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BA (Hons) Fashion: Design and Accessories

The world famous pioneer of handmade luxury shoes and Creative Director of JCA | London Fashion Academy, Professor Jimmy Choo OBE, invites aspiring fashion design innovators to develop their own unique style at his brand new Academy and Incubator. We still have vacancies for September 2023, apply directly to claim your place in our founding cohort.

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FOLlow in the footsteps of

Professor Jimmy Choo

The world famous pioneer of handmade luxury shoes and Director of JCA, Professor Jimmy Choo OBE, invites aspiring fashion design innovators to develop their own unique style at his brand new London Fashion Academy.

LEARN TO INNOVATE and

Shape the Future of Fashion

Don’t just build a career; build a legacy and claim your place in history as a fashion design innovator.

Become part of an influential community of creators that want to solve the problems of the future with fashion and change the world forever.

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A SOCIAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Taught from our Boston Manor Campus

Our Design and Accessories course is delivered from our Boston Manor Campus in West London.

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DEVELOP YOUR OWN COLLECTIONS

With Mentorship from Industry Icons

The Academy is run by fashion professionals, not simply academic teachers, and it is highly focused on professional excellence. Our staff are among the best in their field, professionally within fashion, and pedagogically within education. They are friendly and approachable people who work together to help create a professionally focused learning community that brings together and inculcates students, staff, and associates from the wider fashion industry.

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Grow with mentorship

We have stepped away from the outdated student-lecturer model. At the JCA, you’ll benefit from one-to-one mentorship that nurtures your talent, accelerates your professional development and helps you grow as a person.

&

Join an influential community

There will be opportunities to build relationships and exchange ideas with visiting professionals rub shoulders with like-minded designers in our open plan co-working space.

As a student of the JCA you can expect to grow your network with key industry contacts that will open doors for you and accelerate your career

Incubating Fashion Pioneers

Incubation at JCA has been established to support early stage talented entrepreneurs and to nurture their fashion and technology business start-ups to commercialisation.

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COURSE LEVEL

BA (HONS)

DURATION

3 YEARS

FEES

£9,250

LOCATION

Boston Manor

UCAS POINTS

80

An undergraduate degree covering the fundamentals of fashion design and conceptual theory, brand development and communication, as well as practical skills in garment and accessory design.

The BA (Hons) Fashion: Design and Accessories course is a future focused, globally aware design-led, entrepreneurial course conceived to prepare students for careers within the global fashion and accessories industry.

This highly distinct and innovative programme of practice focuses the learner on the interconnectivity between garment and accessories design and in the making process.

What you'll learn

This course will help students develop an in-depth understanding and practical application of the design and making of both garments and accessories.

Subjects will include Fashion Design, Accessory Design and Wearable Technology, Visual Communication, Smart Materials, Brand Development, and Entrepreneurship.

Given the specialised nature of the field, both traditional skills and emerging technologies are taught, such as the integration of digital technology with wearable accessories.

Students on the programme will benefit from being taught within a traditional University setting and so will benefit socially and cross disciplinary from the highly diversified course communities on campus.

Taught sessions will often draw upon studio based project work, creative workshops, and ‘work review’ sessions. Assessment is contextual and applied and is intended to follow your personal area of continuing practice and subject specialism.

Depending on the module, you may be assessed through:

  • 2D visual research and design development work

  • 3D development work and final products

  • Practical and digital portfolio work

  • In person, digital and visual presentations

  • Final negotiated project  

What you'll practice

This is a hands-on, industry focused course with subject matter that reflects both traditional and emerging theory and skill along with a contextual and applied understanding of the accessories market.

There is a strong thread of work related learning throughout the programme and you will be expected to approach your studies as professional, aspiring designers and develop their craft.  

Central to the experience is the Internship Project. Here, working alongside industry professionals and undertaking negotiated and agreed tasks, you will gain direct professional experiences that sit alongside, complement and add critical context to your study.

What you'll master

Students will not only enjoy the craft of traditional garment and accessories design and make that have been handed down with little change through centuries and generations of crafts people, you will also be breaking new and exciting ground through the discovery and application of new and emerging smart textiles and wearable technologies that are changing the materials industry and the use and functionality of objects.

What you'll do next

BA (Hons) Fashion: Design and Accessories graduates will likely be aspiring designers who want to establish their own enterprise or to join a larger company with the key transferable skills that industry so desperately demands.  

