School of Design
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
BA (Hons) Fashion
Design at the University
of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a top civic
university in the heart of one of the
UK’s most fashionable and student
friendly cities. Fashion design is
well established at Leeds and
many of our graduates are successful
designers and business leaders in
the UK and overseas. Leeds’ fashion
graduates possess strong visual and
communication skills combined
with creative expertise – they have
developed the skills they need to
become ‘articulate designers’.
The information contained in this brochure is accurate at the date of
publication. However, courses, University services and the content of
this brochure remain subject to change. Changes may be necessary to
comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or to keep courses
contemporary through updating practices or areas of study. Circumstances
may arise outside the reasonable control of the University, leading to required
changes. Such circumstances include, industrial action, unexpected student
numbers, significant staff illness (where a course is reliant upon a person’s
expertise), unexpected lack of funding, severe weather, fire, civil disorder,
political unrest, government restrictions and serious concern with regard to
the transmission of serious illness making a course unsafe to deliver. After
a student has taken up a place with the University, the University will look
to give early notification of any changes and try to minimise their impact,
offering suitable alternative arrangements or forms of compensation where
it believes there is a fair case to do so. Offers of a place to study at the
University will provide up to date information on courses. The latest key
information on courses can be found at www.leeds.ac.uk/coursefinder.
Please check this website before making any decisions. The University’s
contract with its students (following an acceptance by a student of any
offer of a place) does not confer third-party benefits for the purposes of the
Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Our unique BA (Hons) degree will
enable you to study fashion design
in a stimulating and internationally
renowned academic environment.
You will study artistic, theoretical
and technical aspects of fashion
design, to reflect the needs of
industry and commerce. You will
acquire professional skills through
your academic studies and your
practice and be well prepared
for your future career.
Studying Fashion Design
at Leeds
This distinctive course develops your
creativity in fashion design within an
intellectually stimulating learning and
research environment. This course
promotes independent enquiry, reflective
practice and an academic understanding
of fashion design, along with a
commitment to individuality, which
will enable you to realise your personal
design philosophy.
A framework of academic studies,
delivered by experts from a range of
design disciplines, gives a dynamic
context to your specialist fashion
design studies. You may also develop
complementary skills and knowledge
through a choice of optional subjects and/
or elective subjects offered by the School
or other university departments. A wide
range of discovery modules are available,
in many different subjects, from across
the University.
Learning and teaching takes place
through lectures, seminars and tutorials,
as well as one-to-one contact with tutors
in studios and workshops. Practical
work is assessed by visual presentations,
portfolios or other appropriate
documentation.
Assessment may be based on
conventional written examinations,
essays or other written responses to
assignment briefs and the submission
of practical log books or collections /
portfolios of design work.
Major design projects are submitted in
the final year and all students submit a
written dissertation.
The teaching staff are committed to quality
research and academic excellence and
have many years of direct experience
within the fashion industry.
The School of Design is located next to
the Clothworkers Court, at the heart of
the University Campus. Facilities include:
spacious, well-equipped design and art
studios, purpose-built PC and Apple
Macintosh computer clusters,
and the University of Leeds’ Yorkshire
Fashion Archive.
Course structure
The BA (Hons) Fashion Design is a threeyear course – or a four-year course if you
decide to undertake an optional year out
in industry or study abroad after year 2.
In Year 1, you will undertake core studies
in the historic, cultural and technological
aspects of art and design.
Alongside your academic work, you
will acquire an understanding of the
fashion design process through visual
research and product development. In
design practice, emphasis is placed on
visual research and the analysis and
development of your findings. You will
learn how to build on this research to
formulate diverse design solutions.
You will study pattern making and
garment construction. These core skills
form the building blocks of the course.
You will develop an understanding of
menswear and womenswear to enable
you to select your option for years 2
and 3.
In Year 2, you will develop your academic
understanding of the core subjects and
an awareness of professional standards.
You will focus your studio practice and
specialise in womenswear or menswear.
