Fashion Textiles

Fashion textiles stands at the heart of one of the most culturally significant and economically important creative industries in the world. It encompasses the design and development of fabrics, prints, patterns, and garments, the creative traditions of weaving, dyeing, and surface design, and the contemporary challenge of designing responsibly in an industry whose environmental and social impacts are under increasing scrutiny. Fashion and textile designers who succeed today are both creative and critical, able to work with material and process at the highest level while understanding the broader contexts in which their work exists.

At the University of the West of England in Bristol you will develop as an agile creative with the skills to design responsibly and the vision to contribute to the future of fashion. The programme covers textile design including print, weave, knitwear, and mixed media, alongside fashion design fundamentals, sustainable design practice, material innovation, and the commercial and cultural contexts of the fashion industry. You will develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your creative voice and technical range, and you will engage with contemporary questions about how fashion can be made more sustainable without sacrificing quality or creativity.

The programme is offered part-time and includes a sandwich placement year with work placement, giving you direct experience in a fashion or textile business and the industry connections that a design career depends on.

Graduates go on to careers as textile and fashion designers, print designers, surface pattern designers, textile technologists, buyers, trend forecasters, and creative directors, as well as in sustainable fashion consultancy, styling, and education. Many develop portfolio careers that combine design practice with teaching or other creative work. Postgraduate study in fashion, textile design, or sustainable fashion is also an option.