The FdA Tailoring course is situated in the School of Design and Technology and is for students who want to work in the tailoring industry. The course teaches you the skills for both Handcraft and Production Tailoring and design, together with the professional, communication and business skills you will need for successful employment in today’s global fashion industry. You will acquire broader academic skills which allow you to see the context of tailoring in the wider perspectives of fashion, society and the environment. The College has strong links with Savile Row and the wider tailoring industry, which gives students opportunities through industry-based projects during the course, the Golden Shears Awards, and for employment after graduation. Recent projects undertaken with the industry include Casual Bespoke with Timothy Everest and Reinventing the Tuxedo with Henry Poole. High-achieving graduates from this course have the opportunity to do a third year of specialist studies to gain a BA Honours degree. 

FdA Tailoring is based at Mare Street in Hackney. The surrounding area boasts a number of east end art galleries, fashion and clothing enterprises, interesting shops, Broadway market and the famed Hackney Empire theatre. London Fields, with its excellent open air lido (heated in winter), and Victoria Park provide nearby green spaces, and the Regent’s Canal runs through the area from east to west. A short bus ride will take you to the V & A’s Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green and the Geffrye Museum in Kingsland Road.  

Course Units

Year One     Stage One     Level 4     120 credits 

Term One: Introduction to Study in Higher Education (20 credits); Research, Design and Handcraft Tailoring (20 credits);

Term Two: Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits); Design and Handcraft Tailoring (20 credits);

Term Three: Industrial Studies for Tailoring (WBL) (40 credits);

Year Two     Stage Two     Level 5     120 credits

Term One: Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits); Production Tailoring, Design Development and Range Planning (20 credits);

Term Two: Collaborative Project for Tailoring (WBL) (20 credits); Design and Process for Tailoring (20 credits);

Term Three: Personal Development Portfolio for Tailoring (40 credits);

Course Outline

Year One

In the first term you will study two units.

Introduction to Study in Higher Education gives you an understanding of your personal and professional development at university, with three core purposes: to introduce you to the necessary learning skills for undergraduate study; to show you where you are situated within the College and the University; and to help you understand what you will learn on your course and how you will develop your skills.

Research, Design and Handcraft Tailoring introduces you to the design process from visual research through to the development of a handcraft tailored product. You will be encouraged to explore a range of creative approaches, and you will acquire problem-solving skills that will help you further the development of your design ideas and technical outcomes. This relationship between research, design and technical development will give you a framework for future two and three dimensional developmental work.

In the second term you will study two units.

Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies introduces you to key concepts and ways of thinking about fashion and its context in society and culture. You will attend lectures, seminars and workshops, and do a significant amount of reading of academic texts in order to complete a formal academic essay for assessment.  Completion of this unit will allow you to make an informed choice of subject for study in the second year Cultural and Historical Studies unit.

Design and Handcraft Tailoring gives you the opportunity to build on your knowledge and further develop your skills. You will be introduced to market research and customer profiling, and will begin to understand the market placement of tailoring products. You will investigate specified consumer types and conduct research into contemporary lifestyles, buying behaviour, and cultural interests to inform the development of your tailoring outcomes. You will conduct independent design and market research, develop design concepts and realise 3D products.

In the third term you will undertake the Industrial Studies for Tailoring (WBL) unit. This gives you the opportunity to undertake work-based learning through a commercial brief. You will investigate specified markets and retail outlets related to handcraft tailoring, and conduct research into brand image and product life cycles. You will learn about the supply chain in the fashion and tailoring industries, and the commercial implications associated with fashion forecasting and the role of brands. You will be working as part of a team, and this will develop your professional communication and team working skills. You will have the opportunity to sample a variety of different software packages for CAD and presentation, you will use this technology where appropriate to develop and professionalise your work, and you will produce outcomes relevant to handcraft tailoring.  

Year Two                                                            

In the first term you will be able to study a Cultural and Historical Studies unit of your choice that will broaden or deepen your learning of areas relating to your interests in your chosen field. You will have the opportunity to participate in lectures, seminars and workshops with students from other courses within your School, and will read relevant academic texts and complete a formal academic essay for assessment.

Also in the first term, the Production Tailoring, Design Development and Range Planning unit gives you the opportunity to extend the skills acquired in your first year by experimenting with a variety of production methods and tailoring techniques in order to produce 3D outcomes. You will answer a design brief within an industry context. You will realise the importance of market awareness, and the appreciation of quality, make and finish in relation to an identified market level will be emphasised. Your professional presentation and communication skills will be further developed.

