Creative industries are one of the biggest employers in the UK. The UK fashion industry is the largest employer of all creative industries and the UK is renowned for having the best fashion colleges in the world (British Fashion Council 2019). Fashion and Textiles is taught as a highly creative subject whilst developing awareness and skills in professional practice. The course is designed to introduce you to the many different aspects of fashion and textiles. It is taught creatively against a background of contextual studies, historical developments in fashion, art and design movements, and key figures within the fashion and textiles world. You will master design from concept to final product, learning through designing and making, using both traditional methods as well as new technologies. Awareness of developments and current trends in fashion and associated industries is given a high profile. In the first year, you develop design and technical skills, sketching and recording ideas, and developing design ideas through exploring both materials and processes. You will discover how fabric and textiles can be used in both a decorative and functional way, producing your designs. Working in a sketchbook from first and second-hand observation, you will develop your drawing and mark-making skills. You will learn a variety of techniques that can be used to produce a fashion textile including screen printing. Technically you will learn to illustrate your ideas, develop skills in stand work and pattern drafting, as well as learn construction techniques, and how to make a toile. Studying contemporary and historical fashion will enhance your design development. In the second year, you will have more freedom to explore and develop your design work. You will submit one major project that has personal significance, building on, extending, and developing skills learned during the first year. Students produce individual outcomes, which may be a collection of garments or be focused on textile design for fashion. There will be a written element relating to this project in the form of a ‘related study’. In the second half of the year, you will select one starting point from a range of themes set by the exam board to produce a portfolio of design work, with the outcome being produced under controlled conditions. All second-year work is submitted for teacher assessment and external moderation.
There is a minimum entry requirement of five GCSEs at Grade 4 and above. A genuine desire to study fashion! If you don't have an arts-based GCSE, you will need to talk to the course leader at enrolment and complete a creative task.
Assessment is 60% coursework, in the form of a Personal Investigation which is presented as a design portfolio and practical outcome(s). There are also marks allocated to a written written-related study (20% of the coursework grade). In addition to the coursework, there is an Externally Set practical which is worth 40% of the overall A Level mark. Projects are marked by the teachers and externally moderated by the examination board.
About Education Provider
| Region | South East |
| Local Authority | Surrey |
| Ofsted Rating | Outstanding |
| Gender Type | Co-Educational |
| Address | Weston Green Road, Thames Ditton, KT7 0JB |
Creative industries are one of the biggest employers in the UK. The UK fashion industry is the largest employer of all creative industries and the UK is renowned for having the best fashion colleges in the world (British Fashion Council 2019). Fashion and Textiles is taught as a highly creative subject whilst developing awareness and skills in professional practice. The course is designed to introduce you to the many different aspects of fashion and textiles. It is taught creatively against a background of contextual studies, historical developments in fashion, art and design movements, and key figures within the fashion and textiles world. You will master design from concept to final product, learning through designing and making, using both traditional methods as well as new technologies. Awareness of developments and current trends in fashion and associated industries is given a high profile. In the first year, you develop design and technical skills, sketching and recording ideas, and developing design ideas through exploring both materials and processes. You will discover how fabric and textiles can be used in both a decorative and functional way, producing your designs. Working in a sketchbook from first and second-hand observation, you will develop your drawing and mark-making skills. You will learn a variety of techniques that can be used to produce a fashion textile including screen printing. Technically you will learn to illustrate your ideas, develop skills in stand work and pattern drafting, as well as learn construction techniques, and how to make a toile. Studying contemporary and historical fashion will enhance your design development. In the second year, you will have more freedom to explore and develop your design work. You will submit one major project that has personal significance, building on, extending, and developing skills learned during the first year. Students produce individual outcomes, which may be a collection of garments or be focused on textile design for fashion. There will be a written element relating to this project in the form of a ‘related study’. In the second half of the year, you will select one starting point from a range of themes set by the exam board to produce a portfolio of design work, with the outcome being produced under controlled conditions. All second-year work is submitted for teacher assessment and external moderation.
There is a minimum entry requirement of five GCSEs at Grade 4 and above. A genuine desire to study fashion! If you don't have an arts-based GCSE, you will need to talk to the course leader at enrolment and complete a creative task.
Assessment is 60% coursework, in the form of a Personal Investigation which is presented as a design portfolio and practical outcome(s). There are also marks allocated to a written written-related study (20% of the coursework grade). In addition to the coursework, there is an Externally Set practical which is worth 40% of the overall A Level mark. Projects are marked by the teachers and externally moderated by the examination board.