Fashion School Q&A: UCA School of Fashion and Textiles

The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) is a university in the UK and has five campuses across the South East of England, in Canterbury, Epsom, Maidstone and Rochester. School of Fashion and Textiles is one of the programmes at UCA and is a global leader in fashion education. Two of their key focus areas are sustainability and digital fashion, which will be embedded in the University’s undergraduate and postgraduate courses. FashionUnited spoke to Professor Jules Dagonet, Head of School, Fashion & Textiles about the university's future plans, courses, and community.

How is everything going at UCA’s School of Fashion & Textiles? Are the physical classes back?

Yes, it was an exciting start of the year with all the students and staff back on campus – just like pre-pandemic but with face masks on. Since September, we’ve also resumed teaching in the workshops, studios, and giving our students full access to on-campus facilities. This has created a real buzz and excitement on the campus with some fabulous collections being created.

How would you describe the student community at UCA?

UCA has a vibrant and diverse student community, both in terms of nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. All our students have a determination and strong motivation to do well, achieve good grades and pursue their wide-ranging career ambitions.

What kind of courses does your school of fashion & textiles offer? What is the focus area?

UCA’s School of Fashion and Textiles is a global leader in fashion education and two of our key focus areas are sustainability and digital fashion, which will be embedded in all our undergraduate and postgraduate courses from September 2022. Digital fashion has the same core-making skills as traditional fashion courses (cloth and fabrics, pattern-cutting, garment construction, fashion illustration and storytelling) but with a new layer of 3D digital skills – a must-have across the industry. And our sustainability offering is mirrored by our students' growing interest in the environmental impact of the fashion industry, and in particular fast-fashion.

Our portfolio offers a wide range of courses from textiles (BA Textiles, BA Printed Fashion Textiles) to fashion design (BA Fashion Design, BA Fashion Atelier & Tailoring) and fashion image (BA Fashion image & styling, BA Fashion Photography, Ba Make-Up & Hair Design). We also offer a suite of postgraduate degrees: MA Fashion Design, MA Digital Fashion, MA Printed Textiles for Fashion & Interiors: MA Creative Direction for Fashion and MA Global Fashion Cultures.

What do we need to know about the University for the Creative Arts and its school of fashion and textiles?

Digital technologies are now revolutionising the fashion and textiles industry and hence the teaching of fashion and textiles, following in the path of gaming, films, music etc. Digital technologies are offering new opportunities to make the fashion and textiles industry more sustainable thanks to digital samples, digital prototypes, and made-to-order fashion. It is also opening up a new area for creatives in the virtual spaces where Gen-Zers are curating their digital identities with avatars and digital wardrobes.

As a global leader in digital fashion education, UCA School of Fashion and Textiles is committed to equipping students and graduates with the skills they need to thrive in and lead the fashion and textiles industry of tomorrow. That includes traditional making skills and an additional layer of 3D digital skills with software like Clo-3D, Substance and Daz3D.

What are the plans for this year? Any new things coming up?

And as we continue to develop our advantage as a global leader in digital fashion, in 2022 we will be celebrating the first intake of UCA’s pioneering MA Digital Fashion course. With MA students working on an exciting project for fashion tech company and global leader in online luxury fashion retail, Farfetch. We are also preparing for an exciting move to Epsom campus next year. Epsom will become the hub for fashion and textiles at UCA with a multi-million-pound investment making Epsom the new home of fashion and textiles by 2023/24. An easy commute from London and a thriving market town, Epsom is the perfect home for fashion and textiles which will also benefit from its proximity to UCA’s Business School for the Creative Industries.

Do you have any tips for future students who want to study Fashion or Textiles at UCA?

Work on your portfolio and show us your design process from beginning to end: – mood-boards and research to drawings, illustrations, choice of fabrics and 3D garments. Don’t be shy to explore technology and to combine an interest in gaming with an interest in fashion and textiles. Don’t try to fit a mould, just be yourself, but be your best self, push yourself to explore your passions and interests.

Photos: UCA