Fashion

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Choose Kingston's Fashion MA
This course continues to develop into a holistic and exciting approach to fashion design and beyond. Retaining our heritage and specialism in womenswear, menswear and knitwear, the course combines industry standards with a creative and contemporary approach to fashion design. Kingston's broad design community and positioning as a progressive and highly rated design institution means that fashion is able to actively borrow and share from designers based in the fields of communication design and product and space.

What will you study?

The Fashion MA is a unique and innovative course combining the creative thinking of the Design School core modules with a very solid and 'creative' fashion industry focus.

The fashion-based modules will encourage you to think creatively and will also challenge you to apply your ideas and concepts to a series of briefs, some of which will arrive directly from various industry sources and practitioners. The outcome is non-prescriptive and should be driven by your ambitions and approach to fashion. You will identify design narratives to inspire extensive research culminating in exciting, considered and forward-thinking design developments. You will be expected to observe and respond to contemporary social trends and to create new responses for fashion design. Addressing the contemporary culture of fashion, you will engage within important areas of development social politics, economics, environments, sciences and technology futures.

The core modules, which explore what design is and identify its role in your practice, offer the opportunity to connect and interact with designers from a wide set of creative disciplines.

Assessment

Design projects, written submissions, presentations, major project.

Course framework

With our well-established industry links and partnerships, the craft and skill of fashion is paramount at Kingston University and is developed through pioneering projects with industry practitioners from our Fashion MA staff team.

During the course you will also participate in interdisciplinary modules established across the Design School. This gives you the unique opportunity to expand your current design thinking and methodology, experiment and transform your medium, and work in dynamic teams to exchange and create ideas.

The Fashion MA course consists of three stages:

* Stage 1 focus is on identifying and expanding your design signature in a series of critical design projects. You will be required to answer fundamental design questions to investigate your focus for your Fashion MA studies. Through the Process Module you will engage in interdisciplinary-practice and contemporary design processes assisting you in developing significant design techniques.
* Stage 2 of the programme characterises your fashion practice through creative development and design articulation. Students engage in live industry briefs maintaining focus. During this stage you will develop your design DNA by sharing, engaging and exchanging with industry practitioners and gaining vital feedback to challenge your practice during which you accomplish your individual Fashion MA methodology. Opportunities are available to work for major designers to assist in preparation for the London fashion shows calendar. You will also identify and build partnerships with potential sponsors, collaborators and industry partners for your Major Project.
* Stage 3 of the programme allows the designer to define, resolve and present their design practice. The final stage of the course is then spent developing and defining your work to creative conclusion. The Fashion Scout Presentation and Show at our annual showcase during London Fashion Week will be open to selected designers who will undertake a rigorous selection process to profile their work for the event. This conclusive phase of the Fashion MA programme is a vital opportunity to present your work as tomorrow's fashion designer, communicator, researcher, or even craftsperson.

Course structure

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Stage 1

* Process
* Fashion Context I

Stage 2

* Focus
* Fashion Context II
* Major Project Proposal

Stage 3

* Masters Project and Exhibition

Learn a language

You will have the opportunity to study a foreign language, free of charge, during your time at the University as part of the Kingston Language Scheme. Options currently include: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish.

What this course offers you
If you choose to study this course, here are some of the things you can expect from the course and how it will benefit you.

* Kingston University's spacious fashion department is renowned for its well-established industry links and will provide relevant and suitable projects to stimulate your progress.
* As well as a dedicated and fully equipped, functioning design studio all our students are inducted into the University's high-tech workshops through our 'design through making' programme to develop your skills.
* You will be given the opportunity to specialise in womenswear, menswear or knitwear and supported accordingly with industry practitioners and projects.
* The interdisciplinary nature of the course will mean you will meet with like-minded designers based in different disciplines with the same goals. Collaboration of this nature is wholly encouraged.
* Key projects give you the opportunity to work in 3D with Kingston University's industry experienced pattern cutters and garment technicians. Although we encourage our MA students to be actively engaged with 3D processes and development.
* By the time you graduate, you will have achieved an unmistakable identity through your major project and portfolio, gaining the potential to become an established fashion design practitioner.

Here you'll find the entry requirements for this course. Please read them carefully as they are very important for your application. * A good first degree in fashion design or a related subject, product design, graphic design or fine art. * A portfolio will be required for interview. * Interviews can take place locally or via the internet.How to apply and portfolio requirementsFor full details of how to apply and portfolio requirements, see the Apply for this course page.Prior learning - AP(E)LApplicants with prior qualifications and learning may be exempt from appropriate parts of a course in accordance with the University's policy for the assessment of prior learning and prior experiential learning. Contact the faculty office for further information.English language requirementsAll non-UK applicants must meet our English language requirements. For this course it is Academic IELTS of 6.5 overall, with special conditions in all elements. Please make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we'll consider.Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements may be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.Applicants from one of the recognised Majority English Speaking Countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.