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Textile Design BA (Hons)

Discover your distinctive textile design identity and create dynamic collections across a range of fashion, interior or lifestyle markets.

Overview


This course explores the fabric of the world around us - from wallpaper and soft furnishings to transport upholstery and luxury fashion. The curriculum will give you the practical, digital and professional skills required to become a designer in the contemporary global textile market.

You can specialise in one of four areas – mixed media, print, knit or weave – and will explore the key applications of fashion, interior and lifestyle.

  • Mixed media focuses on creating contemporary collections using embroidery and embellishment to build up surfaces.
  • Print explores the translation of imagery onto textile surfaces with the inventive use of screen printing and dyeing processes.
  • Knit and weave concentrate on developing innovative textile structures through yarn and fibres.

Employability skills are embedded into the curriculum, alongside opportunities to work on live briefs set by industry experts and take part in prestigious competitions. Our expert teaching team will encourage you to take dynamic approaches to textile design that will influence the future of the industry and you will graduate as a forward-thinking, responsible designer.

Key features

  • We are recognised as one of the country’s most sustainable fashion and textiles schools (Green Gown Awards, 2021) and one of the best fashion schools in the world for 2022 (CEOWORLD, 2022).
  • In the prestigious Bradford Textile Society Design Competition Awards 2022, our students received 15 prizes and commendations totalling nearly £2,500, more than any other university. DMU also received the Designer’s Guild Plaque in recognition of our outstanding work.
  • In your first year you will experience all four specialist areas of textile design, enabling you to make an informed decision about the pathway you will choose for your second and third year.
  • Our award-winning Vijay Patel Building provides state of the art facilities including print tables, digital print and knit machines, jacquard looms, digital sewing and domestic embroidery machines, laser cutters, CAD packages and laboratories for textile technology testing and advanced dyeing.
  • Work on live projects with industry to develop your experience of professional practice. Recent briefs have been set by Hallmark Cards, Sainsbury’s Design Studio and Dulux.
  • Enhance your career prospects with a placement year. Recent students have worked at Alexander McQueen, Primark, Berghaus, ASOS, Joules and Marks & Spencer.
  • Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.

Follow Textile Design BA (Hons) on Instagram to see inspiring work by our students.  

While working on my final year project, I secured an internship with Amtico Flooring. It's the most amazing experience - working with an incredible design team and doing what I love every day!

Esme Lever, Textile Design BA (Hons) graduate

See our student work

Award-winning student work

Victoria Herbert, Bradford Textile Society Design Competition 2020 prize winner.
Bethany Edgar, DMU Roadley Award 2021 for innovation in sustainability prize winner.
Jessica Gibson, Bradford Textile Society Design Competition 2021 prize winner.
Nicole Stavrou, Fashanne People’s Choice Award 2020 prize winner.
Rebecca Stevens, Worshipful Company of Dyers Award prize winner 2019.

Student success:

Talented DMU makers rewarded with cash prizes at New Designers

Cutting-edge concepts by DMU fashion students recognised by historic livery company

DMU students take top prizes at renowned textile design awards

More courses like this:

Fashion Textile Design BA (Hons)

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: W231

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250.

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

 

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement.

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for international students: £15,250

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements 

We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds.

  • Art and Design Foundation or
  • 112 points from at least 2 A ‘levels 
  •  BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points or
  • T Levels Merit

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above

We will normally require students to have had a break from full time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Interview and portfolio

Applicants with relevant qualifications will be invited to submit a portfolio of work. Please see our portfolio advice page for full details.

Non-standard applicants may be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams with a portfolio.

Applicants who receive an offer for this course for 2023 entry will be invited to attend an offer holder day. You’ll get to spend time with our teaching team, current students and be able to experience our fantastic facilities. Your email invite will be sent to the address you used to register when you applied, so keep an eye out and book to join us.

