Fashion Design BA

Educational qualifications
Acceptance to the admission procedure regarding degree programmes in the field of Design (Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Scenography, Fashion Design, Process Design at Hyperwerk, Visual Communication and Digital Spaces) commonly requires one of the following certificates:

• a certified vocational baccalaureate
• a certified specialized baccalaureate
• a certified upper secondary school baccalaureate
• proof of equivalent education at upper secondary school level obtained otherwise

Language of tuition
The language of tuition is German. Applicants with a foreign language background are required to submit proof of their language proficiency in German at level B2 (or equivalent) before commencing their studies.

On-the-job work experience or preparatory course in design
In addition, candidates need to provide proof of one year of on-the-job work experience or completion of a two-semester preparatory course in design. The work experience must include practical as well as theoretical knowledge in a professional field related to the subject of study.
Note: Proof of work experience or completion of a preparatory course in design is not required of candidates who are able to provide proof of a vocational baccalaureate in a professional field related to the subject of study, a Swiss certified baccalaureate with a focus on visual design, or a specialized, design-based baccalaureate. The attained degree need not explicitly be in a profession related to the specific field of study.

approved professional fields (PDF in German)

Catching up on the vocational baccalaureate
Candidates who have not completed at least three years of upper secondary education (level II) are not legally entitled to admission to a Bachelor's degree programme. Information concerning full-time or part-time, on-the-job training courses focusing on a vocational, design-based or specialized baccalaureate is provided by the local vocational schools.

Admission on the basis of exceptional talent
In exceptional cases, candidates can be admitted to the Bachelor’s degree programmes in Design and in Fine Arts without being in possession of an upper secondary school leaving certificate (level II), namely if they can provide proof of exceptional talent, either in a design-related or an arts-related field. The application documents must include a portfolio, a CV in tabular format, a reasoned request, and a letter of motivation. The head of the respective degree programme decides on the basis of the submitted documents whether such proof is provided.
Note: Candidates that fulfil the admission requirements on the basis of a completed upper secondary school education (level II) are excluded from admission on the basis of special talent.

How to proceed with regard to an “admission on the basis of exceptional talent” and how to register online.
We recommend that you register or at least make inquiries no later than 8 February, considering that it takes some time to review the submitted documents.

• Inquire in writing by email to admission.BALW1vZGVkZXNpZ24uaGdrQGZobncuY2g= and arrange an appointment with the respective head of the degree programme.
• Normally, you submit the following documents for assessment: 
  
  • Portfolio
  • CV in tabular format
  • Reasoned request
  • Motivation letter
• Only then do you register via online registration (deadline 15 February).
• If the head of the degree programme accepts your application, you will receive from the degree programme’s office an invitation to the aptitude assessment.
• A successful aptitude assessment is prerequisite for admission to and enrolment in the degree programme.

To apply for a place at the HGK, the required documents must be submitted by 15.02.2023

Info aptitude assessment 2023 (PDF in German)

Dates

• 15.02.2023
  Registration deadline and deadline for submitting the required documents for the aptitude assessment.
• 04.09. – 15.09.2023
  Introductory weeks (mandatory)
• 18.09.2023
  Fall Semester begin 2023/24

Study Regulation, Fashion Design, Bachelor (PDF Download)

The degree programme Fashion Design targets individuals with a strong desire to create and design and a high level of aesthetic sensitivity: students examine social issues and discourses critically and show an interest in understanding how design helps to shape the world. They have a taste for methods of participatory and collaborative work processes as well as for creative craft techniques. They also have an extraordinary sense of perception for the composition of colour, material, and proportion.

In the course of their BA studies at the Institute of Fashion Design, students develop an understanding of the trajectories of contemporary culture and learn to voice their own opinion in the discourse on design, art, and culture. They are consciously engaged in the holistic shaping of an inspiring, relevant portfolio with the ability to change the current fashion practice through new creations. In contrast to working alone on a single dress form, they incorporate the living human body – their own and that of others – in the design process, right from the start.

Study programme

The study programme combines a rigorous and target-focused curriculum with body awareness practices, and builds on the strength of a design-guided approach. You deal with current discourses such as those of Queer Feminism or Global Warming critically examine contemporary fashion practices. In the courses “Doing Fashion Knowledges” and “Doing Fashion Studio”, we question the seemingly self-evident and identify stereotype forms of representation and mechanisms of social marginalization through fashion in order to subvert them. By means of a process-guided approach and the development of their own methods, students learn to engage in creative processes with confidence and autonomously and develop a design language of their own. Training ranges from guided workshops with performative elements to peer learning and lectures, to practice-based projects supported by individual mentoring.

