1. Apply knowledge of professional contexts to produce a practical outcome relevant to fashion and textile industry. Knowledge & Understanding

2. Solve simulated creative or industry-informed problems using appropriate methods and processes for fashion and textile industry, working independently while engaging with relevant professional, technical, or academic feedback Application & Problem Solving Critical Reasoning & Collaboration

3. Communicate your work to academic, professional, or non-specialist audiences. Communication

4. Reflect on your technical, creative, and professional development to enable your future development. Personal Development & Entrepreneurship

Assessment 1: Practical Project

This assessment requires you to develop a creative fashion response to a set brief, demonstrating your understanding of research, concept development and product realisation. You will present a body of work that evidences your design or styling process from initial research through to final outcomes.

Your submission should include:
- A range of primary and secondary research evidence
- Design or styling development (e.g. sketches, treatment boards, visual explorations)
- Product development (e.g. patterns, toiles, print or textile samples)
- Ongoing annotations that explain and justify your creative decisions and how you have engaged with feedback
- Final resolved outcomes

Assessment 2: Reflective Report or Presentation

Option 1: Reflective Report word count 1200 words
Option 2: Recorded or Live Presentation Length 5-6 mins

You will critically reflect on the development and production of your practical fashion project. The reflection should demonstrate your understanding of design / styling principles, creative decision-making, technical processes and problem-solving throughout the project and refer to fashion and textile industry.

You should evaluate your skills development, discuss challenges encountered, and explain how feedback, experimentation and iteration informed your final outcomes.

Formative Assessment:

Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

This module introduces students to the fashion industry, combining an understanding of fashion markets and trends with practical and creative fashion responses. Students will explore how fashion ideas are generated, communicated and disseminated across different market levels, from avant-garde and haute couture to high-street and digital platforms.

Through primary and secondary research, students will investigate how the fashion industry operates from concept to consumer, gaining an awareness of industry structures, workflows and professional contexts. The module balances theory and practice, enabling students to translate contextual research into concept development and fashion-focused responses to briefs.

Students will be introduced to a range of creative industry roles and career pathways, developing early awareness of professional practice, communication skills and reflective working. Embedded employability and entrepreneurship sessions will support understanding of transferable skills and the development of an emerging professional identity.

The module develops foundational research, analytical, creative and presentation skills, supporting reflective learning and establishing the academic, technical and professional competencies required for progression to higher-level fashion study.

In this module, you will explore how fashion trends are created, communicated and shaped across global markets, from avant-garde design to high-street and digital platforms. Through primary and secondary research, you will investigate the fashion industry from concept to consumer while developing creative responses to briefs. You will also gain early awareness of fashion roles, professional practice and transferable skills, building a strong foundation for progression into higher-level fashion study and future creative careers.

- Lectures
- Specialist workshops
- Seminar discussions
- Tutorials
- Drop-in support sessions
- Group work
- Independent study
- Practical development in response to a brief
- Reflective practice

Dieffenbacher, F. (2020) Fashion thinking: Creative approaches to the design process. 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Granata, F. (ed.) (2023) Fashion projects: 15 years of fashion in dialogue. Bristol: Intellect Books.

Henshaw, M. (2024) Fashion promotion in the 2020s: A critical examination.

Sorger, R. and Udale, J. (2017) The fundamentals of fashion design. 3rd edn. Lausanne: AVA Publishing.
Wallenburgh, L. and Kollnitz, A. (eds.) (2023) Fashion aesthetics and ethics: Past and present. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

- Student Life https://www.youtube.com/@uniofstaffsstudentlife/videos
- University Careers https://staffs.careercentre.me/Members
- University Library https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/library
- Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment will support this module where relevant
- Specialist Spaces etc.
- Smart Zone
- CAD Labs
- Print Bureau
- Betty Smithers Design collection