In the second term you will study two units.

The Collaborative Project for Tailoring (WBL) unit gives you the opportunity to undertake work-based learning through a collaborative project, where you will be working as part of a team to respond to an external brief, or to a simulated design proposal for a specific company. You will be working with students from your own or other areas, and this will develop your understanding of the collaborative nature of design realisation within the industry. The emphasis is on creative problem solving and professional presentation skills, and each team will present as a group. 

The Design and Process for Tailoring unit will support the development of your design skills through the interpretation of the client brief and the realisation of the final outcome. This unit is designed to support the collaborative project which you are undertaking. The emphasis will be on design interpretation and aesthetic judgement being used to provide innovative design solutions, and you will further develop your creative and technical skills.

In the third term you will undertake the Personal Development Portfolio for Tailoring unit, which will give you the opportunity to select from a range of project briefs and develop your own project. This will build on the skills and knowledge that you have acquired so far, and the direction that you take will depend on your career aspirations. You will consolidate your personal portfolio and produce a substantial body of work that will help you to gain employment in the tailoring industry.

Future Careers and Graduate Prospects

High-achieving graduates from this course have the opportunity to do a third year of specialist studies to gain a BA Honours degree. 

Many graduates prefer to seek employment as soon as they have completed their undergraduate studies. The first cohort of students from this course graduates in June 2011.

Developing your skills

All our undergraduate courses are concerned with the development of your personal and professional skills. On your course you will evolve from learning basic skills in your discipline through to a position where you are an independent creative thinker capable of making an effective contribution to the relevant sector of the fashion industry. PPD (Personal and Professional Development) skills are embedded in all units on every course. Speaker programmes with contributions from alumni, members of industry and others are a part of many courses, as are work placement opportunities in industry. Where relevant, students have the chance to attend trade fairs, enter industry competitions, visit exhibitions and go on field trips and visits. The central position of our John Prince’s Street site in the West End affords students easy access to all sectors of the fashion retail market. In addition, our position as a constituent College in the University of the Arts London means that our students have access to the wide range of activities and events that occur in all the Colleges and at the University’s centre. Last but not least, being in London gives every student opportunities to explore and be inspired by the cultural, intellectual and social life of one of the great capital cities of the world.

Resources

Our excellent resources for educating our students are two-fold: people and premises. People includes everyone at the College who contributes directly in some way to your education, whether as a subject tutor, a technician, an Open Access Officer, a librarian or a study support tutor. Premises include the buildings and the facilities contained in them, such as specialist machinery, design studios and workshops, lecture and seminar rooms, and the library.

For the FdA Tailoring course students have access to an up to date range of machinery and equipment that is comparable to that used currently in the tailoring industry. Our library has a tailoring archive containing books and periodicals on tailoring from the 1800s through to the present day and a specialist collection of Savile Row bespoke suits.

Jacqueline Sealy is the Course Leader and graduated from the London College of Fashion with qualifications in Garment Making and Clothing. She has worked extensively in the industry as a sample machinist, pattern cutter, sample room manager and production manager for a number of companies, including Ally Cappellino, Selina Blow, and SR Gent, who supplied Marks and Spencer, Richard Shops and C & A. Jacqueline has a Certificate in Education and has worked within the University in a variety of technical and teaching roles.

Details are currently being updated for the Programme Director for this course, BA Bespoke Tailoring, and the Cordwainers BA and FdA courses for footwear and accessories. Updated information will be available on the LCF website as soon as possible.

Rob Phillips is the Creative Director for the School of Design and Technology and his career started in fashion womenswear, menswear and illustration. He worked at publishers Benjamin Dent as Fashion Editor for International Textiles magazine, and as Creative Director of Fashion Forecast magazine, where his progressive work promoting young fashion talent garnered him much acclaim from industry. Rob continues to nurture talent at LCF across all courses within the School, preparing students to develop their full potential and make their unique contribution to the fashion industry. He furthers the work of the College through many routes, including the recent collaboration between LCF, English National Ballet and the V&A. He also curates the School’s fashion shows and exhibitions, and is fully engaged with all external events and competitions.

Showing your Work                            

All final year students are given the opportunity to profile their work online using the Showtime section of the University and College websites. London College of Fashion can make no guarantee that your work (either in sum or in part) will be shown, exhibited or profiled in any way as part of your course. All student work appearing in College organised events, catwalk shows, exhibitions and other forms of showcase, is selected by a panel of senior staff and, in some instances, external industry judges.

