Textiles & Fashion: Shape the Future of Design!

Are you creative? Do you care about the planet? Are you interested in how the clothes we wear and the products we use are made?

Fashion and textiles are everywhere, from everyday clothing to the cutting-edge technology that supports our daily lives. If you want to learn how to design, make, and innovate, the Textiles & Fashion programme is the perfect option for you.
This course isn't just about sewing—it's about exploring smart fabrics, 3D printing, sustainability, and the exciting global fashion industry.

Here is what you will explore across the three main parts of the course:

1. Discover the Secrets of Fashion

• Future Tech: Explore cutting-edge developments like interactive smart fabrics, bio-textiles, and lab-grown materials.
• Trendspotting: Learn how art (like Pop Art and Minimalism), music (like Punk and Grunge), and subcultures (like Harajuku and Streetwear) influence the trends we see today.
• Ethical Fashion: Dive into the environmental impact of fast fashion and learn how sustainable choices, biodegradable materials, and ethical manufacturing can make a real difference to our planet

2. Get Hands-On

• Experiment & Create: You will spend time in the workshop learning to use tools and sewing machines safely to create your own fabric samples.
• Surface Decoration: Get creative with techniques like tie-dye, batik, screen printing, and block printing.
• Fabric Manipulation: Learn to enhance your designs through hand and machine embroidery, appliqué, quilting, distressing, and embellishing with beads and sequins.
• Eco-Friendly Focus: Focus on "circular fashion"—designing with recycled, upcycled, and repurposed materials to reduce waste.

3. Be the Designer (Design and Make Challenge)

• Design Your Own Product: Take on a real-world design challenge! You will use forecasting tools to research social and environmental trends and generate initial design ideas using freehand, digital, and flat sketches.
• Make a Prototype: Bring your ideas to life. You will learn professional skills like taking measurements, adapting patterns, laying out fabric efficiently, and constructing a final prototype.
• Circular Design: You will apply the "6 Rs of sustainability" to ensure your final product is environmentally responsible and designed for longevity.

Where can this take you? The fashion industry is massive and global. This course will give you the knowledge and transferable skills (such as problem-solving and creativity) to explore a wide range of exciting careers. You will discover roles you might not even know exist, such as:

• Fashion Designer or Stylist
• Trend Forecaster
• Fashion Buyer or Merchandiser
• 3D Digital Designer or AI Design Analyst

Join us and turn your creativity into reality! If you want to talk more about the course please ask Mr Butterfield, Director of Design Technology.