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A Beginner’s Guide to Fashion Design

Explore the basics of fashion design and examine fashion in context, fashion as a visual language, and textile and colour choice.

1,024 enrolled on this course

Two models walk a catwalk wearing colourful garments.

A Beginner’s Guide to Fashion Design

1,024 enrolled on this course

  • 3 weeks

  • 2 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    2 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more

Develop your design skills from fashion sketches to fabric choices

From haute couture to high-street fashion, all clothing is underpinned by the basic principles of fashion design.

On this three-week course, you’ll be introduced to these concepts and develop your own fashion design skills in preparation for a future in the fashion industry.

Examine fashion in context, from the history of fashion to its cultural impact around the world

A contextual understanding of fashion allows designers to identify influences and predict upcoming trends.

On this course, you’ll delve into the history of fashion and learn how cultural movements and ideas around the world impact the fashion world.

With this knowledge, you’ll be able to place fashion movements in a wider cultural context and draw on a wide array of inspiration for your own designs.

Discover the fundamentals of fashion drawing

Fashion drawing skills are vital to turn your design ideas into a reality, whether you work by hand or with digital technology.

You’ll learn how to sketch the fashion figure and develop your technical skills from line drawing to creating gestures and poses.

By developing your artistic skills, you’ll be able to create sketches that showcase the fit and movement of your designs.

Explore textile design, from choosing a colour to sustainable fabrics

Color and fabric choice can completely alter a design’s feel and seasonal suitability.

You’ll examine the principles of colour theory and identify the relationships between different colour schemes. You’ll also delve into the diverse array of textiles available and learn how fashion sustainability can impact fabric choices.

By the end of this course, you’ll have gained a foundational knowledge of fashion design. You’ll be able to draw fashion figures and be able to choose colours and fabrics to compliment your designs.

What topics will you cover?

  • Week 1 - Fashion in context
  • Week 2 - Visual language of fashion
  • Week 3 - Colour and fabrics

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe the multifaceted nature of fashion
  • Assess contextual perspectives and theoretical debates that critically inform fashion design
  • Identify the visual language of fashion design that offers diverse aesthetic viewpoints and introduces the fashion figure
  • Explain the role of communicating ideas by hand and in digital formats
  • Evaluate the role of color in fashion design and fashion’s close association with material culture through tactile processes
  • Create a portfolio of work in professional practice, in the international fashion industry context

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone with an interest in the basics of fashion design. It would be suitable for those considering a career in fashion and anyone wanting to develop a portfolio of design work.

Who developed the course?

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Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes.and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names.

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FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$79/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 26 Feb 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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