Students will be introduced to a wide range of materials, media and machinery which will underpin their future studies and industry experience. Investigation through personal enquiry and discovery will be encouraged alongside development of visual and tactile understanding of textiles. Skills relating to the technical working environment will be identified and considered, and students will develop practical abilities across a wide range of equipment and tools. They will be encouraged to seek out alternative applications, resolutions and sampling solutions to design problems, and explore a variety of techniques and practical skills development relating to garment construction and presentation. Health and safety will be included as an important aspect of the module.

A range of communication methods will be explored (e.g. trends predictions, sketchbooks, sampling files, mood boards, final boards, 2D and 3D products, presenting work at critique) and learners will be encouraged to show perception through personal expression and appropriate enquiry. Students will be expected to use their Learning Journal to record progression, evaluating and reflecting as they move through the module. It is not anticipated that all work submitted will be finished pieces but will show stages of development and experimentation.

Indicative:
Introductory briefing at onset of module: 1 hr
Interim briefings x 4: 4 hours
Seminars, lectures and group tutorials considering design, audience, market, and health and safety: 10hrs
Workshops and studio tutorials: 40 hours
Group tutorials with formative feedback: 5 hrs
Individual tutorials: 5 hrs
Group critiques: 5 hrs
Total contact time: 70 hours per student.

Adobe Creative Team. Adobe Illustrator CS4 Classroom in a Book (2008) Adobe
Adobe Creative Team. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book (2008) Adobe
Aldrich, W. Metric Pattern Cutting for Womens Wear (2008) Wiley-Blackwell
Armstrong, HJ. Patternmaking for Fashion Design (2005) Pearson Prentice Hall.
Burke, S. Fashion Artist: drawing techniques to portfolio presentation (2005) Burke Publishing
Fischer, A. Basics Fashion Design: Construction (2008) AVA Publishing.
Jenkyn Jones, S. Fashion Design (2005) Watson-Guptill
McKelvey, K and Munslow, J. Fashion Design: Process, Innovation and Practice (2008) Wiley-Blackwell.
Seivewright, S. Basics Fashion: Research and Design (2007) AVA Publishing.
Udale, J. and Sorger, R. The Fundamentals of Fashion Design (2006) AVA Publishing

Students will have access to a range of specialist resources through studio environments at college, and computer suites and libraries at university and college.

The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

Students must submit work for all assessments:

Assessment 1: A portfolio of work that demonstrates exploration of materials, media and machinery. (45%) [Learning Outcomes 1and 4]

Assessment 2: A portfolio of work that explores and interprets ideas for garment and accessory design and implemented solutions (45%) [Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4]

Assessment 3: Reflective Learning Journal considering the success or otherwise of the implementation of this module (10%) [Learning Outcome 4]