A sound understanding of the industry
will be acquired through research and
analysis, design development and product
development. In design practice, you
will develop your understanding about
building a professional and diverse
portfolio of your work. Through varied
project briefs, you will explore the fashion
market place and customer profiling, to
produce considered and creative design
solutions. Your practical studies will
further advance your technical skills in
your chosen pathway.
You will be encouraged to take the
optional module ‘20th Century Fashion’
to strengthen your understanding of the
historical context of fashion design.
The Fashion Design course has developed
links with industrial partners, and
students have exhibited work in
the UK and abroad. The fashion team
also organise an educational visit to
Premiere Vision, the fashion industry’s
most important fabric exhibition, which is
held in Paris.
In Year 3, you will work towards creating
final innovative garments, a professional
design portfolio and a written investigation
into a fashion subject of your choice.
Study is totally self-directed and this is
your opportunity to explore and cultivate
your own design philosophy. Your portfolio
will demonstrate your skills as a designer
and the breadth of your enquiry. You will
showcase your design skills through the
fashion innovation module, with the option
to further develop these ideas into finished
garments. We are constantly searching for
innovative ways to bring students’ final
year work to a larger audience, such as
through the use of film, photography
and exhibitions.
Subjects studied
Year 1
Core modules: Fashion Research and
Design Development; Garment Technology
1; History: 1900 to the Present day;
Material Culture and Mass Consumption;
Fundamentals of Imaging.
Optional modules: Fashion Brand Analysis;
Green Design and Sustainability; Patterns
and Culture; Introduction to Photography
(Digital); Colour and the Design Process;
Drawing; Technologies for Art and Design;
or choose from a range of Discovery
Modules available throughout the
university.
Year 2
Core modules: Fashion Design
Development and Portfolio; Garment
Technology 2; Finding and Using Research
Resources; Research, Writing and
Dissertation; Design Theory; Marketing
Creativity and Innovation.
Optional modules: Contemporary Art and
Memory; Photography (Digital); Class,
Taste and Society: Interpreting Designed
Objects; The Condition of Things: Curating,
Critical Writing and Designed Objects;
Eco-Design: Understanding Design’s Role
in Global Ecology; Design for Sports and
Performance Clothing; Colour: Art and
Science; 20th Century Fashion; Principles
of Typography; or choose from a range of
Discovery Modules available throughout
the university.
Year 3
Core modules: Fashion Innovation:
Research and Analysis; Fashion Portfolio:
Research and Analysis; Fashion Portfolio:
Design and Content; final exhibition.
Optional modules: Fashion Innovation:
Product (Negotiated Project); Fashion
Styling and Photography; Collaborative
Marketing and Promotion; Design for 21st
Century Societies; Information Design;
Brand Communications; Contemporary
Advertising; Landscape, Place and
Environment in Contemporary Art; or
choose from a range of Discovery Modules
available throughout the university.
Professional skills for your career
Through your degree studies, you
will actively develop a range of skills
to prepare you for employment. You
will develop your communication,
presentation, research and analytical skills
and your visual and critical awareness;
together with your knowledge of the
fashion design industry and related
employment. In the final year you will be
equipped to present a portfolio of work at
a professional level.
Year in Industry
The School of Design offers all students
the opportunity to gain valuable industrial
experience. The Year in Industry module
provides you with highly relevant industrial
experience, an opportunity to improve
your design, communication and people
skills and create a network of relevant
contacts. The industry experience also
helps you to make informed career
choices when you graduate. You have
the flexibility to do one or more work
placements, which can be as short as
one month or as long as a year, with
opportunities in Leeds, London, Europe,
and the rest of the world; recent locations
include New York, Sydney, South
America, and China.
Placement roles are diverse and have
included designing, buying, pattern
cutting, PR and visual merchandising.
Many companies are so impressed
with the standard of University of Leeds
fashion design students that they
request students from our course every
year. Companies have included: ASOS;
Amanda Wakeley; Christopher Kane;
Monsoon; WGSN; Mark Jacobs; River
Island; Alexander McQueen and
French Connection.