Structure and assessment

Education 2030

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

Read more about Education 2030
 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Awards and memberships

 

First year

Block 1: Inquiry

Block 2: Specialism Rotation

Block 3: Design Development

Block 4: Culture and Context

 

Second year

Block 1: Specialism Technical

Block 2: Communication

Block 3: Industry

Block 4: Global Contexts

 

Third year

Block 1: Exploration

Block 2: Design and Culture

Block 3 and Block 4: Major Project or Dissertation

 

Structure

During your first year, you will gain a practical grounding in textile design and digital skills, alongside a theoretical understanding of professional practice, visual research, textile history and contexts. You will then specialise in one of four areas of textile design – mixed media, print, knit or weave. Mixed media is our most three-dimensional specialism and focuses on the design and crafting of embroidery, embellishment and conceptual techniques to build up surfaces. In printed textiles, you are encouraged to explore both traditional and contemporary print processes, from screen printing to digital, underpinned by a technical understanding of dyeing in our state-of-the-art dye laboratories. In studying constructed textiles, knit or weave, you will be able to explore designing textile structures through the skilful and creative use of yarn and fibres, the mainstay of the textile industry.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical studio sessions, tutorials, workshops and self-directed study. The assessments are designed to build on each other as you progress in your studies and you will have opportunities to receive feedback on your work throughout your learning journey. Assessment can be varied, but generally will take the form of a visual presentation either as a catwalk, or digital display.

The teaching team are experts across key fields within the creative industries, from influential textile designers, international design studio directors and specialist makers to textile technologists, scientists, historians, academic researchers and policy influencers. You will also be supported by our team of dedicated expert technicians.

Each year you will participate in various national and international competitions such as the Hand and Lock, Hallmark cards and New York SURTEX Exhibition Design competition. Students regularly win awards at New Designers and their work has also been exhibited in showcases such as The Discerning Eye, One Year On and Graduate Showcase with the Embroiderers Guild. 

Contact hours

In your first year you will normally attend around 19 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week and we expect you to undertake at least 22 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Ranked as one of the best fashion schools in the world for 2022 (CEOWORLD, 2022) and in the top 10 in the UK for 'career after 15 months' (The Guardian University Guide 2022), our innovative and widely-respected courses help prepare students for fulfilling futures in this fast-paced industry.

Green Gown Award

The School of Fashion and Textiles won the Next Generation Learning and Skills Award in the Green Gowns Awards 2021 and received global recognition in the International Green Gown Awards 2022. These awards are the gold standard for sustainability in universities around the world and this puts DMU at the forefront of sustainable fashion and textiles education in the UK. Sustainability is at the heart of our curriculum and teaching, empowering our students to be agents of change within the industry.

UK Fashion and Textiles Association

We are members of the UK Fashion and Textiles Association which ensures our teaching stays up to date with the latest developments in the sector and provides valuable industry links that enhance our courses.

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Facilities and features

One building … a world of possibilities

Art and design facilities

Our award-winning Vijay Patel building has been designed to provide the space and facilities where all of our art and design students can develop their ideas and flourish. 

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our sophisticated and contemporary workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building prepares students for industry and helps develop them as future leaders in their respective fields. 

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

 

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Works
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement. 

Previous students have benefitted from placements at both high fashion and high street brands such as Alexander McQueen, Primark, Berghaus, ASOS, Joules and Marks & Spencer. 

Our students also have opportunities to get involved with events such as the David Bowie immersive live experience at the National Space Centre. Inae You, influenced by the concept of a traditional British garden, illustrated intricate plant and flower patterns by hand, which she then digitised, and screen printed onto large-scale textiles. 

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DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges. 

Students on this course have been on DMU Global trips to Copenhagen to explore sustainability in the fashion and textiles industry, and to Berlin to discover how independent boutiques and designers run their businesses.  

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Graduate careers

We aim to prepare you for a career in the international textile industry, whether that be working with high street brands, high value designers and bespoke makers, or as a self-employed entrepreneur.

Our graduates are working as designers, colourists, buyers, freelancers and in production, as well as hold roles in galleries, education, retail and more. Some of the big brands they work for include Hallmark, George at ASDA, Lucy Jane Woodhouse, Gilbey & Cheyne Design, Tiger Prints, Osborne & Little, H&M, Warner Fabrics, Aston Martin, Skinny Dip, Sainsbury Home, Jigsaw, Zoffany, Arcadia Group and Next.

Our graduates are also making an impact as researchers, with forward-thinking explorations into new applications of textiles and contemporary themes of global significance such as sustainability, the circular economy, society and heritage.

Take your next steps