Fashion Design and Technology

On our BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Technology course, you’ll bring together creative fashion design with advanced manufacturing skills and new digital technologies.

You’ll have the option to specialise in menswear, womenswear, or sportswear, or work across specialisms, while tailoring your work to suit your interests in areas such as luxury fashion, outerwear, tailoring, denim, or performance wear.

You’ll learn to design purposeful garments by understanding and communicating the key technical components and mastering industry-standard processes, gaining hands-on experience with manual and digital pattern cutting, 2D and 3D prototyping, and specialist garment-manufacturing equipment. These practical skills are supported by the study of cultural and industry contexts.

You’ll work on live briefs set by industry partners, building a final portfolio that showcases your creative and technical strengths. While many graduates enter design roles, the technical focus of this course also prepares you for careers in pattern cutting, fashion innovation, and product development.

Features and benefits

• The best of both – Develop in-depth technical know-how and commercial business skills alongside your own personal design aesthetic.

• Manchester and beyond — Enhance your learning by taking study trips. Previous trips have been to trade fairs and manufacturing bases in Paris, and on cultural industry and education focussed trips to New York and Tokyo, and Copenhagen to explore sustainable practices.

• First-hand experience – Benefit from excellent placement opportunities in the UK and abroad, our dedicated placement team help source placements at companies such as Acne, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Margaret Howell, Old Navy, Speedo and Adidas.

• Industry-standard facilities — Access to industry-standard equipment including more than 150 specialised sewing and joining machines and equipment, 3D body scanner, sew-free bonding equipment, automated and laser cutting equipment and 3D printing.

• Cultivate a specialism — Take the opportunity to develop your skills in womenswear, menswear or sportswear. With access to specialist staff, tailored projects and industry competitions to develop a deep knowledge and enhance your employability.