Kingston University
Kingston upon Thames
A Week in the Life of Kingston Fashion Student
Having just finished the first term of my 2nd year at Kingston’s BA Fashion course, here are some highlights and projects we had on this term!
Design Process
The first term of the second year is kind of like a pressure point as you reach the halfway mark of the course. Heavily focused on design development and preparing you with practical skills used in industry, modules like Design Process covers 3 fast paced projects that are completed over the span of a 3 - 4 weeks each. Projects include industry briefs from GAP and M&S with my tutorials happening once a week on a Monday!
Design Product
We also have a trouser make project focused on creative pattern cutting and silhouette development! This happens once a week on a Friday for me where you will showcase your trouser toile development on a fit model and get some feedback from your pattern cutting tutor! Making projects just like this, though time consuming, is one of my favourite parts of the course!
Workshops
Along with the process and product, Kingston also has a strong emphasis on computer aided design such as Adobe Illustrator! I usually have a Adobe Illustrator workshop each week of the entire term! Additional workshops also include knit workshops (if you specialise in knit) and additional sewing workshops for half a term that happens on a Wednesday for me!
Lectures
Last but not least we have Critical and Historical Studies where you are introduced to different critical concepts and ways to analyse fashion imagery and theory. This usually happens once a week on a Tuesday!
As you can see, the course is pretty full on and requires most of your time and attention during the teaching block! We usually only get 1 day off a week for independent study!
Have any questions about the course?
Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them! I hope this helps!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Design Process
The first term of the second year is kind of like a pressure point as you reach the halfway mark of the course. Heavily focused on design development and preparing you with practical skills used in industry, modules like Design Process covers 3 fast paced projects that are completed over the span of a 3 - 4 weeks each. Projects include industry briefs from GAP and M&S with my tutorials happening once a week on a Monday!
Design Product
We also have a trouser make project focused on creative pattern cutting and silhouette development! This happens once a week on a Friday for me where you will showcase your trouser toile development on a fit model and get some feedback from your pattern cutting tutor! Making projects just like this, though time consuming, is one of my favourite parts of the course!
Workshops
Along with the process and product, Kingston also has a strong emphasis on computer aided design such as Adobe Illustrator! I usually have a Adobe Illustrator workshop each week of the entire term! Additional workshops also include knit workshops (if you specialise in knit) and additional sewing workshops for half a term that happens on a Wednesday for me!
Lectures
Last but not least we have Critical and Historical Studies where you are introduced to different critical concepts and ways to analyse fashion imagery and theory. This usually happens once a week on a Tuesday!
As you can see, the course is pretty full on and requires most of your time and attention during the teaching block! We usually only get 1 day off a week for independent study!
Have any questions about the course?
Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them! I hope this helps!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Hi! I recently received an offer for this course. Thank you for sharing your highlights; it seems to me that they offer great content with structure!
I was wondering if you or if you know students who completed their placement year, and if so, where was it? How was the entire experience? Were they able to go abroad, and did they receive enough support from the school while applying to companies? Besides internships, do you get any sources of inspiration near the campus location, and is it accessible to galleries in central London?
I was wondering if you or if you know students who completed their placement year, and if so, where was it? How was the entire experience? Were they able to go abroad, and did they receive enough support from the school while applying to companies? Besides internships, do you get any sources of inspiration near the campus location, and is it accessible to galleries in central London?
Kingston University
Kingston upon Thames
Original post by Anonymous #1
Hi! I recently received an offer for this course. Thank you for sharing your highlights; it seems to me that they offer great content with structure!
I was wondering if you or if you know students who completed their placement year, and if so, where was it? How was the entire experience? Were they able to go abroad, and did they receive enough support from the school while applying to companies? Besides internships, do you get any sources of inspiration near the campus location, and is it accessible to galleries in central London?
I was wondering if you or if you know students who completed their placement year, and if so, where was it? How was the entire experience? Were they able to go abroad, and did they receive enough support from the school while applying to companies? Besides internships, do you get any sources of inspiration near the campus location, and is it accessible to galleries in central London?