Course Entry Requirements

This course requires portfolio evidence.

Opportunities for All

We are committed to making university education an achievable option for a wider range of people and seek to recruit students from diverse socio-economic, cultural and educational backgrounds. We are committed to supporting all our students in achieving their potential both during and after their courses. 

Student Selection Criteria

Entry to this course is highly competitive: applicants are expected to achieve, or already have, the course entry requirements detailed below.

One ‘A’ level pass at grade D or above (80 UCAS tariff points required) PLUS passes in three other GCSE subjects at grade C or above

OR

BTEC National Diploma in a fashion-related subject PLUS passes in three other GCSE subjects at grade C or above

OR

NVQ level 3 in a related subject PLUS passes in three other GCSE subjects at grade C or above

OR

A one year Foundation Diploma in Art and Design PLUS passes in three other GCSE subjects at grade C or above

OR

Access course in a relevant subject PLUS passes in three other GCSE subjects at grade C or above 

OR

Equivalent awards. For International qualifications see the International Qualifications Guide  [PDF - 1.9mb]

Preferred subjects include Art, Design, Textiles and English.

This course requires a minimum 80 UCAS tariff points.

Exceptionally, applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered if the course team judges the application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by: related academic or work experience; the quality of the personal statement; a strong academic or other professional reference; or a combination of these factors.

English Language Requirements

All classes are conducted in English. The level required by the University for this course is IELTS 5.5 with a minimum of 4.5 in each skill.

For more information, read the University's English Language requirements page.  

What We Look For

The course team seeks to recruit students who can demonstrate:

• A strong interest in tailoring
• A potential to achieve a high standard of technical/fine tailoring
• Commitment and motivation to succeed on the course
• The ability to work as a member of a team
• The ability to work independently to develop the knowledge and skills acquired on the course

This might, for example, be demonstrated by: related academic or work experience; the quality of the personal statement, a strong academic or other professional reference; or a combination of these factors.

Portfolio and Interview Advice

For this course your portfolio should show evidence of: drawing/presentation skills; contemporary fashion/cultural awareness; a level of research, exploration and experimentation; fabric and material selection/knowledge; construction/technical competence; an enquiring approach/problem solving; and visual communication skills.

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the following at interview: creative, cultural and tailoring interests; the potential to achieve a high standard of technical/fine tailoring; the ability to work independently and as a member of a team; an enquiring and analytical approach; and an ability to communicate visually, verbally and through the written word.

Home/EU Applicants

You apply online through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). 

Go to ‘Apply’ from the UCAS home page, where you will be able to register and create a password that gives you unique access as you complete your application form.

The University code is U65.

The UCAS code for this course is WJ2L.

The deadline for equal consideration of your application is 15 January.       

If you have a question, you can contact our Enquiries Office by calling +44 (0)20 7514 7563 / 7344 or by completing our Online Enquiry Form.  

International Applicants

For specific details on how to apply as an international applicant please visit our international student pages 

The International Recruitment Office at the London College of Fashion will help to guide you through the application process and answer any specific questions that you may have regarding our courses. This may include portfolio advice, the application process and fee advice. We offer a ‘drop-in’ facility for applicants who may be in London and wish to obtain further course and admissions information. Please contact us for further information on this facility. We can also arrange a tour of our facilities if we are given prior notice.

If you have a question, you can contact our International Recruitment Office by calling +44 (0)20 7514 7656 / 7678 / 7629 or completing our Online Enquiry Form.  

Deferred Entry

Deferred Entry is normally only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Please contact us before you submit your application if you are considering applying for deferred entry. 

What Happens Next?

All application forms, personal statements and references are read and considered by the course team against the selection criteria listed under What We Look For. Depending on the quality of your application, you may be asked to submit copies of a small number of pieces of your existing work (not more than ten pieces). If the course team wish to consider your application further, you will be invited to a full portfolio review / interview where the course team will look at your work during your interview. If you are successful at the interview stage you will be offered a place. Applicants are not guaranteed a portfolio review or an interview.

Please note that if you are unable to attend the College may not be able to re-schedule.

If you applied through UCAS the result of your application will be communicated to you via UCAS through ucastrack. You will only receive further communication directly from the College if your application has been successful. This will be in the form of a full offer pack including details of accommodation, fees, and other important information.    

Additional Costs

Some courses charge a fee for the bulk purchase of materials and/or equipment used on the course. Further details will be supplied at a later date.