Learn the skills needed for a career in fashion design

Careers in the fashion industry are diverse and varied, but also extremely competitive.

On this three-week course, you’ll investigate fashion design jobs and develop the fundamental skills to excel in your chosen field.

Explore different jobs in fashion and plan your future career in the fashion industry

Fashion design incorporates many jobs, from garment cutter to fashion merchandiser.

On this course, you’ll be introduced to a range of different career paths. You’ll learn what each job entails and the skills you’ll need to possess.

With this knowledge, you’ll be able to identify key areas for personal development. This will give you a headstart when preparing for interviews and creating your own relevant portfolio of work.

Develop your fashion design skills from pattern making and draping to sewing techniques

To impress employers, you need to show a breadth of knowledge and skills within fashion design.

You’ll explore a variety of essential concepts including accurate measuring, fitting, and draping techniques, as well as developing your hand and machine sewing skills.

With these fundamental skills, you can demonstrate your ability to produce garments and explain fashion production processes.

Discover the research tools and techniques to create a fashion portfolio

The ability to research ideas and inspirations will help you create an exciting and diverse portfolio of work.

You’ll be guided through the research process and gain insight into working with and creating your own sketchbooks to showcase your ideas.

By the end of this course, you’ll understand how to establish a career within fashion design. You’ll have developed fundamental skills in fashion production and be able to create a portfolio that showcases your skills and talents.

Syllabus

Week 1
Introduction to careers in fashion design
- Course welcome
  In this activity, you will be introduced to the content that will be covered during this course. You will also get an overview of the topics covered during the first week of this course.
- Research and design
  In this activity, you learn about the importance to undertake research and the critical role it plays in fashion design and other creative subjects and practices.
- Sources of research and inspiration
  Inspiration and ideas can come from many places and sometimes some unexpected sources, and in this activity, you learn how fashion has been inspired by centuries of natural, architectural, vintage, and even artistic ideas.
- Inspiration and sketchbooks
  Research and inspiration for fashion design can take a variety of approaches including practical methods and techniques, and in this activity, we explore zero waste design, textile samples, working with and creating sketchbooks.
- Week wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 2
Concept to prototype
- Weekly welcome
  Moving into the second week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
- Measurements
  In this activity, you will learn more about measurements which usually involve working with a variety of technical equipment and specialist resources.
- Patterns
  Pattern making is a key part of the design process, and in this activity, you will learn more about the importance of using the correct tools, techniques, and skills to create intricate patterns.
- Draping and sewing
  In this activity, you learn more about alternative methods of creating a pattern, different sewing techniques and tools, stitching, and methods used for testing a pattern.
- Finishing and prototypes
  In this activity, you explore the process of adding the elements that characterize the key features of the prototype and improving the look and functionality of a design.
- Week wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 3
Portfolio and professional practice
- Weekly welcome
  Moving into the third week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
- Your fashion design career
  In this activity, you explore fashion in a professional context by learning how fashion and technology connect, the importance of creating a portfolio of work, and the different professional opportunities open to design graduates.
- Roles in the fashion design industry: designers
  A fashion designer works as a central member of an extended team, and in this activity, we explore the various role players in the process of developing a new design.
- Other roles in fashion design
  In this activity, you will learn about various other roles in the extended fashion design team.
- Course wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight into other courses in this series.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now
Join - $89

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe the research process and approaches to research in finding inspiration
Identify important techniques and practices used in creating a prototype
Identify the various professional careers and their roles in fashion design
Identify the function and best practices in creating a fashion design portfolio
Explain the role and uses of working with a toile in the design process

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with an interest in fashion, particularly those considering a career in the fashion industry.

Who developed the course?

Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes.and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

Unlimited access to this course
Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Join - $89

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