BA (Hons) Textiles Design

On this course, you’ll learn practical and professional skills that equip you to work as part of a team, or to set up your own business in textiles.

You’ll study textiles in its widest sense and learn many skills, from print, stitch embellishment to dyeing and mixed media construction (basics of knit and weave). You’ll have the opportunity to focus on a variety of specialist areas, including textiles for fashion, textiles for interiors and textiles as design and crafts materials.

Traditional skills are taught together with expertise in modern design development, production, and contemporary invention. Whether you go on to work for a retail brand, or an international design house, we'll prepare you for the challenges that the creative textile industry holds.

We formed an AUB textiles agency to promote student work at Premier Vision Paris and London Print Textile Trade Fairs, and students have engaged with industry through placements and live briefs – experiencing how the business buys and sells textiles, as well as makes and uses them.

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

Students on BA (Hons) Textiles Design have the chance to broaden their horizons through exciting exchange and international summer programmes. These opportunities allow you to study abroad at one of our brilliant partner institutions, experience different cultures, and enhance your academic journey.

Your first year provides you with a sound practical base for the study of the subject, contextualised by parallel study of aspects of contemporary, historical and visual culture.

Projects, lectures, seminars, practical demonstrations, visits, case studies, guided reading and tutorials will be used to disseminate information and develop the necessary skills. This will provide you with the opportunity to learn through experimentation and discovery, and develop skills within a personal context.

You’ll be introduced to a variety of applications and to the fundamentals of critical theory and professional studies that will underpin your knowledge of textiles and their design, production and creative usage.

Work placements are run during the end of the first year of study, for a minimum of ten days and up to a maximum of one month. On your return, you’ll present on your experience.

PREVIOUS PLACEMENTS OBTAINED BY STUDENTS:

• Matthew Williamson Fashion
• Mary Kantranzou Fashion
• Mirijam Rouden Fashion designs/print
• Ralph & Russo Couture embroidery
• Mollie Regan Textiles Couture Hand embroidery
• Peter Pillotto Fashion
• Tatty Devine Accessories
• Custhom Wallpapers and interiors
• Alexander McQueen Fashion
• Zandra Rhodes Printed textiles/fashion
• Timorous Beasties Wallpapers
• Hallmark Gift
• Bay and Brown Interior Print
• Julien Macdonald Fashion
• Mina Perhoven Fashion print
• Fat Face Fashion
• MissPrint Interiors
• House of Holland Interiors
• Designers Guild Interiors
• Kit Miles Interiors
• Burberry Fashion
• Jane Bowler Fashion

Your second year will focus on your individual interests and ensure that your professional and technical skills mature through first-hand experience with industry specialists.

The units anticipate that you'll be able to apply the knowledge, concepts and skills addressed in your second year to fully exploit the range of opportunities for your personal creative development.

You’ll work with fellow students on live industry briefs and enter major national and international competitions.

Previous briefs have included: Hand and Lock, live fashion studio briefs Style Council NY, and wellbeing projects.

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

If you’re required to have a Student Visa to study in the UK, it won’t be possible to undertake the one-year placement option; there’ll be other opportunities for you to engage with industry during your study at AUB.

Your third year allows you to refine your existing creative practice, develop your skills and reflect upon your experience and direction formed from previous study.

The course nurtures students to develop into original, mature and autonomous textile practitioners and makers, encouraging them to lead rather than respond to industry trends.

The integration of theory and practice is promoted and reinforced through a team teaching approach. Lectures, seminars and tutorials may be delivered by team members, as appropriate, in the creative environment of the studio.

You’ll be encouraged to formulate and identify your particular skills and potential. Risk and ambition within the field will be crucial to your individual development. Intellectual and academic integrity will be further encouraged, through ‘thinking through practice’.

External experiences are highly prized throughout, from course trips to textile trade shows e.g. Premiere Vision Paris, to European visits, to London exhibitions, e.g. New Designers, Islington.

This year also particularly focuses on employability, building professional portfolios and gives students the opportunity to participate in industry presentations.

