Postgraduate Diploma Live Online

Develop the advanced skills and in-depth knowledge needed to start your own fashion design business.

Postgraduate Diploma

Home Study course

Live Online course

Classroom Based course

Limited places available

home study

live online

classroom

Limited places available

Start Date

February 2025

Price

£2,725 (Easy-pay plan available)

Duration

Approximately 9 months

Work Placement

Graduates of this course are eligible for a one month work placement with a fashion design company. All placements are made in the greater London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh areas.

Study Option: Live Online
Course Location: Online
Course Level: Equivalent to level 4 on the RQF
Entry Requirements: 18 years old or over
Assessment: 15 practical assignments
Accreditation: The British Academy of Fashion Design is an accredited provider of the British Accreditation Council (BAC).

Completing this course will enable you to start your own successful fashion design business by honing your skills to create, present and manage your own fashion collection.

Designed around 15 practical assignments, you will incrementally develop the advanced techniques and deep understanding of the industry that you need to succeed as a fashion designer.

As a Live Online student, you will attend tutor-led classes online taught by industry professionals. You will also have full access to the Online Learning Centre, which contains course material created by industry experts including instructional videos, written content and assignments.

Our tutors provide all the support, knowledge and in-depth feedback you need to progress through your course and are always contactable through the Online Learning Centre.

On average a student studying around 15 hours per week can complete the course in 18 months, a student studying around 30 hours a week can complete the course in 9 months*.

*Completion time is based on the approximate time it has taken past students to complete the course. Students have up to 36 months to complete the course.

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Class Schedule

View the schedule for the evening classes and the weekend classes in Live Online.

Topics

The list below provides an overview of the topics covered in this course.

- Fundamental Techniques in Fashion Design
Learn the core skills needed to create innovative designs season after season. Explore creative techniques, master flat pattern drafting and pattern manipulation to create new designs. Use this knowledge to create a garment for a customer attending an event. Learn how to:
- Create and use a sketchbook
- Generate ideas
- Create and use a mini mannequin for draping
- Use flat pattern techniques
- Working with Materials
Develop your skills to create a three outfit, ready to wear collection. Experiment with materials to understand their properties and use manipulation techniques to create new fabrics. Learn about:
- Choosing and examining fabrics
- Manipulating materials
- Sewing techniques
- Swatch books
- Presentation boards and presenting your work professionally
- Cultural Movements in Fashion Design
Examine how society, history, technology, economics and culture influence fashion design practice. Complete a research project to learn about key historical movements in fashion design. Learn how to:
- Use research methods
- Analyse key movements in history
- Develop key insights about contemporary design influences
- Present research findings professionally
- Creating a Garment
Build the technical skills needed to turn a design into a finished outfit. Improve accuracy in pattern drafting and design interpretation by creating a basic garment. Learn how to:
- Measure a person for a pattern
- Create specification sheets
- Research, source and test fabrics
- Draft patterns
- Create toiles and examine fitting
- Cut patterns and sew a finished garment
- Designing Collections for a Brand
Examine market trends to identify customer needs and design a six outfit fashion collection. Learn how to:
- Examine current and future trends
- Create a strategy for creating a fashion collection
- Develop designs and brand logos
- Create line-ups and technical drawings
- Examine fabric quality
- Using Fashion Design Software
Build awareness of computer aided design in contemporary practice. Explore fashion design software to create professional looking 2D and 3D illustrations for a fashion collection. You will learn about:
- 2D and 3D computer generated illustrations
- Adobe Illustrator
- Working with croquis
- Creating flat technical drawings
- Understanding the pros and cons of computer aided design
- Creative Thinking and Independent Practice
Use your skill-set to create a complete outfit for a fashion show, based on a set theme and topic. Learn how to:
- Work independently on a fashion design project
- Practice techniques for developing ideas, produce illustrations and creating an outfit
- Improve critical thinking and analysis of project needs
- Manage the development of garment creation
- Present finished garments to a committee
- Portfolio Creation and Career Planning
Examine career goals and different pathways into the fashion design industry. Develop a portfolio for potential employers and customers that demonstrates your skills and shows your approach to fashion design. Learn how to:
- Investigate the fashion design profession
- Examine strengths and weaknesses in your skill-set
- Identify career goals
- Plan career development milestones
- Curate a professional looking portfolio

Tutors

All our tutors are fashion design professionals working in the industry.

Sophie
Jones

Course Tutor
Diana
Todorova

Course Tutor
Sinead
Garcia

Course Tutor
Charlene
Carillon

Course Tutor

See All Tutors

You're getting feedback from really relevant people in the fashion industry.

Emily Houghton

Student

I would recommend this course for others - it's exactly what I was looking for.

Damien Baker

Student

I thought the tutors were were very helpful and they gave great feedback.

Elodie Trochez

Graduate

I'm absolutely loving it! All the tutors have just been really helpful.

Samantha Slator

Student

They’ve given out useful hints and tips, as well as examples of students work.

Sarah Montgomery

Student

The British Academy of Fashion Design

Our philosophy at the British Academy of Fashion Design is to make high-quality education accessible to all by empowering people to do what they love. Through the power of online and blended learning, our students are able to harness their creativity and practically apply it to succeed in their chosen careers.

Pursue your ambition - because the future is today!

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Postgraduate Diploma Live Online