BA Fashion: A Week in the Life

Find out what a typical week is like as a BA Fashion student at CSVPA:

"On Mondays I start at 10, some students do English first starting at 9 but I have 6.5 IELTS, so don't need any more English teaching.

Mondays is Technical Fashion and it is where we learn all about pattern cutting and garment construction using the sewing machines and steam irons and other professional equipment to realize our designs. We work all day until at least 5 with a lunch break but many days we work on until much later especially if we are close to a deadline,

Tuesday, we have studio practice today with our design lecturer and the technical lecturer. We start at the usual time and have a busy day of working on our designs creating fashion illustrations or working on finished garments. Sometimes Tiina the tech lecturer helps us with the IT elements of research and design - she instructs us using Photoshop and inDesign. We officially finish around 5 but the lecturers finish at 6 so we mostly work until then unless we can convince them to stay later!

Wednesday we have cultural and critical studies which is lectures about Fashion design and the history of design, sometimes it covers more cultural or sociological topics. We then have small discussion groups and often one-to-ones where I am able to talk about my written work and get help with it. 

In the afternoon we have fashion drawing working with the Head of Fashion. She is showing us how to record the body and gain our own styles. After this we usually finish around 5.

Thurdays we are working in the studio on our own work. The technical lecturer is there to help but it is our chance to develop our project work until lunch time. In the afternoon we are working with the design lecturer on our set projects - we have been designing a white shirt and now we are starting a project about architecture using the ideas and shapes we see to create a garment. Again we stop around 5 or 6.

Fridays are again a day of design and garment making either in the design room or the technical fashion room working with one of the technical lectures and our design lecturer until lunch time. Then in the afternoon we continue working with the technical lecturer supervising us. 

On Saturdays and Sundays we can use the design studios and If I am busy I try to come in. We have our hand-in for semester one next week so I expect to be there both days."