You’ve got a creative flare and a head for business
We offer one of the few Fashion Business degrees in the country where you’ll learn about the fashion industry from both a business and creative angle. You’ll graduate with a competitive edge. How? Well, we’ll teach you everything we know about running a business. Plus, you’ll learn how to design. You’ll gain practical and technical skills to bring your creations to life. Not a lot of courses offer both, but we do. We’ll teach you the financial considerations to running a business. You may want to make fashion for the high street, the runway, or a boutique. Either way, your customer is key. You’ll study customer psychology and market trends. You’ll explore the sustainability of the fashion industry. What type of contribution do you want to make? We’ll teach you about every stage of the fashion cycle from concept to sales. You’ll learn about the supply chain. Together we’ll explore how to create a socially responsible company. We’ll teach you verbal, written and visual communication skills. Start with a concept. End with a sale.
You want space to create
You’re highly motivated and want to develop your unique style. We’ll encourage you to work independently whilst being on hand to offer support. At Herts, you’ll join an inspirational and collaborative community. You’ll have the technical facilities to explore your creativity. Our studios have everything you need. You’ll have access to female and male mannequins, cutting tables, sewing machines and metres upon metres of fabric. You’ll use Computer Aided Design to visualise and test your ideas. You’ll benefit from our expertise and experience. We’re passionate about fashion. We’re dedicated to your success. You know you can thrive in the right environment... so, do we. You can succeed at Herts.
Build your reputation. Kickstart your brand
You’ll benefit from our team of talented technicians, industry experts and guest speakers. We collaborate with leading brands and designers. These include Ellesse, F&F, Player Layer. This means you’ll gain a range of opportunities including work placements and employment. You’ll work on live industry projects. We’re a member of the British Fashion Colleges Council, which means you can compete in prestigious competitions. In your final year, you could exhibit your work to industry leaders at Graduate Fashion Week. Could you become a finalist or win an internationally recognised award? Some of our graduates already have. With all this opportunity to be seen by the right people, you’ll have everything you need to launch a meaningful career in fashion.
In the first year, you’ll learn core design and business skills. You’ll practice hand rendering techniques to produce technical drawings. You’ll visualise your designs with 2D and 3D technology. You’ll become competent in fitting and pattern cutting. We’ll teach you how different fabrics behave and the best way to construct garments. We’ll examine the issues facing contemporary fashion. You’ll visit fashion houses to gain insights from industry experts. You’ll start to understand different management approaches for a complex supply chain. You’ll study business strategy, theories, and principles. You’ll develop research, inquiry, and analysis skills. We’ll explain industry-relevant language, so you’ll feel confident to write reports and design proposals... you’ll develop photographic, presentation and portfolio skills... you’ve got to sell your idea, right?
In the second year, you’ll improve your technical design skills. You’ll learn advanced pattern cutting techniques using 2D and 3D technology. We’ll teach you new construction methods. You’ll explore your creativity on a deeper level. You’ll work independently and in a team. We’ll set you ‘live’ assignments from our industry partners. You’ll design functional and commercially viable fashion. You’ll design for real people, real shapes, real sizes. We’ll encourage you to enter your work in British Fashion Council and Graduate Fashion Foundation competitions. You’ll create engaging and inspired portfolios. We’ll teach you to articulate your ideas. You’ll explore customer psychology. You’ll focus your research on a global fashion company to produce a detailed case study. You’ll examine their products, branding, business processes and market research. We’ll encourage you to be proactive. You’ll have two opportunities this year to take a work placement. What will you discover?
Between your second and final year, you will have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for a year. This will not only give you an amazing experience to talk about, but you’ll also boost your cv. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too.
In the third year, you’ll work with a greater level of independence. You’ll focus your business case study on your dream career. You’ll analyse company strategy. We’ll encourage you to initiate work placements. Spend time understanding a company’s unique challenges. Do you have a solution? You’ll use your research, critical analysis, and communication skills to produce a stimulating report. You may even design and make a protype to complement your findings. You’ll also pursue a detailed inquiry into an aspect of design culture that fascinates you. You’ll examine it from a historical, economic, and technical viewpoint to write a powerful essay. We’ll teach you how to communicate a visual identity. To develop your brand. We’ll help you to graduate with a professional portfolio. You’ll have the chance to enter your portfolio in the prestigious Graduate Fashion Week held at the Truman Brewery in London. One of our 2020 graduates did just that and became a finalist for the Digital Fashion Communication Portfolio Award. We’ll give you lots of opportunities to prove you’ve got what it takes.
Your main campus is College Lane
This is where the creative arts, science and health-related subjects are based. This means you’ll share the campus with future nurses, scientists, artists and more. You can use the common rooms to relax with friends, work out in the 24-hour gym or have a drink in our on-campus pub or cafes. We also have restaurants for you to eat in or grab something on the go. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.
