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Art & Design

Fashion Design

BA in Fashion Design

4 years

€2530 pa

Programme profile


During this programme, students specialise in the area that best suits their personal talents, ambitions and interests. The study programme has two specialisation tracks: Fashion Design 3D and Fashion Design 2D. This means that the same study programme can train you to be a designer of couture or jeans, or a fashion illustrator, photographer or pattern or textile designer.

During the programme you will learn about the forms, function, quality and temporality of fashion, but also about art and professional theory. You will develop yourself in a learning environment in which innovation and experimentation are just as important as artistry and technological insight. Much attention is also given to the communicative aspects of fashion, through the courses Fashion Sketching, Photographic Imaging and Graphic Design – Publicity.

Students are encouraged to participate in both Dutch and internationally recognized fashion competitions such as: Lichting in the Netherlands, Hyères in France, the H&M Design Award in Sweden, the Redress Design Award and the International Youth Design Competition in China, Designblok Prague in the Czech Republic, the ITS and the Mittelmoda Fashion Award in Italy, and the Apolda European Design Award in Germany. This gives the students the chance to see how they measure up to young designers from renowned fashion institutes at a global level, and also provides an opportunity of presenting themselves to the international press and professional public.

Programme content


The four years of study follow roughly the following form:

First year:

Experimental design assignments are included to break down entrenched patterns of thinking and promote each student's personal and original forming of ideas. There is a first acquaintance with visual arts subjects in general and with fashion in particular. Courses include: Experimental Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Figure Drawing, Textiles, Visual Grammar, Pattern Drawing, Production, Computer Skills, Fashion Theory and Art Theory.

Second year:

In the second year, the emphasis is on the broadening of professional knowledge and the learning of skills specific to the profession. Courses include: Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Print Design, Publicity, Photographic Image, Pattern Drawing, Production, Textiles, Computer Skills, Fashion Theory and Art Theory. In addition a number of clinics are organized in the second year: these are meetings with specialized professionals, designed to provide information on the various professional specialisations. This is a very intensive year, with even more contact hours than in the first year. A study load of sixty hours a week or more is not uncommon.

Third year:

The first semester has a full programme, with lessons in Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Machine Knitting, Pattern Drawing, Moulage, and Collectie Arnhem: a design project in which the third-year students design a collection together, which they then sample, style and present. This project culminates in a fashion show, organized and designed by the students themselves and presented to a professional public end of January. In addition, the students are also required to write an Art Theory thesis. In the second semester, all students complete an internship lasting a minimum of three months, either in the Netherlands or abroad.

Fourth year:

The fourth year is completely devoted to the development of the student's own unique signature style, and to the final completion of studies. The final, graduating year is closely supervised by a team of lecturers in fashion design, materials and print, technique, presentation and portfolio, and theory. In addition to the permanent faculty team, external experts also take part in the process of creating and evaluating the final graduation project. In the fourth year the students make a choice between two specializations, either Fashion Design 3-D or Fashion Design 2-D, depending on their personal talent, interests and ambitions, using the experiences gained during their internship (second semester of the third year of study) and at the advice of the supporting team of department lecturers.

Entry Requirements


2 A-levels and 4 GCSEs OR relevant BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma

Five passes at Leaving Cert (minimum 200 points) OR relevant QQi/FETAC Level 5. Subjects to include Maths.

Yes (plus portfolio)

Yes

Yes: Letter of Motivation

01 October

19 April