My Fashion Portfolio Top Tips
Are you interested in applying to a fashion design course for university?
When applying to most art and design courses, your portfolio is key in showcasing your creative abilities, technical skills and knowledge for creative industries. Especially within creative fields, a strong portfolio is essential in making a good impression and is also your first foot through the door.
My name is Zhi En, a current placement year student at Kingston University BA Fashion and here are a few top tips on what to include within a Fashion Portfolio.
Research and Concept
What inspires you? Is it a specific decade in fashion? or an artist you really love? 🤩
A project usually starts with strong visual research, references and an interesting concept. This research should reflect your personal aesthetic, unique voice and what you are interested in within the realm of fashion. Examples of research could include images from photographers, artists, fashion editorials, looking at vintage clothes, film stills or cultural references that you find inspiring. I would recommend curating your key research images into a few mood/ boards to show the starting point of your process.
Process and Design Development
A big part of putting together a fashion portfolio is showcasing your creative process, be it sketching, collaging, draping on the stand, making prototypes or styling on a person, the process of designing a garment is different for everyone. Personally, I enjoy draping with fabric and playing around with 3D fabric manipulation either on a stand or on a person before I start sketching and designing from them.
What is your preferred process? 🤔
Realising your Ideas: 3D drapes and Toiling
Apart from 2D sketchbook work, it’s important to start realising your designs and sketches into actual wearable garment! Even if you lack the technical skills, the process of prototyping is helpful in seeing what works and what doesn’t work on a human body! Think about what kind of fabrics will best convey the mood of my designs? What sort of details or closures will the garments have?
Presentation and Typography
The last and crucial step is to curate and edit your portfolio in a manner that reflects your concept and personal style! Pick a suitable font and layout which fits the mood. Don't be bound by squares and rectangles of images if your work is fluid! If you are putting together a physical portfolio for an interview, what kind of paper, textures or material would your portfolio be in? Chainmail? Rice Paper? Be creative and have fun
If you are submitting only digitally, you can easily scan in the textures of these materials and overlay on to make your portfolio more tactile.
Remember to check the portfolio requirements as each uni has varying requirements and different platforms when submitting a digital portfolio. You might want to create individual portfolios catering to the specific requirement for each university you are applying to.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any questions about portfolio or uni life
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
When applying to most art and design courses, your portfolio is key in showcasing your creative abilities, technical skills and knowledge for creative industries. Especially within creative fields, a strong portfolio is essential in making a good impression and is also your first foot through the door.
My name is Zhi En, a current placement year student at Kingston University BA Fashion and here are a few top tips on what to include within a Fashion Portfolio.
Research and Concept
What inspires you? Is it a specific decade in fashion? or an artist you really love? 🤩
A project usually starts with strong visual research, references and an interesting concept. This research should reflect your personal aesthetic, unique voice and what you are interested in within the realm of fashion. Examples of research could include images from photographers, artists, fashion editorials, looking at vintage clothes, film stills or cultural references that you find inspiring. I would recommend curating your key research images into a few mood/ boards to show the starting point of your process.
Process and Design Development
A big part of putting together a fashion portfolio is showcasing your creative process, be it sketching, collaging, draping on the stand, making prototypes or styling on a person, the process of designing a garment is different for everyone. Personally, I enjoy draping with fabric and playing around with 3D fabric manipulation either on a stand or on a person before I start sketching and designing from them.
What is your preferred process? 🤔
Realising your Ideas: 3D drapes and Toiling
Apart from 2D sketchbook work, it’s important to start realising your designs and sketches into actual wearable garment! Even if you lack the technical skills, the process of prototyping is helpful in seeing what works and what doesn’t work on a human body! Think about what kind of fabrics will best convey the mood of my designs? What sort of details or closures will the garments have?
Presentation and Typography
The last and crucial step is to curate and edit your portfolio in a manner that reflects your concept and personal style! Pick a suitable font and layout which fits the mood. Don't be bound by squares and rectangles of images if your work is fluid! If you are putting together a physical portfolio for an interview, what kind of paper, textures or material would your portfolio be in? Chainmail? Rice Paper? Be creative and have fun
If you are submitting only digitally, you can easily scan in the textures of these materials and overlay on to make your portfolio more tactile.
Remember to check the portfolio requirements as each uni has varying requirements and different platforms when submitting a digital portfolio. You might want to create individual portfolios catering to the specific requirement for each university you are applying to.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any questions about portfolio or uni life
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 1
does Kingston prefer pages filled of different styles of images together like moodboards lots of designs
Or do they prefer more basic pages of 1-3 images each page
When I look online for examples there isn’t much for the fashion design course
My teachers say 1-3 images a page
But I feel like seeing different porfolios from all students for fashion it looks a lot more creative.
Or do they prefer more basic pages of 1-3 images each page
When I look online for examples there isn’t much for the fashion design course
My teachers say 1-3 images a page
But I feel like seeing different porfolios from all students for fashion it looks a lot more creative.
Reply 2
Original post
by Ntz_06xdoes Kingston prefer pages filled of different styles of images together like moodboards lots of designs
Or do they prefer more basic pages of 1-3 images each page
When I look online for examples there isn’t much for the fashion design course
My teachers say 1-3 images a page
But I feel like seeing different porfolios from all students for fashion it looks a lot more creative.
Or do they prefer more basic pages of 1-3 images each page
When I look online for examples there isn’t much for the fashion design course
My teachers say 1-3 images a page
But I feel like seeing different porfolios from all students for fashion it looks a lot more creative.
Hi there @Ntz_06x , I think what's important is picking relevant images for each page and giving them enough space to breathe to best articulate and convey the mood and key elements of your project🙂 It is not the number of images that matter but showing how you best showcase your aesthetic and process 🤗 A page could consist of a few research images along with a work in progress sketch / drape but at the same time you might want to showcase a single blown up image on a page. There is no right or wrong answer but what matters most is that you are able to best showcase your process and creative voice 🙂 I hope this answers your questions.
You can check out @ksabaf_ on instagram or platforms like 1 Granary to see examples of past students works!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Reply 3
I have created a portfolio which I will send tomorrow but my teachers are messing up my work and I don’t feel confident to get into a place like Kingston or any good fashion uni as they say I have no chance
I’m not sure if I will get in however I have worked very hard and I really want to go Kingston
I’m not sure if I will get in however I have worked very hard and I really want to go Kingston
Reply 4
Original post
by Ntz_06xI have created a portfolio which I will send tomorrow but my teachers are messing up my work and I don’t feel confident to get into a place like Kingston or any good fashion uni as they say I have no chance
I’m not sure if I will get in however I have worked very hard and I really want to go Kingston
I’m not sure if I will get in however I have worked very hard and I really want to go Kingston
Hi @Ntz_06x
You have definitely put a lot of work into this portfolio, even checking with us to see what to include and get advice, so try not to be too hard on yourself as you know you have worked really hard on it.
Good luck and I hope your hard work pays off. I am sure you will end up at the university which is right for you.
-Grace (Kingston Rep)
Reply 5
How easy is it to get into the royal school of needlework which is with Kingston
Reply 6
Original post
by Beatrice56CHow easy is it to get into the royal school of needlework which is with Kingston
Hi there,
I think I answered your question on this thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7535186#post100247650
Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to help!
Quick Reply
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