produce unique designs. You’ll work with a greater level of independence to create a professional portfolio. Be expressive. Inventive. We’ll teach you how to communicate a visual identity. To develop your brand. You’ll produce marketing and promotional material. Your designs won’t speak for themselves. But you can. We’ll encourage you to initiate work placements. To immerse yourself in a business. Benefit from industry mentorship. You’ll also pursue a detailed inquiry into an aspect of design culture that fascinates you. You’ll examine it from a historical, economic, and technical viewpoint. You’ll produce a critical essay on a topic of your choice. Your research will inform your concept. You can create fashion that responds to social, cultural, and environmental challenges. What will your contribution to fashion be? We’ll help you get your designs seen. To promote your work. You could enter your collection in the prestigious Graduate Fashion Week held at the Truman Brewery in London. This is your chance to prove you’ve got what it takes. That you’re a designer in the making.

Your main campus is College Lane

This is where the creative arts, science, and health-related subjects are based. This means you’ll share the campus with future nurses, scientists, artists, and more. You can use the common rooms to relax with friends, work out in the 24-hour gym or have a drink in our on-campus pub or cafes. We also have restaurants for you to eat in or grab something on the go. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.

This course includes the options of:

• Work placement
• Study abroad