Hi there, firstly, congratulations on your offer to Kingston University! 🙂
There are two options if you are interested in a placement year, you can either do a study abroad or a work abroad/ placement in London. Regarding work placements, past students I have spoken to have interned at Charlotte Knowles, Victoria Beckham, Story MFG, Phoebe English and JW Anderson. Other students have even been able to secure work placements overseas such as H&M(Stockholm), Issey Miyake(Japan) and Ludovic De Saint Sernin(Paris). These placement and internship opportunities are highly competitive and you have to search and apply for them yourself early on in the year before the placement year even begins. The university Careers & Employability team and academic staff does inform you of internship opportunities and offer portfolio and CV support but you ultimately have to apply for these internships and placements yourself.
During the 2nd term of the 2nd year, we also have live briefs with brands like Inditex where there is a possibility of an internship(if they like your work) under brands managed by them as well.
Alternatively, if you are not planning to take a year out, you can also search for an internship in the summer. I did an internship at WED Studio in the summer and would highly recommend fashion students to do so as it broadens your perspective on the different skillsets and processes required within industry.
*Do take note that most internships in the UK are unpaid but there are a few who pay for your travel and food.
As for your 2nd question, central London is only less than 30mins away if you catch the fast train from Surbiton station so galleries and sources of inspiration are easily accessible. Our selection of fashion and design books are also plenty for you to do you research and surrounding areas like Hampton Court and Richmond are full of green spaces and historical references for you to draw inspiration from.
*If you are worried about the costs, i recommend getting a rail card and buy an off-peak travel day card so you can spend the whole day in London visiting galleries and museums!
I hope this helps and please do let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂
Here are some other links you may find helpful:
Life as Fashion Student 1st year - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7313370
Got your offer, what next? - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7318989
How to look for Internships - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7330702
Galleries - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7421841
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
(edited 4 months ago)
Hi, are the interviews for studying fashion at Kingston online or in person and are the portfolios digital?
Original post by Anonymous #2
Hi, are the interviews for studying fashion at Kingston online or in person and are the portfolios digital?
Hi there, from my understanding admissions are mostly based off digital portfolio submissions. Last I heard Kingston BA Fashion has yet to continue doing physical interviews but let me double check and get back to you regarding this matter as things might have changed 🙂
Please do let me know if you have any other questions eg. portfolio or accommodation...
Here are some useful links you may find helpful!
After Applying - https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/how-to-apply/after-you-have-applied/
Personal Statement - https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/how-to-apply/personal-statement/
Confirmation and Enrolment - https://www.kingston.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/how-to-apply/confirmation-and-enrolment/
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Original post by Anonymous #2
Hi, are the interviews for studying fashion at Kingston online or in person and are the portfolios digital?
Hi, for me I just received an email about the offer weeks after submitting my portfolio. Hope this information helps!
Hello, I’m the inital student who got the offer for BA fashion but I lost my account so I couldn’t come back to this thread for a while! I was also wondering how the teaching style is like. Is there an heavy emphasis on independency or is there constant support and feedback from the tutors? I would want to know the general way of teaching. Thank you so much.
Original post by Kingston Reps
Having just finished the first term of my 2nd year at Kingston’s BA Fashion course, here are some highlights and projects we had on this term!
Design Process
The first term of the second year is kind of like a pressure point as you reach the halfway mark of the course. Heavily focused on design development and preparing you with practical skills used in industry, modules like Design Process covers 3 fast paced projects that are completed over the span of a 3 - 4 weeks each. Projects include industry briefs from GAP and M&S with my tutorials happening once a week on a Monday!
Design Product
We also have a trouser make project focused on creative pattern cutting and silhouette development! This happens once a week on a Friday for me where you will showcase your trouser toile development on a fit model and get some feedback from your pattern cutting tutor! Making projects just like this, though time consuming, is one of my favourite parts of the course!
Workshops
Along with the process and product, Kingston also has a strong emphasis on computer aided design such as Adobe Illustrator! I usually have a Adobe Illustrator workshop each week of the entire term! Additional workshops also include knit workshops (if you specialise in knit) and additional sewing workshops for half a term that happens on a Wednesday for me!
Lectures
Last but not least we have Critical and Historical Studies where you are introduced to different critical concepts and ways to analyse fashion imagery and theory. This usually happens once a week on a Tuesday!
As you can see, the course is pretty full on and requires most of your time and attention during the teaching block! We usually only get 1 day off a week for independent study!
Have any questions about the course?
Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them! I hope this helps!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Design Process
The first term of the second year is kind of like a pressure point as you reach the halfway mark of the course. Heavily focused on design development and preparing you with practical skills used in industry, modules like Design Process covers 3 fast paced projects that are completed over the span of a 3 - 4 weeks each. Projects include industry briefs from GAP and M&S with my tutorials happening once a week on a Monday!
Design Product
We also have a trouser make project focused on creative pattern cutting and silhouette development! This happens once a week on a Friday for me where you will showcase your trouser toile development on a fit model and get some feedback from your pattern cutting tutor! Making projects just like this, though time consuming, is one of my favourite parts of the course!
Workshops
Along with the process and product, Kingston also has a strong emphasis on computer aided design such as Adobe Illustrator! I usually have a Adobe Illustrator workshop each week of the entire term! Additional workshops also include knit workshops (if you specialise in knit) and additional sewing workshops for half a term that happens on a Wednesday for me!
Lectures
Last but not least we have Critical and Historical Studies where you are introduced to different critical concepts and ways to analyse fashion imagery and theory. This usually happens once a week on a Tuesday!
As you can see, the course is pretty full on and requires most of your time and attention during the teaching block! We usually only get 1 day off a week for independent study!
Have any questions about the course?
Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them! I hope this helps!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Hello, I am the initial student who got an offer but I lost my account so I couldn’t come back to this thread for a while! I was wondering what the teaching style there is like. Is there a heavy emphasis on independency or is there constant support and feedback from the professors? Thank you so much.
Original post by Anonymous #3
Hello, I am the initial student who got an offer but I lost my account so I couldn’t come back to this thread for a while! I was wondering what the teaching style there is like. Is there a heavy emphasis on independency or is there constant support and feedback from the professors? Thank you so much.
Hi there, I would say in general the teaching style in the UK requires you to be heavily independent, especially so in Kingston. You would usually receive teaching or feedback through a small tutorial group which happens once per week for each project. This usually entails you showing and presenting your work each week and receiving critique or suggestions on what to improve before going back to work on your own. Classes like Design Product would involve having a short 1 to 1 discussion with your pattern cutting tutor about your toile before working on your patterns independently and if you have any doubts you can always consult them again! However this is highly dependent on class sizes and more often than not you will need to find a solution yourself before having the chance to speak to a tutor. Kingston usually conducts technical workshops for sewing and knitting in the first 4 weeks of term, and the sewing and knit technicians are available for you to consult anytime during workshop opening hours. If you are interested in using a particular medium or workshop outside of the fashion workshops(eg. metal, wood or ceramics), you will then have to book a consultation slot with the relevant workshop technician before being allowed to use the facilities. The course is rather fast paced and compact compared to others, hence you have to be very driven and independent as there are no traditional classroom lessons(aside from Critical and Historical Study lectures), and a lot of it depends on your own ideas and requirements for each project.
I hope this answers your question 🙂 feel free to ask any other queries you may have about the university or course!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Kingston BA Fashion 2nd Year TB2
Having just submitted my final assignments for the second term of 2nd year at Kingston's BA Fashion, here are some updates regarding my experience in Kingston's BA Fashion course!
Professional Practice
Similar to the Design Process module in the first term, Professional Practice is all about industry collaborations and applying a professional work ethnic to the delivery of your projects! The first project we had was an industry brief set by Inditex (eg. Massimo Dutti, Zara, Berksha…etc) with a big focus on sustainability! We were tasked to design a 6 look collection for one of the brands under the Inditex umbrella with a sustainable research angle pertaining to one of the UN sustainable development goals!
The 2nd project is “Changes” , a trend forecasting group project, where we had to research and identify a significant change within society and develop a visual presentation and design product prediction! This project felt refreshing compared to the string of 2D design projects we have had in the past! The final project for this module was a self directed DNA project, where we were given free reign to explore whatever concept, research and techniques without the confines of responding to a particular brand. This was definitely one of the key projects in preparation for the final collection and was also one of the more creative and exciting projects we had this year!
Design Product
In continuation from last semester's industry brief with Marks & Spencers, we had to make a jacket based on one of our chosen designs in a liability fabric sponsored by M&S! We were given about 3m to make our chosen jacket design and a handful of us had the opportunity to present our projects and final outcome with industry staff from M&S! Make projects like these are one of my favourites, unfortunately we only had one make project for this term.