Structure of degree programme

“Doing Fashion Knowledges” (Semesters 1 – 6)
The courses focus on teaching design, craft and technical skills, and on research and design practices: students get to know the respective tools, techniques, theories and methods and practise the skills that underlie the various processes in fashion design. The course contents are specifically tailored to the respective semesters in line with the structure for teaching body-oriented, performative fashion knowledges across the entire degree programme. In the 3rd semester, students also go on a study trip that lasts several days.

“Doing Fashion Studio & Doing Fashion Purpose ” (Semesters 1 – 4) A compulsory elective programme across several semesters including various specializations does away with the division into separate academic years, thus creating a stimulating interactive format focused on current discourse and design-related issues along different linkage points. The Graduation Studio allows students to become involved in the realization of thesis presentations and the Graduate Event. This is an important aspect of sharing knowledge and experience, of understanding, and of learning from each other.

“Out of Classroom – Internship” (Semester 5) In the practical semester, students further their acquired knowledge, while reviewing and consolidating their acquired skills in a professional, occupational context. At the same time, the internship provides a hands-on opportunity to critically question the defining social and economic systems. It also encourages students to build up an international professional network for the future.

BA thesis (Semesters 6 and 7) In their BA thesis, students create and work on a design project of their own. At the centre stands the conscious, holistic design of an inspiring idea that critically questions the current fashion practice for the purpose of changing it in a sustainable way: how do you as an upcoming designer position yourself with regard to the fashion industry, and what about your lived utopia? You further develop and hone your aesthetic sense, especially by means of an experimental approach which, from the start, includes us as human beings, our individual bodies, and our rich lifeworlds in the design process.

Your studies at the Institute of Fashion Design will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to connect with the Swiss as well as the international labour markets in your capacity as a fashion designer. The internship semester, unique to the training at the Institute of Fashion Design, has proved its worth as a stepping stone into the professional world. When choosing the location for your internship, you will be able to benefit from the Institute’s outstanding international reputation and wide-spun network. The internship provides an excellent opportunity for gathering practical experience to build on for your future career as a designer, at home and abroad. A BA degree also qualifies you to work as an assistant for a creative director.

Not few graduates from the Institute of Fashion Design have made their way in the world of fashion and now work for leading fashion houses, including Acne (Stockholm), Akris (St. Gallen), Alexander McQueen (London), Alexander Wang (New York), Balenciaga (Paris), Carven (Paris), Dior (Paris), Givenchy (Paris), Haider Ackermann (Antwerp), Hermès (Paris), Louis Vuitton (Paris), Maison Margiela (Paris), Raf Simons (Antwerp), Stella McCartney (London), Uniqlo UUU (Paris), Vetements (Zurich/Paris), and Y/Project (Paris). Others now work in fields such as fashion photography, costume design, visual communication, fashion journalism, performance art, or have created a label of their own as independent designers.

A BA degree in Product and Industrial Design with a specialization in Fashion Design opens up a wide range of career opportunities in various design areas: your broad understanding of fashion enables you to engage in the contemporary fashion market, work for renowned fashion houses, create your own label, or follow a career in journalism, photography, art, or theatre.

Moreover, a BA degree entitles you to enrol in the FHNW Masters course in Design (Studio Fashion Design) which the Institute of Fashion Design offers in collaboration with the Institute Integrative Design | Masterstudio.

Since 2011 the Institute of Fashion Design has awarded a promotion prize for the most outstanding thesis of the year.

With its state-of-the-art studios and analogue/digital workshops, the Campus of the Arts offers ideal conditions for bringing together craft curiosity, learning about traditional techniques, and sophisticated technical know-how. The Institute of Fashion Design is equipped with a modern sewing, leather, knitting, and pattern-cut studio, a digital workshop, as well as a cutting system suitable for textile, paper, and solid materials. The Institute’s internal workshops are accessible around the clock. Personal workstations are available.

For further information on the infrastructure.

Concerning the specialization "Studio Fashion Design" in the context of the Master of Art FHNW in Design at the Masterstudio Fashion Design.

Here you will find everything you need to know about the enrolment process at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design.

If you are interested in studying here, please apply by sending us your dossier.

Your studies at the Institute of Fashion Design can last from one semester to a full year. You may also join the course in the third, fourth or even sixth semester.

FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP)
Freilager-Platz 1
Postfach

CH-4002 Basel

FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP)
Fashion Design BA degree course

Oslo-Strasse 3, Ateliergebäude: A 3.14
4142 Münchenstein b. Basel

T +41 61 228 40 99
F +41 61 228 43 02
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