2024

• Winner | Batsford Textiles Art Prize – Rose Cordery
• Winner | Tex+ Showcase – Ella Nathan
  
• Winner | Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Prize – Ella Nathan
  
• Runners-up | Batsford Textiles Art Prize – Ella Nathan, Hannah Elliot
• Shortlisted | Batsford Textiles Art Prize – Cerys Watkins, Holly Whiffen
• Shortlisted | Tex+ Showcase – Rose Cordery, Phoebe Wilkinson|
• Shortlisted | New Designers Ultrafabrics Sustainability Award – Sophie Haskell
• Highly Commended | Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Prize – Hannah Elliot

2023 New Designers

• Winner | Romo award for Innovation, Colour and Design – Georgia Dunn
• Winner | Clothworkers Company Award for Printed Textiles – Hayden MacKenzie
• Winner | Decorex Sustainability Award – Georgia Johnson
• Second Prize | Tu; Fashion creative pattern and colour award – Sophia Shorrock

• Winner | Batsford Applied Arts and Textiles Prize – Pia Elliott
• Winner | Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Prize – Hannah Lyness
• Shortlisted | Festival of Quilts NEC, Student Prize and exhibitions – Issy Hamilton and Emily Garbutt

2022

• Winners | Hand & Lock Wilcom Prize, London Exhibition
• Winner | New Designers, Liberties of London Print Prize
• Winner | New Designers, Wilko Surface pattern Prize
• Winner | New Designers, Contrado Print
• Winner | Batsford Applied Arts and Textiles Prize
• Winner | Bradford Textiles Society, Luxury Fabric Award
• Winner | Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Textiles Award, Fleece to Floor
• Winner | Embroideries Guild Graduate Sponsorship Award (Alexandra Palace and Harrogate Stitch and Knit shows)
• Shortlisted | Batsford Applied Arts and Textiles Prize – two students
• Shortlisted | Hand & Lock Prize, London Exhibition
• Highly Commended | Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Textiles Award – three students
• Highly Commended | Bradford Textiles Society, Campaign for Wool and Wool Prize – two students
• Featured | Quilters Guild Festival of Quilts and four NEC Student shows

BA (Hons) Textiles Design graduates have gone on to diverse career destinations, including designers, designer-makers, buyers, trend forecasters, researchers, teachers and stylists. Others have set up their own businesses or gone on to postgraduate study including renowned institutions such as The Royal College of Art, Kolding University DK, and AUB.

Previous BA (Hons) Textiles Design graduates now have careers in the following:

• Textile Print designer for fashion at Liberty's of London, River Island.
• Textile Print designers for fashion and interiors – Topshop, Blendworth Interiors, Victoria Beckham, Bay and Brown textile print and Alexander McQueen.
• Embroidery designers – Ralph and Russo, Hand & Lock, Pretty Green.
• Trends – WGSN.
• Freelance designers and Self employed -Sharon Marston Lighting, MOOD, Mixmag, NEC.
• Design collection of interior fabrics and products sales to Liberty’s, Heals London.
• Postgraduate internships – Hand & Lock, WGSN, Sandersons’s, Next, etc.
• PGCEs and art/textiles teachers.
• Visual merchandisers and buyers – for fashion and interiors – Ikea
• Textile Designers – Working within other disciplines, e.g. Clarkes shoes, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, McLaren cars, Lego.
• Graphic Designers – Specsavers, Clarkes Shoes.
• MA and PhD – Royal College of Art, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Kolding University Dk.

As part of BA (Hons) Textiles Design, you may also get the opportunity to take part in course trips. Previous trips have included:

• Paris
• Florence
• Barcelona
• London

*These trips are optional and some may incur additional costs

As a course, we invite industry professionals to share their knowledge, practice and design journey with our students on a regular basis. Recent contributors have included Kit Miles, Jenny King Embroidery, Hand & Lock, and Stoff Studio.

Collaborations and creative events are held across all three years also, e.g. cross-course collaboration projects with BA (Hons) Architecture and Commercial Photography and creative problem-solving with BA (Hons) Event Management and Fashion courses.

We also run Creative Match Night events with BA (Hons) Fashion, Make-up for Media and Performance, Events Management and Commercial Photography to encourage students to set up independent collaborative projects and to listen to our industry guest advise for their futures.