Critical Historical Studies
Last but not least we have our independent research proposal in preparation for our final dissertation! This entails deciding on a tentative research question you would like to explore for your dissertation and writing a short case study and outline on how you plan to achieve it. The lectures from this term are mainly focused on different research methods you can employ to best analyse your topic of interest!
Overall, the 2nd Year at Kingston is very focused on fulfilling industry briefs and developing a professional portfolio in preparation for the placement year. Personally I felt that this semester was a lot more relaxed compared to the previous one. I had a lot of fun working on my jacket and would definitely take the time in spring to make a few more of my own designs!
Do you have any questions about life in Kingston? Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will try my best to answer them! 🙂
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Having just submitted my final assignments for the second term of 2nd year at Kingston's BA Fashion, here are some updates regarding my experience in Kingston's BA Fashion course!
Professional Practice
Similar to the Design Process module in the first term, Professional Practice is all about industry collaborations and applying a professional work ethnic to the delivery of your projects! The first project we had was an industry brief set by Inditex (eg. Massimo Dutti, Zara, Berksha…etc) with a big focus on sustainability! We were tasked to design a 6 look collection for one of the brands under the Inditex umbrella with a sustainable research angle pertaining to one of the UN sustainable development goals!
The 2nd project is “Changes” , a trend forecasting group project, where we had to research and identify a significant change within society and develop a visual presentation and design product prediction! This project felt refreshing compared to the string of 2D design projects we have had in the past! The final project for this module was a self directed DNA project, where we were given free reign to explore whatever concept, research and techniques without the confines of responding to a particular brand. This was definitely one of the key projects in preparation for the final collection and was also one of the more creative and exciting projects we had this year!
Design Product
In continuation from last semester's industry brief with Marks & Spencers, we had to make a jacket based on one of our chosen designs in a liability fabric sponsored by M&S! We were given about 3m to make our chosen jacket design and a handful of us had the opportunity to present our projects and final outcome with industry staff from M&S! Make projects like these are one of my favourites, unfortunately we only had one make project for this term.
Critical Historical Studies
Last but not least we have our independent research proposal in preparation for our final dissertation! This entails deciding on a tentative research question you would like to explore for your dissertation and writing a short case study and outline on how you plan to achieve it. The lectures from this term are mainly focused on different research methods you can employ to best analyse your topic of interest!
Overall, the 2nd Year at Kingston is very focused on fulfilling industry briefs and developing a professional portfolio in preparation for the placement year. Personally I felt that this semester was a lot more relaxed compared to the previous one. I had a lot of fun working on my jacket and would definitely take the time in spring to make a few more of my own designs!
Do you have any questions about life in Kingston? Feel free to drop them down in the comments below and I will try my best to answer them! 🙂
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
(edited 2 weeks ago)
Hi, I was wondering what kind of opportunities does Kingston offer on the course? And where have graduates gone on to work or internship/placement opportunities?
Original post by Anonymous
Hi, I was wondering what kind of opportunities does Kingston offer on the course? And where have graduates gone on to work or internship/placement opportunities?
Hi there @Anonymous #2, from my experience the 2nd year is very focused on industry briefs with brands, like Inditex and Marks & Spencers (do note these may change form year to year), and may entail you presenting your project to them towards the end of the year. We also had a trend forecasting project where we will be presenting our final research and designs to an industry professional and receiving feedback for that.
On top of that, the uni does offer industry talks with industry professionals and designers to give insight on specific roles within fashion. This provides an opportunity for you to engage and ask questions.
Regarding work placements, past students I have spoken to have interned at Charlotte Knowles, Victoria Beckham, Story MFG, Roksanda, Molly Goddard, Phoebe English and JW Anderson. Other students have even been able to secure work placements overseas such as Chanel(Paris), Adidas(Germany), H&M(Stockholm), Issey Miyake(Japan) and Ludovic De Saint Sernin(Paris). From what I have heard, Kingston alumni are employed everywhere, some with high positions within industry. Personally, some seniors I know work in various roles at companies like Alexander Mcqueen, Burberry, StoryMFG and Inditex after graduation. I hope this answers your questions and do not hesitate to ask or clarify anything!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
(edited 2 weeks ago)
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