Fashion Design

Fashion design is one of the most demanding of the creative disciplines, requiring both artistic vision and technical craft, an understanding of the body and how garments move with it, and the ability to work within the social, economic and increasingly environmental realities of one of the world's largest industries. Fashion designers are not simply stylists: they are makers who must understand construction, pattern cutting, textiles and the industrial processes that take a design from sketch to production, as well as developing a distinctive creative voice and an awareness of the cultural and commercial contexts in which clothing is made and consumed.

This three-year full-time degree at Birmingham City University includes a sandwich year with a work placement, giving you professional industry experience as part of the programme. The degree offers a comprehensive fashion design education, encouraging innovation in both design skills and technical craftsmanship with a strong focus on sustainability, systems thinking and socioeconomic practice. You will develop your design skills and technical abilities alongside an understanding of the fashion system and the challenges, environmental, social and commercial, that the industry faces and that graduates entering it will need to engage with.

Graduates work across the fashion industry in design, production, technical development, buying, fashion communication, styling, retail management and entrepreneurship. The combination of design expertise, technical skills and professional experience from the placement year makes graduates competitive for roles in both large fashion businesses and smaller independent labels and studios. Many graduates develop their own labels or work in the growing field of sustainable and ethical fashion.

Further study at postgraduate level in fashion design, fashion technology or sustainable fashion is an option for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.