Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fashion Communication and Styling (with Placement Year)

at De Montfort University United Kingdom

Contour Fashion is a huge, established and specialised field within fashion design. It is defined by garments worn close to, or shaping the contours of the human form, including corsetry, lingerie, swimwear, performance sportswear, nightwear and athleisure. The Contour Fashion Innovation MA is ideal for contour graduates with advanced pattern-cutting skills wishing to further their practice, or fashion or textile graduates who want to specialise in contour design.

The course explores creativity, technologies and entrepreneurship, alongside the technical considerations of this complex specialism. Contextual studies into historical, political, social and cultural considerations are at the core of this programme and fuel intellectual curiosity, speculative enquiry, imagination, and divergent thinking to successfully understand design concepts.

During this course, we prepare our graduates to succeed in this competitive and fast-developing industry. Our unparalleled understanding of the sector informs the curriculum and includes loungewear, sportswear and athleisurewear – these specialisms are in high demand following the global shift to remote working which has led to a growth in comfort-inspired, fashion-driven work attire. Marketing and visual communication is examined from the viewpoint of a creative individual, giving you the skills to develop a leading-edge portfolio and the insight into how a contour fashion label might be launched into the market place.

Economics explains the problem of scarcity and human behaviour that shapes the world we live in, and that businesses operate in. From standards of living to the causes of market crashes, the impact of economics plays a critical role in all our lives.

In this course you will develop proficiency in a variety of quantitative techniques as well as learn how to apply economic reasoning and tools to analyse real world problems and policy. You will also gain the analytical and critical evaluation skills to recognise how national and global issues affect the performance of a business.

You will have an opportunity to build real skills for future employability. This includes state of the art knowledge in digital software and applications, as well as core skills in writing, presenting and teamwork.

You will study a range of modules, including Macroeconomics for Business, Data Modelling and Analytics and International Economics, Sustainability and Emerging Markets which are all taught by leading experts in their fields.

Established in 1947, our course has unparalleled links with the UK and global intimate apparel industry, providing opportunities to work with big brands on live projects, work placements and competitions.

With a focus on sustainability and innovation, this course covers a range of specialist areas and will prepare you for the changing demands within this dynamic sector. Specialise in lingerie, athleisure, swimwear, loungewear, nightwear, corsetry, menswear, sportswear or medical applications. You will develop specialist skills in conceptual design and application, pattern cutting, grading, fit methodologies, technical excellence and manufacturing. In your final year, you will choose to specialise in either an aesthetic or a technical route.

Your base will be the award-winning Vijay Patel Building, home to all of our art and design students, which provides both the space and facilities to foster creative thinking.

This highly practical course has been designed with the future in mind. Taking into consideration growing disciplines such as artificial intelligence, you will study several defined business areas that reflect the ever-changing needs of the market. These include modules such as Digital Transformation and Innovation in Business and Ethical and Responsible Leadership.

Employability is at the heart of our Business Management course. Alongside the opportunity of a year-long placement, you will also work on integrated case studies, which will give you the opportunity to hear from and gain insight into global brands such as Apple and Amazon. You will step away from the confines of your text books and apply your theoretical knowledge to practical business simulations set by executives from these global businesses.

You will receive an excellent grounding in all aspects of business management, incorporating knowledge from a range of disciplines such as accounting, economics, finance, human resource management, marketing, and sustainability.

A Business Management degree at DMU can open up an exciting career path in a wide range of specialist areas such as project consulting, project management, and digital transformation. Previous graduates from this degree have gone on to successful careers in world-renowned organisations, including Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Caterpillar, HP and The Body Shop.

Computational Intelligence (CI) encompasses the techniques and methods used to tackle problems that traditional approaches to computing struggle to solve. The four areas of fuzzy logic, neural networks, CI optimisation and knowledge-based systems encompass much of what is considered to be computational (or artificial) intelligence. There are also opportunities to apply what you learn in areas such as robot control and games development, depending on your interests. ? 

You can choose from a number of specialist modules including natural language processing, artificial neural networks and data mining techniques, while developing your skills in our dedicated robotics laboratory, equipped with a variety of mobile robots. The applied computational intelligence?module considers knowledge-based systems, as well as the historical, philosophical and future implications of AI, and focuses on current research and applications in the area. 

