Sally Donaldson, Lecturer s.donaldson1@salford.ac.uk

James Pegg, Lecturer j.d.pegg@salford.ac.uk

Salfordfashiondesign.com

@salfordfashiondesign

• Welcome everyone, thank you for joining us today, we hope that we can give you a really good insight into studying fashion design with us.

We are going to talk about what it’s like to be a fashion design student at Salford, we will especially focus on the experience of a student in their final year of study.

I am going to talk to you for the next 30 minutes or so and we will then invite you all to ask any questions you have in relation to today’s session or any other issues you might need to find out about.

Undergraduate - Fashion DesignThe top undergraduate programmes based on performance in the three indices that comprise BoF’s methodology: Global Influence, Student Learning Experience and Long-Term Value.www.businessoffashion.com/education/best-schools

Ranked in the top 20 fashion programmes worldwide by the Business of Fashion & one of the top 5 in the UK.

One of the top ranking fashion programmes according to Unistats achieving an overall student satisfaction rating of 100 % in 2018.

Level 5 (second year) BA (Hons) Fashion Design

• In Semester 1 our second year students will do a range of modules and projects including extensive design work, pattern cutting & making, CAD for fashion & illustration.

• This academic year all our Level 5 students completed a denim project and travelled to Milan to where they created a pop-up exhibition/event which was attended and covered by Italian Vogue.

• In Semester 2 second years undertake Work Placement module and travel all over the world to work with some amazing, contemporary and aspirational brands including :

• Victor & Rolf, Adam Lippes, Aitor Throupe, Iris Van Herpen, Mary Katrantzou, Hugo Boss, Georgio Armani, Emilia Wickstead and many more.

Level 6 (final year) BA (Hons) Fashion Design

• Returning to uni in September after Work Placement students are more confident about their own practice having spent time in the industry.

• We launch straight into preparation for final collections, beginning with a design module called Pre-collection.

• Carrying out lots of research based on ideas developed over the summer, students will draw & sample, working in sketchbooks and on the stand to fully explore and develop ideas.

• Final year students spend lots of time in the studio!

Students are encouraged to be creative and experimental across a range of medias in order to develop beautiful sketchbook pages and final boards for their portfolios.

• “The course pushed me to keep progressing my skills and ability. I feel like I couldn’t be where I am today without the amazing opportunities behind me on the course, they aren’t like any other university. I would recommend this course to other people because I think it is an amazing course”.

Preparing for New York Fashion Week 2020

Final year students are often engaged in live projects or competitive events and exhibitions which can form part of their assessment.

We have successfully shown student work at New York Fashion Week on two occasions : in February 2020 we exhibited on the runway at New York Fashion Week and held a successful & dynamic after show event in Soho attended by industry guests

Students from all years were given the opportunity to be part of the event, to travel to New York and to exhibit garments on the runway, this year’s event showed work from first, second and third year students.

In ‘real life’ the fashion industry is competitive, selection for New York was also competitive, students took part in a 2 day crit presentation where garments on models were selected for inclusion in the prestigious event.

Salfordfashiondesign.com

Live projects and competitions

• Final year students are often involved in live projects and competitions

• These can be set internally or by external bodies such as the British Fashion Council or Arts Thread

• We were approached this year by Max Mara, Italy, who worked closely with us to develop a competitive design brief which would enable the winner to work in Italy with this iconic brand.

• In the past we have had students go on to assist the Creative Director of Max Mara and work as part of the design team for mainline and other brands within the Max Mara Group.

Final year students will have the opportunity to exhibit their collections in relevant, professional contexts. Each year the fashion team discuss and evaluate the best, most professional and inspiring ways to show student work, recent events include :

• Local runway show in the impressive School of Arts & Media building: New Adelphi

• Showing on the runway at Graduate Fashion Week

• Showing on the runway at Somerset House, London Fashion Week September 2019

• On the runway and at pop-up events as part of New York Fashion Week, New York 2019 & 2020.

• Students are expected to be part of the event, helping with setting up, running the day and take down.

Fabric sourcing trip : ChinaFor the past five years our final year students have had the opportunity to travel to

China to source fabrics for their final collections.

We have developed a strong support network in Ningbo, China and have lots of help with travel and accommodation in country.

We have also developed key contacts within the textile industry in China so that students are able to deal directly with professional suppliers who are already working

with major UK & global fashion companies.

International fabric sourcing gives students a really important professional experience, adding to their CV’s and employability for their future careers

Students also have the chance to work directly with fabric printers, this means they are able to design original prints for collections - at affordable prices.

Being able to source directly from suppliers means that our students have a real opportunity to find unique, contemporary and technologically innovative fabrics which

will help them develop creative and individual collections.

Final Major Project: Semester 2

• FMP is the culmination of everything that the student has worked for.

• Students develop a significant body of research which is personal to them and will create a substantial body of visual and written work in the lead up to creating a final collection.

• Students will produce sketchbook pages, design development sheets, final boards which communicate ideas about colour, fabric, technical details and finishes, consumer and tribe, design concept and key trends.

• Finished work is edited and perfected to become part of a professional portfolio, students work hard to ensure that their skills are relevant and attractive to industry employers.

Students are given the right support to develop the collections they dream of.

We have amazing studios full of industry standard kit.We have amazing academic staff and technicians to help our students

achieve their ambitions, whatever they areWe don’t have a university/house ‘style’ and always strive to encourage

creative expression through innovative fashion design.

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