Bachelor of Sustainable Fashion Design

Faculty are encouraged to include reference to Māori Tikanga in the initiation and delivery of course content throughout the programme. Students are encouraged to draw from their own cultures and histories when forming ideas and approaches to their sustainable and ethical fashion practice and research and to apply their knowledge of sustainable, innovative, and regenerative practices to express their individual perspectives and critical thinking. The participative, studio-based experiential learning and instruction offer many rich opportunities for students to participate in their practice and research in a culturally appropriate manner.

The studio learning environment supports a range of learning styles and approaches and encourages students to develop an informed respect for the diversity of cultures and values in the studio learning environment.

The programme is creative practitioner, community, and industry-focused, designed to meet the professional needs of the wider sustainable fashion and design industry. It is structured by three key interrelated strands of content: sustainable fashion research and practice, theoretical studies, and creative enterprise. The BSFD degree positions sustainable fashion research and practice as the core philosophy of the programme. All technical, theoretical, and professional knowledge and skills inform and are integrated into the practice of designing and making sustainable and innovative design solutions.

Fashion History and Theory courses are delivered across Years One, Two, and Three of the programme, and encourage and support students’ knowledge about sustainable and ethical fashion design from multiple perspectives and cultural positions. This includes reference to multi-culturalism, diversity, gender, and equality issues, regeneration, and environmental ethics which are addressed through practical and studio research course components. Courses may also include culturally diverse guest speakers, along with the opportunities to address Māori Tikanga and stewardship of Aotearoa.

Industry-focused course content and workshops include Pattern Drafting, Garment Construction, Research and Design, Concept Development, Fabric Manipulation, Tailoring, and Internships. Studio Practice is complemented by courses in Sustainable Fashion Practices, Fashion History and Theory, Fashion Illustration, Illustrator for Fashion, and Natural Dyeing. Students research, design, and develop conceptually-based collections that reflect a personal design aesthetic and incorporate sustainable practices, and produce a professional body of work presented through a Design Portfolio and Lookbook towards their end-of-year course requirement.

Throughout the degree, students focus on areas of personal interest to develop work independently on conceptually based sustainable fashion collections that are informed by relevant research, design, and sustainable fashion theory, thinking, and practices. Their understanding of the subject specialism reflects in their design innovations through original and in-depth design thinking and rigorous research and is presented as a body of creative work executed to an exceptionally high professional standard.

Industry professionals provide invaluable feedback during student critical thinking and design sessions and are regularly invited as guest speakers to lecture on relevant topics related to the fashion industry. Graduates with the Sustainable Fashion Design pathway gain employment nationally as well as internationally as Design Assistants, Patternmakers, Sustainability Consultants, Value Chain Consultants, Production Assistants, Workroom Assistants, Buyers, Stylists, Costumiers, and Design Educators as well as establishing their own sustainable brands.

Year One courses are considered fundamental to fashion and sustainability practice and include a balance of contemporary and traditional skills, sustainable practices and knowledge, natural dyeing and fabric manipulation, as well as an introduction to environmental and social concerns within the global fashion industry.

Year One Courses:

• Pattern Making and Garment Construction I + II
• Earth-Centered Design and Cultural Sustainability
• Fashion Practices
• Fashion History and Theory
• Creative Fashion Studio Project

Students progressing into Year Two work within an overall framework of both historical and contemporary investigation and collection development.

Sustainable design thinking and practices are embedded into the courses and students are encouraged to consider environmental and social concerns within the global fashion industry and their own sustainable fashion practice. Students explore and work with natural dyes, craft techniques, organic fabrics, deadstock fabrics, upcycled materials, and minimal or Zero Waste pattern making and cutting methods.

Students participate in a tailoring module, upcyling, draping, fashion illustration, illustrator for fashion design, and make a collection incorporating industry-relevant methodology and sustainable practices, to present at the annual Whitecliffe Fashion Show.

Students also gain relevant industry experience through industry-partnered projects. Studio research assignments, projects, and/or workshops are mainly lecture-initiated but largely student-directed and are based around a series of in-depth fashion design topics that support students to evaluate complex issues and discuss critical frameworks relevant to contemporary fashion and sustainability.

Year Two Courses:

• Sustainable Fashion Practices and Design
• Nature in Fashion
• Earth-Centered Design Thinking and Practices
• Sustainable Fashion Studio Project

As students progress further into Year Three, their ability to apply more advanced skills and knowledge and critically reflect on their research is developed through their studio practice.

