Fashion and Textiles Undergraduate Courses

Our fashion and textiles courses are part of a strong creative community where students and staff from all disciplines on a wide range of projects. Take your ideas from concept to catwalk with our highly acclaimed Fashion and Textiles courses. 

The School of Arts is a place where talent thrives and ambitions are realised. Our impressive facilities range from our producing and learning theatre, photography lab and purpose-built studios. 

You’ll join a creative community that is supportive in helping students shape their individual identities and styles. Our courses focus on graduate employability, helping you to establish yourself as an artist; this may be through work placements, real world projects and the chance to showcase your work at events, including the end of year Degree Show. 

Courses are led by experienced practitioners, many are artists and designers with key industry contacts. Their fresh and dynamic approach to teaching will encourage you to learn through risk-taking and experimentation to develop your portfolio. You’ll learn skills that can be applied to a range of fields from design to writing, performance to education and curating to publishing. These links mean that you’ll have the opportunity to work with external clients on real briefs, so you’ll graduate with a comprehensive portfolio of work to help launch your career.

Top20for career prospectsFashion & Textiles, Guardian University Guide 2025
100%of students agreed that they could explore ideas and concepts in depthBA (Hons) Fashion Design - National Student Survey 2024
A female with auburn wavy hair tied back wears an apron and blue disposable gloves to screenprint some fabric in a studio setting

I decided to do a year in industry as part of my degree, because the support given to me by lecturers and technicians gave me the boost I needed to apply for placements and progress further in an industry setting.

Ruth Allamby
Fashion and Textiles student

Fashion and Textiles courses

You’ll discover how to design original and inspiring collections which will give you the edge in the fast-paced global fashion industry. Thanks to our influential fashion and textiles industry partnerships, we offer excellent opportunities for you to gain experience through work placements and real world projects. This practical, work-focused teaching means our graduates have a great track record in producing award-winning designs. Two years in a row, a Derby student has won the St Andrews Young Designer Awards – the perfect springboard to a successful career in fashion.

A portrait of a female in a yellow jumper

Designing a future

Jessica has been discovering her African heritage through textiles and has big plans to increase diversity in the fashion and textiles industry.

Read Jessica's storyRead Jessica's story

Recent successes

You'll have the opportunity to exhibit your final collection and your portfolios at the graduate fashion show at Derby Theatre and participate in competitions. Recent successes from our BA (Hons) Fashion Design course include:

Recent successes from our BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Marketing course include:

We also successfully collaborate with industry to enhance the curriculum with cutting edge learning environments.

A female puts the finishing touches to a white garment embellished with pink and red floral embroidery and 3d flowers
Male and female models showcase clothing designs on a catwalk
A collection of black, orange and white floral patterned textile samples and yarn on a table

Fashion and Textiles - hear from a student

We asked Fashion and Textiles student, Saffron, how she has found her experience so far studying at the University of Derby.

Fashion and Textiles student, Saffron.

View Fashion and Textiles - hear from a student video transcript

Lucy Taylor walking down a runway with models wearing clothing from 'Convergence', Lucy's winning collection at the Midlands Fashion Awards

The University supported me with industry-standard equipment, help and support from the fabulous technicians, and excellent tutors who pushed me to reach my potential.

Lucy Taylor
Winner, Midlands Fashion Awards ‘Midlands Young Designer of the Year 2019'*

*Lucy Taylor with her collection ‘Convergence’ Photo by Beth Winsor from Cameo Lab Fine Art Photography

"Everything I learned at University is now the foundation of my working life!"

"My degree gave me the important skills to get where I am today and helped me develop as a person through some fantastic opportunities. Everything I learned, including hand-drawn design work, digital design, garment manufacture and production, is now the foundation of my working life.”

Winner of the top prize at the 2014 St Andrews Young Designer Awards and now a junior designer with Manchester-based Chilli Apparel.

Take a look at highlights from the Fashion Show...

Highlights from the Fashion Show at Derby Theatre

Join our creative community where students and staff from all disciplines collaborate on a wide range of fashion and textiles projects. 

Career opportunities

  • fashion design/forecasting
  • childrenswear, menswear, womenswear and knitwear design
  • merchandising
  • fashion and textile print design
  • furnishing and interior design fabrics
  • marketing
  • PR
  • postgraduate study
  • trend prediction
An industrial looking building with a colourful mural on the wall next to it

Explore Chandos Pole Street

Our Fashion and Textiles students learn in light and airy studio spaces and have access to industry-standard equipment and design facilities.

Take a look around our Fashion and Textiles centreTake a look around our Fashion and Textiles centre
Kedleston Road, Derby Campus entrance

Undergraduate Open Days

The best way to find out if studying at Derby is right for you is to experience an Open Day. Get a feel for the city and campus, tour our first-class facilities and see where you could be living.

Book your undergraduate Open DayBook your undergraduate Open Day
#derbyuni sign on green grass

Student stories

Our students and graduates are people just like you. And they are making an impact in our region and around the world by using their knowledge and skills to drive innovation and change. You can be part of that story. Let our students and graduates tell you theirs.

Hear from our students and graduatesHear from our students and graduates