Dare to lead

Fashion Textile Design BA (Hons)

Are you passionate about a career in the multibillion-pound fashion industry? This creative and dynamic course equips you with in-depth textile design expertise for the exciting world of fashion.

Overview

Watch: Take a look at this short clip of creations on the catwalk by our Fashion Textile Design students.


Become a fashion textile design specialist by combining a range of practical textile skills across print, stitch, embellishment and knit, with the complementary fashion design skills such as pattern cutting, construction, fashion illustration and digital portfolio promotion. 

Develop advancing research, conceptual, creative and technical abilities that allows you to determine your own creative direction. With opportunities to fuse fashion contexts and textile specialisms according to your personal style, technical direction and design focus. 

The fashion industry is adapting to a rapidly changing world, which post-pandemic will require adaptable, flexible, and creative agents for change. We will help you to become a forward-thinking contemporary designer with a practical and creative understanding of responsible and sustainable design. You will learn to enhance the value, luxury, and craft of our traditional practice by embracing the digital design and communication technologies that are shaping the future of the industry.

Key features:

  • We have been recognised as one of the most sustainable fashion and textiles schools in the country as winners of the Next Generation Learning and Skills Award in the Green Gown Awards 2021.
  • Combine and specialise in textile processes such as knit, print and mixed media with fashion design development and exploration. Developing material realisations within a clear fashion outcome.
  • Gain valuable work experience by undertaking a year-long placement. Past students have landed roles at Helen Lawrence, Tommy Hilfiger, G-Star and Disney.
  • Our graduates have gone on to work at established brands such as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, French Connection, Next and Adidas Makers Lab.
  • Discuss your work and network with visiting lecturers, who have recently included industry professionals Phoebe English, Katie Roberts-Wood, Helen Bullock and David Longshaw.
  • Gain valuable international experience as part of your studies with our DMU Global programme. Previous trips have taken students overseas to visit global trade shows such as Première Vision in Paris. 
  • The award-winning Vijay Patel Building houses our cutting-edge facilities including workshops for print, knit, plastics, 3D and digital textile printing, metal, wood and leather. Industry-standard facilities will allow you to explore and provide new creative directions for fashion-forward, luxury and innovative design outcomes.
  • We provide core workshop materials  at no cost, and give cash awards – £150, £200 and £300 in years one, two and three respectively – to support personal materials/printing costs*. 

See our student work

The Green Gown Award puts DMU at the forefront of sustainable fashion and textiles education in the UK. Our comprehensive approach to sustainability is empowering our students to be agents of change within the industry.

Professor Carolyn Hardaker, Head of School of Fashion and Textiles

Scholarships:

DMU Global High Flyers Award
Our dedicated DMU Global High Flyers Award offers ambitious students a discount of up to £1,000 towards a DMU Global opportunity (terms and conditions apply).

More courses like this:

Textile Design BA (Hons)
Fashion Design BA (Hons)
Fashion Communication and Styling BA (Hons)

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: WW2S

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

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 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.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

green-gown

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

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

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.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

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 

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.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

  • Explore
  • Enquire
  • Construct
  • Define
  • Design Cultures 1

Second year

  • Develop
  • Communicate
  • Principles
  • Consolidate
  • Design Cultures 2

Third year

  • Refine
  • Resolve
  • Promote
  • Design Cultures 3 

Structure

Our expert course team covers a range of multi-disciplinary specialisms for the area of textiles for fashion. In particular, specialisms such as fashion print, fashion knitwear, stitch and embellishment are covered in depth. You will also have the opportunity to meet and network with our many visiting lecturers from industry, who have included Phoebe English, Jane Bowler, Kat Marks and Sarah Williams.

In years one and two, you will learn in regular timetabled practical workshops, inductions, lectures, seminars, group tutorials, one-to-one tutorials, practical and theoretical talks. Most of your study time will be in practical workshops or studios. In year 3 there is a greater emphasis on independent study, with one to one tutorials being widely used.

Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) Your precise timetable will depend on any optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 21 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 21 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Facilities and features

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 Careers Team
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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. 

Previous students have taken up placements with both independent designers and big brands such as Helen Lawrence, Hussein Chalayan, Adam Andrascik, Colbalt and G-Star. 

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. 

Elizabeth Walecki undertook a year-long work placement with Cobalt, one of the world’s largest knitwear suppliers and her designs impressed the Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters who awarded her a £2,500 bursary.

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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 benefitted from visiting the global trade show Première Vision in Paris, alongside experiencing the city’s rich cultural and architecture. Second and final-year students also have the chance to gain valuable international industry exposure by showcasing their work at Première Vision.

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Graduate careers

Our graduates have been successful in forging careers in a range of areas within the fashion and textiles industry. From freelancing and working in design agencies, to developing their own businesses, or working for brands such as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, Next, French Connection Adidas and Jaguar Land Rover.

The range of roles they have gone on to is also diverse and reflects the technical, creative and transferable skills gained on the course. Covering a range of activities including design, studio management, quality control, buying, product development, e-commerce, marketing and promotion.

It is our goal to equip our graduates for a fast paced and changing industry by encouraging adaptability, independence, responsible design thinking, multi-tasking, problem solving and professionalism. Alongside the practical implementation of their creative insight and new ideas.

We are committed to developing well-rounded creatives and 100% of our students are in work or further study after graduating, according to the 2020 Graduate Outcomes Survey.

Take your next steps

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