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How we fashion great courses at Bucks

How we fashion great courses at Bucks

 

There are so many reasons that Fashion courses at Bucks are the best in London and the South East – and the reasons are as diverse as our students.

Published today (Friday), the Guardian University Guide 2020 also announced that our fashion courses are in the top five nationally.

Jane Bowler, Fashion course leader, said: “We are so proud of the work we do at Bucks and all our students.

“Each student on our creative courses has their own dedicated studio space which is theirs for the duration of their course. This is very rare in HE.

“All our lecturers are experienced designers and students receive one-to-one teaching, working closely with lecturers, technicians and alongside fellow students. We will continue to go from strength to strength making sure our students get the best possible outcomes whatever their background.”

Students studying our fashion courses, which include BA (Hons) in Fashion Design, Textile Design, and Fashion Promotion and Communication, benefit from our links with the fashion industry and close proximity to London.

 

Four fashion design students looking at a wall with their work on

hird-year fashion students exhibited their work this week in Spitalfields, taking their collections out of Bucks into London ahead of the Bucks Art and Design Show 2019.

But it is not just shows that our students have to organise and run. Throughout their courses they work on live briefs from leading designers such as Hanger IncTengri and Lara Jensen.

Nancy Johnston, of London-based Tengri (pictured left helping Bucks students), said: “I think it’s really important for students and universities to create that direct path from graduating into the industry because if they don’t have that journey then what are they going to do? They’ll be left in the big bad world. I think engaging with industry is a fantastic thing that Bucks New University does and I’m happy to be involved in that.”

Because of this industry experience, our students do some amazing things even before they graduate.

Third-year BA (Hons) Fashion Design student Corran MacKerron, 22, has used her final year collection to raise awareness of the impact 'fast fashion' is having on plastic pollution in the oceans.

Her range of garments are embellished with recycled plastic and made using eco-innovative materials, including one created from pineapple leaf, and caught the eye of both broadcast giant Sky and textile supplier Pinatex.

Fashion Design student Corran standing next to her three mannequins, all modelling her work

Both companies featured Corran on their social media - Sky for its Ocean Rescue campaign and Piñatex for her use of their sustainable pineapple fabric.

Corran (pictured above) said: “I love that at Bucks we all have our own spaces in the studio which doesn’t happen in a lot of places.

“It means I can have all my ideas on show in my workspace, it inspires new ideas and gets me thinking a bit more. I’ve been really fortunate at Bucks that I’ve been able to take something that I’m passionate about and turn it into project that I’m really proud of.”

Adam Bystrzycki beat thousands to a place on the catwalks at the prestigious four-day FASHIONCLASH in the Netherlands before he graduated from Bucks with a First in Fashion Design in 2017.

A drawing of a coat modernistic design

Adam said: “I received great support from all the departments across the university during my time at Bucks, but I couldn’t be any more thankful for help and direction from my amazing tutors.”

As well as the excellent teaching and the dedicated studio space, students at Bucks also can take advantage a range of equipment.

The Red Shed, where all fashion and textiles courses run, is the perfect creative space and is one of the best-equipped workshops in the country where students can master materials, both through traditional methods and using digital software.

Third year Beth Jefferys, studying BA (Hons) Fashion Design, said: “I would like to go in to the costume industry. Although this is a fashion course it has provided me with a range of skills so that I could choose a variety of careers.

“When I started I didn’t have any CAD (computer-aided design) skills but now, thanks to the course, I design all of my work on computer. I have gone from absolutely hating using the computer to now using it effectively to design my work.”

For more information about our courses in fashion please visit our dedicated pages.