Skip to main content
Postgraduate

MA Fashion Cultures and Histories

Selection of fashion memorabilia including sunglasses and chokers.
Student work by Charlotte Allen | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories
College
London College of Fashion Start date
September 2023 Course length
15 months

MA Fashion Cultures and Histories explores cultures of fashion, style and dress through critical fashion history and theory. The course equips students with high-level writing, research and analytical skills, preparing them to become informed critics and communicators, generating new knowledge about fashion in its multiple contexts, and shaping the ways it is understood.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

  • Unique course: MA Fashion Cultures and Histories is the only specialist history and theory course offered by a dedicated fashion college in London.
  • Focus on research: Students develop a suite of specialised skills, competencies and knowledge to generate independent and original research across academic and industry contexts.
  • Industry links: Students work closely with industry and cultural partners to communicate critical insights and knowledge, addressing current concerns and new directions within the field of fashion.
  • Leading Fashion Scholarship: the course is embedded within London College of Fashion’s Cultural and Historical Studies Department, a diverse and dynamic research community at the forefront of Fashion Studies.

Course overview

MA Fashion Cultures and Histories takes an interdisciplinary approach to the theoretical analysis of fashion as a key marker of social and cultural change, and a means of understanding the relationship between individuals and communities. Students on the course develop high level writing, research and analytical skills, preparing them to become informed critics and communicators, generating new knowledge about fashion in its multiple contexts and shaping the ways it is understood. 


It is the only theory-based Master’s degree in a dedicated fashion college in London, providing students with a grounding in relevant, innovative and critical fashion histories and theories. Taught by London College of Fashion’s Cultural and Historical Studies Department, students join a unique community of researchers at the forefront of fashion studies, using their knowledge to enact meaningful and transformative change.

 
This course responds to shifting dynamics within the fashion industry, and the increasing need for critical thinkers and cultural leaders, who can activate fashion knowledge within the workplace. Through this course, you will learn vital leadership and research skills that will enable you to reflect and articulate fashion knowledge across cultural difference, within professional and academic contexts. You will actively generate new thinking about fashion and help to shape the ways in which it is understood, presented and evaluated. In providing the tools for constructing compelling narratives about fashion for specialist and general audiences, the course prepares you for future-facing careers in research, publishing, education, museums, think tanks, institutes, within the fashion and culture industries, or to undertake further study in a fashion-related subject.
 

Contact us

Register your interest to receive information and updates about studying at UAL.

Contact us to make an enquiry.

Postgraduate Preparation Guide

Download the Postgraduate Preparation Guide (3.54)

Course units

Collaborative Challenge (20 credits); Assembling Theoretical Approaches (20 credits); and Fashion Histories (20 credits) are taught in Block 1. Research Proposal (20 credits); Fashion Narratives (20 credits); and Research for Professional Contexts (20 credits) are taught in Block 2. MA Project is taught in Block 3.

These units involve the types of learning and assessment outlined earlier in this document. Each student will have one 30 minute tutorial during the four core course units (Assembling Theoretical Approaches; Fashion Histories; Fashion Narratives; Research for Professional Contexts), and work closely with tutors in three cross-college units (Collaborative Challenge; Research Proposal; MA Project). Students will also have a 20 minute pastoral tutorial in each Block to discuss their progress, goals and student experience.

Learning and teaching methods

Alongside more traditional methods, such as lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips, and group and individual tutorials, the course cultivates the following set of teaching and learning strategies. 

Enquiry-based learning

A core aspect of each unit is embedded activities that cultivate student-led enquiry into the areas under study. This includes, but is not limited to, strategies such as provocations that students are invited to independently research in preparation for class, and methods-based research such as participant observation in public spaces and sites that develop the themes of the set readings. This strategy elaborates the agency students have to shape the focus of their learning, which is otherwise primarily evident in their ability to research a topic of their choosing in each of their assessments.

Collaboration

The College-wide Collaborative Challenge, offered in Block 1, offers students a key opportunity to develop skills of collaboration within and external to their own cohort. Other units in the course builds on these abilities, such as the Research for Professional Contexts unit in which students are invited to collaborate in response to the live brief or critical debate. As collaboration is a core principle of this course, students will also be encouraged to initiate self-directed collaborative projects, such as public-facing events (talks, screenings, roundtables) to which prospective students, industry contacts, other MA cohorts within UAL, and alumni will be invited; and to organise and participate in enhancement activities, such as class trips and outings or extracurricular research activities. 

