The BA Bespoke Tailoring course is situated in the School of Design and Technology, and provides a highly specialist programme devoted to handcraft tailoring methods. The College and the course have extensive links with Savile Row, the home of bespoke tailoring, as well as with tailors in the more recent locations for bespoke in the West End and Soho. Students on this programme learn the skills of design, pattern drafting and tailoring, together with academic, research, industry awareness and presentation skills. This balance ensures that our graduates are fully equipped to take up a number of employment options within the industry. Recent projects undertaken with the industry include Casual Bespoke with Timothy Everest and Reinventing the Tuxedo with Henry Poole. The opportunity for students to showcase work in a variety of industry related areas is of great benefit to students on this course.

BA Bespoke 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 Tailoring (20 credits);

Term Two: Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits); Future Trends and Tailoring (20 credits);

Term Three: Cutting, Fitting and Tailoring (40 credits);

Year Two     Stage Two     Level 5     120 credits

Term One: Cultural and Historical Studies (20 credits); Professional Practice 1 (20 credits);

Term Two: Professional Practice 2 (40 credits);

Term Three: Research Methods (20 credits); Industry Placement (20 credits);

Third Year        Stage Three      level 6              120 credits

Terms One, Two and Three: Tailoring Reflective Discourse (20 credits)

Term One: Concept Development for Tailoring (40 credits)

Terms Two and Three: Major Project Realisation (60 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 Tailoring introduces you to the design, cutting and technical processes for bespoke tailoring. The unit teaches you how to do research and record and present it effectively, and how this research underpins the design, cut and construction of a tailored garment. You will learn specialist technical skills through the development of a technical file of samples using handcraft tailoring techniques.

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.

The Future Trends and Tailoring unit shows you how to investigate specified markets and retail enterprises related to luxury fashion and bespoke tailoring, and how to research future trends in this area. You will develop your drawing and presentation skills and will be introduced to CAD packages for design presentation, as well as learning more about the importance of knowledge and choice of fabrics, colour, proportion, silhouette and detail, and the principles of tailoring. 

In the third term the Cutting, Fitting and Tailoring unit gives you the opportunity to build on the knowledge and skills acquired so far, and progress your technical development through the cutting of ‘bespoken’ garments, using the principles of measurement taking, pattern drafting and first fittings. You will make a tailored garment that has been cut, fitted and constructed to a set body specification. You will begin to analyse your tailoring work in its social, cultural and historical context, as well as understanding your own technical and creative development.

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. 

Professional Practice 1 introduces you to answering a client brief within an industrial context. This will draw on and develop all the skills you acquired in the first year, and give you the opportunity to increase your awareness of the market level of the client and the appropriate quality, make and finish. You will produce solutions to the brief, thereby increasing your understanding of the critical analysis of a given brief, design and development skills, drafting and pattern cutting skills, bespoke tailoring techniques and methods, and professional presentation and communication skills.

In the second term you will undertake Professional Practice 2 which will introduce you to working within a small team, as well as individually, to respond to a variety of industry briefs. This reflects the nature of the industry, where collaboration is essential to achieve design realisation. You will learn more about the range of current practices in bespoke tailoring business processes, including the role of technology within current international practices. You will produce 2D and 3D solutions to the brief, and will thereby further develop your design, presentation and communication skills.   

In the third term you study two units.

The Research Methods unit provides a broad overview of the different critical and methodological approaches to research and introduces you to a range of research methods. You will learn the role of research in design and technology and this will prepare you for later projects where research skills are needed to underpin your work.

The Industry Placement unit prepares you for your five week work experience placement in the second half of the term. This placement gives you the opportunity of first-hand experience of working in a company, as well as the chance to make contacts and build relationships with members of the industry who may be helpful in your future career. Your professional, interpersonal and organisational skills will be developed through the placement, as will your written and analytical skills through the report on your placement that you will produce.

Year Three

Through Terms One, Two and Three you will keep a reflective log, the Tailoring Reflective Discourse, that records your thoughts about your learning and experiences through your third year. This will help you in establishing and tracking your goals through the year, as well as helping you to evaluate your strengths, to define your professional aspirations, and to plan for your future career.

In the first term you will undertake the Concept Development for Tailoring unit. This gives you the opportunity to reflect on your learning to date and use this to develop a negotiated project, with appropriate aims and outcomes. The identification of research themes, together with the thorough testing of your ideas and concepts through experimentation, sampling, design development and prototype testing will result in a portfolio of work containing evidence of this, prototypes for a four outfit bespoke collection, and a written reflective statement.   

The Major Project Realisation in the second and third terms is the culmination of your undergraduate learning experience and allows you the opportunity to demonstrate specialist skills and specific interests through responding to challenges in an innovative way. Building on the work done through the Concept Development for Tailoring unit, you will identify your strongest outcomes and formulate your extended project. This will result in you realising a range of bespoke tailoring garments, together with supporting visual and written work.

Future Careers and Graduate Prospects

Graduates who wish to continue their education at postgraduate level are encouraged to progress to suitable courses within the College, the University or elsewhere.

Many graduates prefer to seek employment as soon as they have completed their undergraduate studies. Recent graduates from this course have successfully gained employment with a number of bespoke tailors, including H Huntsman & Sons, Timothy Everest, John Pearse, Norton & Sons and Henry Poole & Co, with fashion companies Burberry and Aquascutum, and with the film, television and theatrical costumier, Angels. 

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 BA Bespoke Tailoring course students have access to an up to date range of machinery and equipment that is comparable to that used currently in the bespoke 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.

Chris Stevens is the Course Leader and trained in Savile Row. He has worked as a cutter/tailor at BBC TV Studios on many diverse productions ranging from Dr Who to Shakespeare. He made the costumes for the leading men in the 2009 revival of Evita, and has a long-standing association making costumes for the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Details are currently being updated for the Programme Director for the Design and Craft group of courses, including this one, within the School of Design and Technology. 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.

Two ‘A’ level passes at grade C or above PLUS passes in three GCSE subjects at grade C or above

OR

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

Preferred subjects include English, Maths, Art, Design, Textiles and Science.

This course requires a minimum 160 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 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 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:

• Evidence of creative, cultural and tailoring interests
• A potential to achieve a high standard of technical/fine tailoring
• An ability to think three-dimensionally
• An enquiring and analytical approach
• An ability to communicate visually, verbally and through the written word
• The ability to work independently and as a member of a team

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 W230.

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.

Our contact details are: 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.