Textile Design: Retail, Business and Marketing with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

If you are passionate about textiles, but you have a business mind as much as a creative one, our Retail, Business and Marketing option will help you to develop skills in both the practical aspects of textile design but also the business side of the creative industries.You will gain a broad and practical understanding of textile design and complement this with specific knowledge and experience of research, report-writing, team-working, planning, management and communication approaches.Our students secure placements within buying, marketing and visual merchandising departments within the retail sector, as well as work at magazines, with arts organisations and for trend prediction agencies. Our graduates find employment as Buyers, Visual Merchandisers, Design Directors, Journalists – and find that the combination of having both practical and business skills is invaluable.We value diversity and nurture curiosity, which are core beliefs reflected throughout this course. Embracing both digital technology and traditional craft skills, we encourage our students to develop their creativity, personal talents and professional awareness.All our students will be introduced to print, weave, embroidery and knit processes within the first semester to help you grow skills to develop textiles working methods. Your technical skills will develop throughout the course and you can shape your skills towards your career interests, focusing on one or more workshop practices as you progress through the three years.In second year, we teach in career-focused groups, reflecting the nature of contemporary employment needs within the industry. This provides you with further opportunity to tailor your learning experience in conversation with the academic staff team, in order to fulfil your own personal and professional aspirations. It also provide scope for a cross-disciplinary way of working which has become increasingly prominent within the field of Textile Design. The following career-focussed pathways that you can choose from in your second year reflect the breadth of professional opportunities that our graduates go on to pursue:- Styling and Trend Forecasting- Contemporary Culture and Craft- Surface Pattern and Technologies- Bespoke Fashion Textiles- Retail and PromotionYou will be taught by passionate and experienced tutors and supported by highly skilled technicians; many of which have their own practices in various fields relating to Textile Design. We regularly welcome guest speakers such as Katie Jones, Emma Shipley and Michael Angove to provide industry insight to aspiring students. Employability is at the heart of our course and students are actively supported and encouraged to participate in collaborative work, live projects, competitions and work placements to develop professional skills and experience. Students have recently undertaken work experience at companies such as Paperchase, Joules and Trend Bible. We actively foster links with industry and organisations including trend agencies, design studios and museums and galleries through collaborative projects equipping students with the skills appropriate for increasingly diverse career paths.Our final year students get the opportunity to exhibit their final major projects at the ‘Inspired Festival,’ the end of year degree show at Birmingham City University and also have the chance to exhibit at the New Designers exhibition in London. The diverse and innovative range of work on show exemplifies the unique identity of the course. Our aim is that our graduates will complete the course as industry-ready, independent and highly employable designers who are confident about their career directions.