Knowledge Exchange

Given that this course seeks to intervene in and innovate both the fashion industry and the field of fashion studies, it follows that engaging with its urgent debates would be a central component. On this course, students engage closely with researchers and cultural partners, creating persuasive responses to live briefs and initiating independent projects. Through theoretical and practical approaches, students engage imaginatively, creatively and critically with the fashion industry, and the wider cultural sector. They learn how to generate new thinking about fashion through innovative research and how to communicate ideas across professional and academic contexts. 

Peer-to-Peer Learning and Feedback

Peer-to-peer learning and feedback connects to two of the five core principles of the course, community and criticality. Developing the skill of offering collegial and constructive criticism is key for a career in academia, one of the industries our graduates enter. This is embedded in the course, as students present their ideas in class and read and critique each other’s work as part of the ongoing formative feedback generated across Blocks 1 and 2. 

Expert Talks

Experts from the fashion industry and leading scholars from across UAL and other HEI’s are regularly invited to share their expertise with the students in an array of forms, including guest lectures, panels, and workshops. These talks are embedded in the curriculum, complementing and extending the core delivery. Students are encouraged to respond in the classroom as well as in their own scholarly practice, and to nominate scholars and practitioners who they wish to invite to speak to the cohort. 

Technical Delivery

Technical delivery developing core skills of slide deck production and communicating research through appropriate media will be embedded in the curriculum to support the core course unit, Research for Professional Contexts. This provision will be delivered alongside academic and practice-based instruction in the classroom.

About MA Fashion Cultures and Histories

Investigate fashion, dress and style in culture and society.

Graduate Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Graduate Showcase

Course trips and visits

  • NPG3.jpg
    Oscar Wilde, Paul Bench and MA Fashion Cultures at the National Portrait Gallery.
  • YC1.jpg
    Exploring Youth Club’s rich archives of photographic slides and rare printed materials on British youth cultures.
  • NAM3.jpg
    The detail of a Bombay light infantry hussar’s jacket from the Indian army
  • KTA2.jpg
    A selection of early John Galliano outfits, Kerry Taylor Auctions.

The History of Bras

LCF alum, Lorraine Smith talks to The Pool about the history of bras.

Cultural threads

Student work by Vanessa Lingham.

Latest news from this course

LCF facilities

  • Library, John Princes Street
    Library, John Princes Street Photography by: Ideal Insight
    LCF archives and library

    Take a tour of LCF's world renowned fashion library, ideal for research and study.

  • Photo of the 3D effects studio at Lime Grove.
    3D effects studio, Lime Grove | London College of Fashion | University of Arts London
    Media and Communication facilities

    Explore our Media and Communication facilities at Lime Grove.

  • Mare Street Canteen

    LCF's social spaces

    Explore our social spaces, for collaborative study and breaks, across our six sites in London.

  • LCF at Stratford Exterior Design
    LCF at Stratford Exterior Design
    LCF's move

    LCF is moving to a new single campus on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2023. Find more information about the College’s relocation.

Staff

Caroline Stevenson is Head of Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion, providing academic leadership for the Cultural and Historical Studies Department and its curriculum across the college. Read Caroline's full profile here.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£12,700

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£25,970

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Or view all

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows: 

  • An Honours degree at 2.1 or above in a related discipline. Applicants with a degree in another subject may be considered, depending on the strength of the application 
  • OR Equivalent qualifications 

APEL (Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning) 

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by: 

  • Related academic or work experience (minimum of three years) 
  • The quality of the personal statement 
  • A strong academic or other professional reference 
  • OR a combination of these factors 

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case. 

English Language Requirements 

IELTS level 7.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Please check our main English Language Requirements. 

Selection criteria

The course seeks to recruit students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and welcomes applications from mature students. The procedures fully comply with the Equal opportunities Policy of UAL and all interviewers have undertaken Fairness in Selection training.

The course seeks to recruit students who demonstrate some of the following:

  • a clear academic interest in the study of fashion through a multidisciplinary approach
  • evidence of cultural awareness and engagement with social and historical debate
  • relevant experience working in the fashion (or related) industries
  • a capacity for intellectual enquiry and reflective thought
  • a developed and mature attitude to independent study and intellectual growth

Apply now

Home International

This section includes all the information you need on how to apply, how your application is considered and what happens next.

