Introduction To Fashion Design Short Course
Course description
Course overview
This practical and inspiring introduction to fashion design will guide you through the key stages of the creative design process used by fashion professionals. Through a series of hands-on projects and design exercises, you'll explore how designers generate ideas, research concepts, develop creative responses and communicate their vision.
You’ll learn how inspiration can be transformed into original fashion concepts through research, sketchbook development, fashion drawing, colour exploration and design experimentation. Along the way, you'll discover how designers build a personal creative identity and develop work suitable for presentation and future portfolio development.
The course sheds light on the diverse opportunities available within the fashion industry, from fashion design and textile development to illustration, image-making and creative direction.
Whether you're completely new to fashion, considering further study, exploring a career change or looking to develop your creative confidence, this course offers a supportive and engaging introduction to the subject.
By the end of the course, you’ll have created your own body of fashion design work, gained valuable feedback from experienced tutors, and developed a clear understanding of the potential next steps within fashion education and practice for your progression.
This course is available to study both online and on campus. The price and duration vary depending on the mode of study, allowing you to choose the option that best fits your schedule and preferred learning style:
- Online learning offers a more flexible, part-time approach, ideal if you are balancing study with other commitments
- On campus classes provide a more immersive, intensive learning experience in a shorter timeframe
Please check the location assigned to each date in the booking section to ensure you select your preferred study option.
Who this course is for
- Complete beginners with an interest in fashion design
- Students considering future study in fashion, textiles or related creative subjects
- Individuals looking to build confidence in their creative skills
- Career changers exploring opportunities within the fashion industry
- Anyone with a desire to learn the creative design process for fashion
No previous experience is required.
Key information
Topics covered
- Introduction to the fashion design process
- Understanding creative briefs and project development
- Primary and secondary research methods
- Visual research and inspiration gathering
- Storytelling, colour palettes, and developing an individual creative perspective
- Fabric, texture and material awareness
- Sketchbook development techniques
- Fashion drawing and illustration fundamentals
- Design development and creative experimentation
- Communicating fashion ideas visually
- Initial portfolio and project presentation principles
- Understanding careers and progression opportunities in fashion
Learning outcomes
- Identify the key stages of the fashion design process
- Establish your creative style
- Generate and develop ideas through research and experimentation
- Use fashion drawing and visual communication techniques to express creative concepts
- Create visual research work to support a fashion project
- Understand how designers develop collections from concept to presentation
- Understand the language of portfolios and develop initial portfolio-quality work suitable for future study
- Identify progression routes within fashion education and the wider fashion industry
- Receive a digital badge and certificate of attendance
Progress your learning
This course introduces fashion design across Central Saint Martin and London College of Fashion. If you are new to the subject or are self-taught with no formal learning, this is a great starting point for your learning journey. After this course you might like to process to further study across UAL's Fashion Design Short Course programme.
After completing this course, you may wish to progress to more specialised courses in:
Or progress to fashion making and pattern cutting based courses.
Materials
On campus
- A5 note pad
- Pen
- Eraser
- HB retractable pencil
- Pritt Stick
- 1cm masking tape
- Small pair of scissors
- A4 layout pad
- Colour drawing materials (anything acrylic, pencils, pastels, water colour etc.)
- A4 Portrait or A3 Landscape Sketchbook (white paper)
- Black 0.1 and 0.5 Fine Line Pens
- Letraset Pro-Markers (1 ivory and 1 cool grey no.1)
- Camera / Smartphone (for research only)
- Laptop or tablet (optional - you will be researching online but have access to UAL computers)
- Budget for GBP 15- GBP 25 for research photocopying
Online
- A2 Cartridge pad
- Soft drawing pencils (nothing harder than a B)
- During the course students will be encouraged to work with a variety of different media from the list above and also to bring in any other media they wish to try, e.g. charcoal, graphite, oil pastels, marker pens
- Other collage materials
- A camera can also be very helpful to take pictures of the drawing model to keep for reference and collage purposes but is not essential
If you are taking this course online, please see our Guide to taking online short courses.
Tutor
Emma Gluziki
Emma Gluziki is a further and higher education lecturer passionate about supporting students developing their interests into 3D outcomes through exploring modern themes and personal beliefs. Enhancing student’s learning process by utilising teaching experience and extended cultural knowledge to support creative development. Specialisation in portfolio development. creative draping and sustainability through traditional printing technique such as natural dye, pigment extraction and wax printing. She graduated in 2019 from Central Saint Martins and have been doing artist residency, working as a pattern cutting freelancer and business advisor. She is currently Program Manager for an Educational Charity along with developing her own Textile practice.Romero Bryan
Romero Bryan (MA, PG Cert, AFHEA) boasts over 25 years of extensive experience in the fashion industry, having distinguished himself as a Fashion Designer with the presentation of luxurious collections at prominent international events, including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. In addition to his design work, he has acted as a Freelance Public Relations Consultant with a focus on Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle, and has also accumulated experience in Corporate Public Relations.
Currently, Romero serves as a lecturer in the MA Design Management program at the London College of Communications. He integrates principles of Design Management into the curriculum of all his UAL Short Courses, thereby encouraging students to engage critically with broader interconnected issues that extend beyond the immediate concerns of the fashion industry.
In his educational practice, Romero equips students with essential tools for success in the fashion sector, leveraging his professional experiences and incorporating real-world case studies from established creative practitioners and enterprises. His pedagogical approach is thus deeply rooted in practical insights and the dynamics of the industry.
Daniela Bomba
Daniela is a womenswear designer, print designer and creative consultant. She has worked both in London and abroad for luxury fashion houses and brands, and tutored at Central Saint Martins. Daniela began her studies at Ravensbourne College of Art Design and Communication and completed her Masters in Fashion Womenswear at Central Saint Martins. She has worked for a number of fashion labels including Jonathan Saunders and Luella as a designer and as consultant to brands including Adam Andrascik and Selfridges. Daniela is a lead tutor womenswear on the Fashion Folio course at Central Saint Martins.
Kiren Passi
Kiren Passi is a luxury Fashion Designer who trained at Christian Dior in Paris and subsequently worked as a womenswear Designer in London, Italy and New York. Kiren's extensive International Fashion Experience has meant she has engaged with craft communities across the world including Bali, India, Nepal, Japan and Hong Kong.
One of CSM's PG Certified and long standing short course tutors, teaching at CSM for over 10 years, Kiren's Fashion and Textile education includes a BA Hon's from UAL and an MA from the prestigious Royal College of Art. She was awarded a Swarovski design prize in 2016.
Ian Kettle
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