We will help you develop into a creative professional such as craftsperson, jeweller, ceramicist, textile artist, designer-maker, glass artist, designer, researcher, consultant, curator, buyer, stylist or educator. You will be encouraged to select a specialism, helping you establish your own personal creative voice and be capable of producing inspiring work.

You will explore both traditional hand skills and emerging technologies while working with a wide range of materials such as hot glass, clay, paper, fine metals, plastics, resin, wood and textiles. Students produce a wide range of objects, including individual artefacts for galleries and to commission, small batches of similar items, limited editions, public installations and designs for industry. Bespoke objects are produced for domestic, interior spaces, exterior spaces, to be worn on the body, and can be hand-held or large-scale sculptural pieces.

Professional practice is embedded throughout the course to grow your entrepreneurial and business skills, preparing you for your career. Graduates have gone on to set up their own craft workshops, secure roles in design studios with brands including Sainsbury’s, work in the craft industry with leading ceramicists, for example Sue Pryke and Hannah Tounsend, as well as to collaborate with the likes of the National Trust.

Our course combines academic excellence and professional practice, with a focus on producing festival-ready animation, building an online presence, and creating an industry-standard showreel to prepare you to work in the industry. 

We encourage you to be innovative, creative and push the boundaries of storytelling and artistic style. You will receive a grounding in the fundamental skills of animation, with the opportunity to develop more specialist skills from the second year of study. 

You will develop your own distinct style and voice, as well as enhancing your technical and creative knowledge by studying modules such as 2D Animation, Critical Studies, and Visual Communication. 

Our excellent facilities include dedicated animation, recording and sound studios, graphics studios, computer suites, and a suite of Cintiq stations. You will be supported to master professional tools, such as TVPaint, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.

In the first year, everyone will undertake a standard first-year syllabus, studying core modules in Constitutional and Administrative law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, and English and European Legal Contexts. A range of delivery and assessment styles will fully prepare students for subsequent years of study.

The focus on foundational legal knowledge and skills will continue in the second and third year with modules on Land Law, Law of Tort, and Equity and Trusts. You will also develop functional awareness through Inter-professional Legal Skills.

You will have the opportunity after your first year to focus your studies by selecting a preferred specialism pathway in one of the following areas: Business Law, Criminal Justice, Human Rights & Social Justice, Sociolegal Studies and International Law. Alternatively, you can continue on the Law LLB pathway.

The emphasis is on doing rather than simply reading and listening; participation is a central feature of this course. The teaching of the law modules is augmented by a range of employability and placement activities. The aim is to produce confident, independent learners.

This degree programme will equip graduates who are capable of meeting the increasing demands for combining computer networks, security, and programming expertise raised by the growing adoption of the Next-Generation Network (NGN) services, e.g., VoIP, and Next Generation Network Model, i.e., SDN and NFV, where network devices have turned to be a programmable virtual entity on the cloud.

Beside core computer science and cyber security modules, this course includes key networking modules prepared carefully according to the new Cisco certification path, in consultation with our Cisco partner. These new modules focus on industry level requirements and are certification oriented and will prepare graduates to meet the new skill demands to maximise employability.

The structure of the course and programme modules makes it possible for graduates to also take traditional and emerging computer science, software engineering, or cyber security roles.

The production and utilisation of energy is a key global issue. Governments and industry are becoming increasingly aware of balancing energy production and utilisation with the need to be environmentally conscious and energy efficient.

This course addresses energy production, storage and utilisation. Develop your understanding of the production and efficient use of conventional and renewable energy sources for power generation, and modern energy storage solutions, complemented with elements of energy economics. You will gain a strong understanding of key principles in engineering, mechanics, electricals and electronics, and will explore specialist topics in modules including Sustainable Buildings, Energy for Transport Applications and Low Carbon Energy Technology.

You will have the opportunity to gain industry experience by undertaking an optional work placement. Recent placements have taken place at companies such as Cummins, Network Rail and Caterpillar. We also place a strong focus on employability through industry relevant modules, including Energy Economics and Policy and Project Management.

Graduates of this course go on to a vast range of careers in production, utilisation, energy storage and management, design, research and development, environment control and policy making.