UK/EU students can apply to a postgraduate course at LCF by completing a direct application.

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first-served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner. Read our Admissions Policy for details, including how to request a deferral and by when.

External Student Transfer Policy

If you are currently studying at another institution and if you have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current PG course and wish to continue your studies at London College of Fashion, you can apply to transfer. The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible.

Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and transcripts.

Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English if necessary) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.

Extra information required for applications to this course


When you are submitting your application form, you will also need to provide the following pieces of documentation in support of your application:

Curriculum Vitae

You will be required to submit a Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) in support of your application. This should include your full education and employment history.

Personal statement

The personal statement is your opportunity to tell us about yourself and your suitability for the course that you intend to study.

Some key points to consider:

  • Make sure that personal statement is your own work and is about you.
  • Explain why you want to study the course you are applying to.
  • Try to link your skills and experience required to the course.
  • Demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for the course and link these with your personality.
  • Make sure it is organised and literate (grammar, spelling, punctuation check).

Written assignments

Choose one of the key areas of interest that you mentioned in your Personal Statement and write a short essay that explains why you think that it is an important and interesting area of study. Your key area of interest can be as focused and specific as you like— it could be a particular garment, a style of dress, a type of craft, the relationship between clothes and memory, the influence of digital culture on fashion media, etc.
This essay is your place to demonstrate your competencies of writing and research and to show us what you're interested in. You may write in the first person and we encourage creative approaches to the format of the academic essay. Essays should be referenced in a style familiar to you and must include a list of works cited.

What happens next

All application forms, personal statements and relevant documents are read and considered by the course team against the selection criteria listed in the entry requirements and selection criteria sections. If you meet these requirements, you will be asked to submit a video task and attend an interview.

Video task

We'd like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you.

  • Please speak clearly in English and face the camera.
  • Your video task is submitted via PebblePad.
  • Read our guidance for more information about how to submit your video task and the file types we accept.

As part of your video task, please respond to the following direction:

  • We would like you to tell us about why you have applied to the MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, what you hope to study on the course and how you feel you will use what you learn in your future career.

Interview

If you are selected for interview, these will take place online using Teams from Microsoft – please ensure that you download this software prior to the interview date; this is available as a free download from the Microsoft website. We will send you further details at a later point about how we will connect with you for your interview.

If you are successful at the interview stage you will be offered a place. Please note that applicants are not guaranteed an interview.

Please note that if you are unable to attend, the College may not be able to re-schedule.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

The result of your application will be communicated to you through your UAL Portal. If your application has been successful, you will receive a full offer pack including details of accommodation, fees, and other important information.

Applications for this course can only be accepted for this year of entry. Applications for deferred entry cannot be accepted.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

Our equal consideration deadlines have now passed. This course will remain open to applications for 2023 entry until places have been filled. Please be aware that courses can close without notice.

We recommend you submit your application as early as possible to allow the Admissions team to resolve any initial queries about your application as quickly as possible.

When you'll hear from us

If this course requires a digital portfolio as part of the application process, we will contact you to invite you to submit this through UAL’s online submission tool, PebblePad. For Round 1 applications, you will need to submit your portfolio by 9 January 2023 at the latest and by 20 April 2023 for Round 2.

This course receives a high volume of applications. We need to make sure that we give all applications equal consideration, so the course team will review them in 2 rounds, after each application deadline date. This means you won’t hear from us about the outcome of your application until after the relevant application deadline date. Outcomes for Round 1 will be released by (at the latest) end of March and outcomes for Round 2 will be released by end of June 2023.

Remember to check the outcome of your application in the UAL Portal. If you apply in Round 1 and don’t hear back from us, we will consider your application within Round 2.

Find out more about what happens after you apply.

This section includes all the information you need on how to apply, how your application is considered and what happens next.

There are 2 ways international students can apply to a postgraduate course:

Read our immigration and visa information to find out if you need a visa to study at UAL.

You can only apply to the same course once per year. Any duplicate applications will be withdrawn.  Read the UAL international application advice for further information on how to apply.

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first-served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner. Read our Admissions Policy for details, including how to request a deferral and by when.

External Student Transfer Policy

If you are currently studying at another institution and if you have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current PG course and wish to continue your studies at London College of Fashion, you can apply to transfer. The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible.

Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and transcripts.

Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English if necessary) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.

