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Ivybridge Community College

Ivybridge Community College

Fashion and Textiles

Head of Department: Sara Elston

“The future belongs to your imagination” – Karl Lagerfeld

Are you creative and imaginative?

Do you enjoy exploring ideas, hands on making and thinking outside the box?

The Fashion and Textiles course at Ivybridge Community College endeavours to feed student’s creativity, ambition and curiosity.  You will enjoy developing your understanding of the visual world, learning practical skills and responding to ideas and issues in ways that are personal to you.  From weaves and dyes to stitches, silhouettes and garment construction, if you choose to study Fashion and Textiles you will be sure to develop an artistic eye, attention to detail and impeccable technical skills.

Fashion and Textiles is a versatile practice that involves the creation, selection, manipulation and application of a range of materials and processes such as weaving, stitching and printing.  Textile designers work in multi-disciplinary ways to create ideas, materials and techniques for different applications, they play an important role in the world of fashion, theatre, performance and retail.

This is a practical course in which you learn by doing. You will learn how to record from observation, apply a creative approach to problem solving, consider and develop initial ideas, critically analyse your own work and the work of others, express individual thoughts and choices confidently, take risks, experiment and learn from mistakes.  We start with learning basic sewing machine techniques, and you will quickly develop the confidence to experiment, create and construct independently.  You will find out about a whole range of interesting techniques and processes. 

During the course you will also be taught clothing construction.  Starting with drawing and pattern-cutting, as well as developing an understanding of shape and colour.  You will learn a broad range of sewing skills including hand stitch, machine stitch, weave and many other techniques.  We investigate interesting fabric manipulation skills and also develop artistic skills of drawing, painting and fashion illustration.  We research the work of fashion designers and textiles artists and take inspiration from them to support your own practical investigations.

The course also focuses on design and interiors – think materials, textures, colours, and patterns.  You have the opportunity to work in our brilliant textiles studios which are dedicated to dyeing and manual printing, as well as opportunities to use modern technologies, such as image-manipulation, digital embroidery and digital fabric printing.  Our three textiles studios are open for students most lunchtimes where they can develop or extend their coursework/exam preparation. After College sessions are available for students to pursue Fashion and Textiles projects further.

Throughout the course our dedicated textiles teachers and technician use their extensive skills and knowledge to support and guide, ensuring every student makes excellent progress.  We provide stretch, challenge and enrichment opportunities to engage all our learners.  Students will receive personal feedback on their work and will have extensive opportunities to improve on their grades.

Fashion and Textiles will support progression into a range of further education courses and exciting career opportunities, including: Fashion Designer, Garment Technologist, Textiles Designer, Print Designer, Fashion Illustrator, Pattern Cutter, Stylist, Personal Stylist, Fashion Buyer, Trend Forecaster and many more.

Fashion and Textiles Coursework Topics

  1. The Natural World                                                                                                        Introductory project developing key skills exploring nature and organic form.
  2. Identity                                                                                                                        Developmental and experimental project exploring personality and individuality within design.
  3. St. Ives                                                                                                                                    An exploration of contemporary art practise through the contextual understanding of the St. Ives School of Art.  Visit to St Ives Tate developing knowledge of abstraction and expressionism.