Foundation Degree (FdA) Fashion Design with Enterprise

Duration: Two years

The course aims to provide students with a high level of technical, creative, intellectual, and communication skills (visual, written and verbal) and provides the opportunity to develop the expertise necessary to pursue a career within the fashion and textile industries through either establishing your own enterprise, or gaining employment.

Design and production skills, coupled with market awareness and professional practice will be at the core of all projects. Learners will be encouraged to express a personal design style whilst developing a wide range of skills. These include; illustrative and technical drawing, design development, digital design skills, pattern cutting, garment construction alongside textile processes using both traditional and contemporary methods; digital printing, embroidery and laser cutting. Practical skills are underpinned with contextual studies to develop an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts that inform fashion and textile design.

Understanding the industry and the opportunities within it are a key focus of the course, and a great deal of support is offered to those wanting to establish their own fashion enterprise upon graduation

The course is run from our state of the art Fashion and Textiles Centre based at our Llwyn Bryn campus in the heart of the Uplands. We have invested over £150,000 in the Centre bringing in industrial standard technology and equipment which includes large format digital textiles printer, large format laser cutter, industrial embroidery machine, extensive range of industrial production machinery, as well as specialist fashion industry software packages; Gerber pattern cutting software suite, and Lectra design suite.

Currently, we are the only institution in the UK with its own live fashion label. As a student on the course, during your final year of study you will work as a designer for the brand, gaining real life industrial experience. Not only will you be involved in the design and manufacture of products, sold via our online shop, local boutiques and pop up events, but you will also be actively engaged in the back end business aspects of promotion and marketing, as well as working with clients and customers. This experience will provide you with vital skills and knowledge to equip you for entering into the fashion industry, be it either as an employee or a business owner upon graduation.

In 2021, the course  launched its own fashion label, Amended; 

Amended is s a student collective fashion brand using a range of sustainable practices at the heart of its design and manufacture; remnant or sustainable fabrics, recycled clothing, or zero waste cutting methods are used to create unique pieces to be treasured and passed on. 
Each item is carefully designed and manufactured to minimise the impact on the environment and help contribute to a circular fashion economy. 

 Currently, we are the only institution in the UK with its own live fashion label. As a student on the course, during your final year of study you will work as a designer for the brand, gaining real life industrial experience. Not only will you be involved in the design and manufacture of products, sold via our online shop, local boutiques and pop up events, but you will also be actively engaged in the back end business aspects of promotion and marketing, as well as working with clients and customers. This experience will provide you with vital skills and knowledge to equip you for entering into the fashion industry, be it either as an employee or a business owner upon graduation.  

Visit our Facebook: @FdAFashionGCS  and Instagram: @fashionGCS to see a taster of what happens on this exciting course

Updated December 2022