Graduates will likely pursue specialist careers within the accessory design fields of bag and luggage design, footwear, sports and many other related sectors.

In addition to accessories design skills, the Academy will have prepared graduates with the personal, professional and entrepreneurial skills needed to transition into their future career.


Course
Structure

SEMESTER ONE
FASHION IN CONTEXT ONE
FASHION FUNDAMENTALS *
FASHION MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGIES *
SEMESTER TWO
CREATIVE FASHION INDUSTRIES *
FASHION DESIGN & MAKE * 
FASHION COMMUNICATION  & BRAND DEVELOPMENT *
*PRACTICE BASED MODULES
SEMESTER ONE
FASHION IN CONTEXT TWO 
INNOVATIVE ACCESSORY DESIGN *
FASHION INTERNSHIP *
SEMESTER TWO
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & CREATIVE PRACTICE *
FASHION COLLECTION *
FASHION INTERNSHIP *
*PRACTICE BASED MODULES
SEMESTER ONE
CRITICAL RESEARCH FOR FASHION
PRE COLLECTION *
NEGOTIATED FASHION PROJECT *
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT *
SEMESTER TWO
NEGOTIATED FASHION PROJECT *
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT *
*PRACTICE BASED MODULES

Course
Fees

£9,250 UK /EU

£12,500  International

Other costs

Unlike many of the mainstream universities and specialist colleges, JCA will provide you with most of the things needed to undertake your fashion studies, including fair use access to basic materials, such as calico, that elsewhere you may need to purchase.  

At the start of your course you will be supplied with an introductory kit, which will include many of the art materials needed to undertake your general fashion illustration activities, in addition you will be provided with some key sewing and pattern making equipment needed for practical fashion and make activities.  

Beyond the basics, you may then want, as part of your wider portfolio development, to select and use specialist materials and finishings, particularly for your final project. You will need to budget for this as this will be in addition to your fees, however in our experience we believe that material costs are unlikely to exceed £250 in year one, £300 in year 2 but depending on the materials you choose to work with, we would recommend budgeting £600 to £1500 pounds in year three to cover the production costs associated with your course and the final collection.

Entry
Requirements

The JCA seeks to support the best and most gifted designer to fulfil their ambitions. Recruitment will be selective and based on academic and creative potential assessed through prior qualifications, portfolio and academic interview. Motivation is essential.

To be considered for the course, you will need:

  • The equivalent ‘minimum’ of two A levels at grades BB or above

  • Three GCSE passes at grade C or above (preferably in English and an Art / Design subject)

  • To submit an appropriate portfolio of work

  • To come to an interview which will be based on the quality of the creative and written work produced as part of the portfolio submission.

Applicants are requested to provide a portfolio of their own work in Art and Design, which will include a selection of work to demonstrate creative skills including evidence of how students use research and theory, and process and develop ideas. In addition, a sample of written work demonstrating some understanding and awareness of the fashion industry should also be included in the portfolio.  

Students do not need to necessarily have a background in fashion. However, will be important to demonstrate the following attributes upon application;

  • A personal commitment and interest in fashion including an interest in design, making, visual communication and brand development;

  • Problem solving skills and the ability to communicate clearly in writing;

  • The ability to research and complete tasks;

  • Team work and independent practice;

  • Evidence of IT and CAD skills (e.g. basic use of Photoshop, etc.);

  • Commitment to the subject area through a personal statement and interview;

  • Focused entrepreneurial career aspiration;

  • Awareness of current affairs and debates within the fashion industry.

International and UK based applicants who are unable to attend the interview process in person will be asked to submit a digital portfolio and will be asked to partake in a Skype, Zoom or equivalent interview.

Validated by the University of West London

Careers

Students following the Design and Accessories programme will be aspiring designers who are likely to want to establish their own enterprise or to join a larger company with the key transferable skills that industry so desperately demands.

Academically the programme is grounded with contemporaneous themes such as Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and supporting this further, students are encouraged to find and undertake a professional internship which provides context and reflection into a single applied learner experience.

Following this programme some students will want to further develop their specialism through postgraduate study.

Students who want to move more quickly into industry are likely to find careers within large fashion companies that carry garment and accessory lines or specialist careers within the accessory design fields of bag and luggage design, footwear, sports and many other related sectors.