Students in Year Three concentrate on developing a conceptually based, innovative, and sustainable collection of garments that reflect their personal aesthetic style and prepares them for the global fashion industry. New Zealand-based fashion designers visit the studio and provide students with critical feedback on their design process, and students participate in industry internships and industry-partnered projects. Students expand on their knowledge of sustainable practices, pattern making, and garment construction, employing relevant industry methodology and workroom practices. At the end of the year, students produce a Design Portfolio, Collection Lookbook, and present at the annual Whitecliffe Fashion Show.

Year Three Courses:

• Sustainable Fashion Studio Research and Design
• Regenerative Design: Fashion Futures
• Creative Enterprise and Internship
• Sustainable Fashion Collection

At the end of the programme, our graduates are equipped with an increased capacity for employment as sustainable change instigators in the global fashion industry. Our graduates are adaptive and agile creative professionals who have interpersonal and collaborative skills and the ability to respond positively and creatively to address the urgent need for rapid and positive change in the sustainable fashion industry.

As change instigators, graduates will benefit the fashion industry through their innovative perspectives, skills, and attitudes. They will engage in ethical creative practice to be culturally sensitive and responsive to environmental and social challenges in contemporary and future, earth-centered, regenerative, circular, and sustainable fashion industries.

The Sustainable Fashion Design sector in New Zealand has grown significantly over the last ten years, creating employment opportunities focusing on sustainability.

NZ Government key information link for students, that provides more information to support your decision making for this programme

Domestic Student Entry Requirements:

• Completed application form
• Applicants must demonstrate an ability to undertake degree level study, including appropriate knowledge and skills in the areas of written communication and mathematics, by having achieved:
  • University Entrance: NCEA Level 3 or above and 20 credits at NCEA Level 2 or above, including: NCEA Level 3; 14 credits each in three approved subjects and UE Literacy (NCEA Level 2 or above; 10 credits with 5 credits each in reading and writing) and UE Numeracy (NCEA Level 1 or above; 10 credits) OR
  • New Zealand Certificate in Apparel and Fashion Technology qualifications (Level 4) OR
  • New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design (Level 4) OR
  • New Zealand Certificate in Digital Media and Design (Level 4) OR
  • A New Zealand or overseas qualification assessed to be equivalent to the above by the Head of School OR
  • Passes in other certificate/diploma qualifications or courses as considered appropriate by the Head of School
• Applicants who do not meet the above criteria may be eligible for admission with the approval of the Head of School
• Interview: Applicants are required to attend an interview to determine their suitability for the programme. During the interview, the applicant will be assessed against the following aspects to determine their admission into the programme:
  • Portfolio
  • Letter of Intent
• Portfolio: present 12-24 representative examples of creative work that reflect skills and potential to successfully complete the programme
• Letter of Intent: write a 250-word letter of intent about why you want to enrol in the programme.

International Student Entry Requirements:

• Completed application form
• Passport copy
• Minimum age: International students must be at least 18 years of age during their first semester of study.
• IELTS Academic overall score of 6.0 with no band less than 5.5 or equivalent
• Academic Transcripts: School or previous tertiary results
• Interview: Applicants are required to attend an interview to determine their suitability for the programme.
• During the interview, the applicant will be assessed against the following aspects to determine their admission to the programme:
  • Portfolio
  • Letter of Intent
• Interviews of International students can be conducted by phone or skype. Portfolios can be provided in digital format.
• Portfolio: present 12 – 24 representative samples of creative work that reflect skills and potential to successfully complete the programme
• Letter of Intent: write a 250-word letter of intent about why they want to enrol in the programme.
• Full-time study: International students enrolled into a degree or higher-level programme, including low residence and/or online or blended learning delivery, will be required to enrol into 60 credits per semester and meet the attendance requirements of the programme.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Requirements:

This programme has Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) requirements, the following specifications will support you to be successful in your studies.

Required IT Specifications:

Minimum Hardware requirements 

• Mac - Intel processor with 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor with SSE 4.2 or later
  OR 
• MacBook Air with M1 Chip 
  OR 
• Intel® or AMD processor with 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor with SSE 4.2 or later 
• 8 GB RAM (Recommended 16 GB)   
• 250 GB SSD or higher hard drive with 10GB free space minimum    
• Wireless capability 802.11n dual-band    
• Up-to-date antivirus software    

Minimum Operating System     

• Windows 10 (64-bit) version 1809 or later; LTSC versions are not supported
  OR     
• Apple macOS Mojave (version 10.14) or later 

• Internet and data plan.    

Not Supported:    

• Chromebooks    
• Windows X or Windows S OS    
• Tablets (except Windows Surface Pro or iPad Pro)