Extra information required for applications to this course


When you are submitting your application form, you will also need to provide the following pieces of documentation in support of your application:

Curriculum Vitae

You will be required to submit a Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) in support of your application. This should include your full education and employment history.

Personal statement

The personal statement is your opportunity to tell us about yourself and your suitability for the course that you intend to study.

Some key points to consider:

  • Make sure that personal statement is your own work and is about you.
  • Explain why you want to study the course you are applying to.
  • Try to link your skills and experience required to the course.
  • Demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for the course and link these with your personality.
  • Make sure it is organised and literate (grammar, spelling, punctuation check).

Written assignments

Choose one of the key areas of interest that you mentioned in your Personal Statement and write a short essay that explains why you think that it is an important and interesting area of study. Your key area of interest can be as focused and specific as you like— it could be a particular garment, a style of dress, a type of craft, the relationship between clothes and memory, the influence of digital culture on fashion media, etc.
This essay is your place to demonstrate your competencies of writing and research and to show us what you're interested in. You may write in the first person and we encourage creative approaches to the format of the academic essay. Essays should be referenced in a style familiar to you and must include a list of works cited.

What happens next

Immigration History Check

After you have applied, you will need to complete an Immigration History Check to identify whether you are eligible to study at UAL. Do be aware, if you do not complete the Immigration History Check we will not be able to proceed with your application.

Initial application check

All application forms, personal statements and relevant documents are read and considered by the course team against the selection criteria listed in the entry requirements and selection criteria sections. If you meet these requirements, you will be asked to submit a video task and attend an interview.

Video task

We'd like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you.

  • Please speak clearly in English and face the camera.
  • Your video is submitted via PebblePad.
  • Read our guidance for more information about how to submit your video task and the file types we accept.

As part of your video task, please respond to the following direction:

  • We would like you to tell us about why you have applied to the MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, what you hope to study on the course and how you feel you will use what you learn in your future career.

Interview

If you are selected for interview, these will take place online using Teams from Microsoft - please ensure that you download this software prior to the interview date. This is available as a free download from the Microsoft website. We will send you further details at a later point about how we will connect with you for your interview.

If you are successful at the interview stage you will be offered a place. Please note that applicants are not guaranteed an interview.

Please note that if you are unable to attend, the College may not be able to re-schedule.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

The result of your application will be communicated to you through your UAL Portal. If your application has been successful, you will receive a full offer pack including details of accommodation, fees, and other important information.

Applications for this course can only be accepted for this year of entry. Applications for deferred entry cannot be accepted.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

Our equal consideration deadlines have now passed. This course will remain open to applications for 2023 entry until places have been filled. Please be aware that courses can close without notice.

We recommend you submit your application as early as possible to allow the Admissions team to resolve any initial queries about your application as quickly as possible.

When you'll hear from us

This course receives a high volume of applications. We need to make sure that we give all applications equal consideration, so the course team will review them in two rounds. This means that offers won’t be sent to successful applicants until after the relevant application deadline date. Outcomes for Round 1 will be released by 31 March 2022 and outcomes for Round 2 will be released by 30 June 2022.

Remember to check the outcome of your application in the UAL Portal. If you apply in Round 1 and don’t hear back from us, we will consider your application within Round 2.

Find out more about what happens after you apply.

After you apply

There are no official deadlines to submit your application. Applications are accepted, and offers are made throughout the year. The course will be closed once spaces are filled so we advise that you apply early.

Careers

All our postgraduate courses offer career development, so that you become a creative thinker, making effective contributions to your relevant sector of the fashion industry.

LCF offers students the opportunity to develop Personal and Professional Development (PPD) skills while studying through:

* Access to to speaker programmes and events featuring alumni and industry.

* Access to careers activities, such as CV clinics and one-to-one advice sessions.

* Access to a graduate careers service

* Access to a live jobsboard for all years.

* Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Career paths

Masters graduates have an acknowledged advantage in the employment market, obtaining work in a wide range of vocational and academic fields related to fashion. Previous graduates have gone on to lecture in related fields in Europe and America, worked in fashion curation and archives, journalism, styling, retail consultancy, as well as to higher level research degrees (MPhil or PhD). Our graduates are working within the industry at institutions including Museum of London, the V&A, BBC, Parsons, Kerry Taylor Auctions and Garde Robe, as well as for commercial brands such as Net-a-Porter and Burberry.

Alumni

London College of Fashion

Contact

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7514 7400
Address
20 John Prince's Street
London

W1G 0BJ