Fashion Design

Fashion Research & Concept Development

Required. Fashion concept research is the genuine prerequisite for all technical design work — without a documented concept brief, the technical drawings have no design rationale to defend. The research dossier (visual references, fabric story, colour narrative, and concept statement) must be reviewed by a qualified fashion tutor or industry mentor before technical work begins. Genuine prerequisite for technical flat drawings (seq 20).

Fashion Technical Flat Drawings

Required. Technical flat drawings follow directly from the concept research — every garment in the flat pack must reference the concept brief documented at seq 10. Proof requires both the flats and a written annotation explaining how each design decision responds to the brief. Qualified fashion tutor or pattern cutter attestation required. Genuine dependency on design-fashion-research-concept (seq 10).

Garment Pattern & Sampling

Elective. Garment construction from the technical drawings — a real toile or first sample in final fabric, documented with fit notes and iteration evidence. A fully documented CLO3D 3D simulation (simulation screenshots and parameter settings) is an accepted alternative where physical garment access is a barrier. Qualified pattern cutter or fashion tutor review required.

Textile & Material Research

Elective. Material research and selection dossier — minimum 5 fabrics or textiles tested against the design brief's requirements (performance, sustainability, hand, colorfastness). Swatch cards with technical specifications, supplier information, and selection rationale. A digital material library (e.g. university-access databases or free online resources) is an accepted alternative for physical swatches. Fashion tutor review required.

Fashion Portfolio Review

Elective. Capstone portfolio critique: a curated presentation of at least one complete design project (concept through sample or simulation) reviewed in a live critique session by a qualified fashion professional. Critique documents: decisions defended, challenges raised, revisions committed to. Integrating capstone for the path.

Free Business of Fashion articles covering fashion business, design process, and sustainability — use for concept research context, understanding the commercial brief environment, and market positioning decisions in the fashion research and concept step.

Free student programme for CLO3D — the industry-standard 3D fashion simulation tool. Use as the accessible alternative to physical garment sampling: create a digitally constructed sample, export simulation screenshots and a video of the garment in motion as proof where physical toile construction is a barrier.

Free Fashion Institute of Technology museum archive — historical and contemporary garment collection with construction photographs, technical details, and designer context. Use for concept research references, construction technique study, and contextualising design decisions against documented industry practice.

Free Dezeen fashion section covering material innovation, sustainable textile development, and contemporary collections. Use for the textile material research step: precedent research on new materials, sustainability standards, and the relationship between material choice and design concept.