Career destinations
“Alice was a much valued member
of our team. She was very positive,
enthusiastic and confident, displaying a
high level of professionalism and skill –
and she managed a heavy workload!”
Student’s supervisor at Alexon
University scholarships
“My year out was an amazing
experience. I developed skills I had
learnt at university, within a professional
environment and gained first hand
knowledge of the industry. This
experience will be invaluable for
my future career.”
Alice Parsons, final year student
Study abroad opportunities
If you wish to study abroad and are
suitably qualified, you may extend your
course to study for a year at one of
several overseas universities, including
institutions in Europe, Australia and the
U.S.A. Your overseas placement would
take place after year 2.
On completion of this course, you will
be equipped for a range of opportunities
in employment, or postgraduate study.
Our Fashion Design graduates regularly
find jobs with sought-after employers.
Recent graduate destinations include:
Abercrombie & Fitch; Amanda Wakeley;
Betty Jackson; BMB Menswear;
Christopher Kane; Dunhill International;
French Connection; Next; Paul Smith;
River Island; H&M and Ted Baker.
The University offers a range of
undergraduate scholarships and bursaries
to support students from less affluent
backgrounds.
Please go to the University of Leeds’
website at www.leeds.ac.uk/scholarships
for full details.
Applying to study in the
School of Design
Applications should be made online
through UCAS, the Universities and
Colleges Admissions Service. Please go to
their website at www.ucas.com, for details
of how to apply. The Fashion Design
course code is W230. The University of
Leeds’ UCAS code is L23.
Entry requirements
The School of Design bases its offer
of a place on careful consideration
of information provided in the UCAS
application form. Pre-A level qualifications,
including GCSEs, your personal statement
and academic reference are all of
importance. Good performance at ‘A’ level
(or equivalent) is regarded as essential.
The School of Design actively participates
in the University of Leeds’ Access to Leeds
Scheme. This widening access scheme
gives special consideration to applicants
whose personal circumstances may
affect their ability to demonstrate their full
potential through grades alone. Successful
applicants receive an alternative, lower offer
alongside a standard offer.
You are required to have a minimum of
six subjects at GCSE level to grade C
or above, including English Language.
Maths or a science subject and Art or
Design are expected. We typically ask
for three ‘A’ level subjects to grades A,
B, B, including an art or design subject.
Equivalent qualifications may also
be considered.
For further information please go to
www.leeds.ac.uk/a2l
or contact [email protected].
Art and design foundation course
qualifications are welcomed as an
additional qualification to ‘A’ levels,
but are not a requirement for entry.
Visiting the School of Design
Interviews and portfolio viewings do not
usually form part of the selection process
for this course. However, where it is felt
that an interview would be of particular
benefit to the applicant or to a group of
applicants or where it is considered that
further information is required to assess a
candidate’s potential, applicants may be
invited to attend for an informal interview
and portfolio viewing to show their practical
and written work. The School particularly
welcomes applications from mature
students and where appropriate, interviews
mature candidates undertaking a relevant
validated access course in art and design.
For full details about our entry
requirements, please visit the
Undergraduate Study section of the
School of Design website at
www.design.leeds.ac.uk
If we offer you a place, you will be invited
to attend one of our School open days,
where you will have the opportunity to find
out more about studying fashion design at
Leeds. If you want to find out more about
the BA in Fashion Design prior to
application, you are recommended to
attend one of these events, which include
presentations about the course and a tour
of the School.
You will find the dates of scheduled
events on our School website at
www.design.leeds.ac.uk or by emailing
[email protected]
Further information
If you wish to find out more about
this course and the University of Leeds,
please visit the University’s website
at www.leeds.ac.uk and the School
of Design’s website at
www.design.leeds.ac.uk
You may also wish to find out about the
School’s Yorkshire Fashion Archive at
www.yorkshirefashionarchive.org
For enquiries about admissions
and qualifications, please email
[email protected]
or phone the School on
0113 343 3700.
For enquiries about the structure and
content of the course, please contact:
Mr David Backhouse
School of Design
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT
Telephone: 0113 343 3802
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.design.leeds.ac.uk