Creative Direction and Curation for Fashion

UCAS code: W233

Here's what Nottingham Trent University says about its Creative Direction and Curation for Fashion course.

Some people fear the blank page. In creative direction, we live for it.

Our business is look and feel — the big picture and little details that tell attention-grabbing stories. From steampunk to K-pop to LGBTQ+, we’re experts in scenes and subcultures. We bring those worlds to life for the hottest names in fashion, gaming, music, TV, and film — managing everything from lighting, location, styling and soundtracks, to the thickness of a catwalk carpet.

AI might rule the ways we find content, but ‘the Big Idea’ behind that content still comes from you, your personality, and your specialist perspectives. From event spaces to fashion photo shoots, pages to stages, Paris in the 20s to New York in the 80s, you’ll learn how to put creative meat on the bones of an idea.

Fashion is big on strategy, but sometimes short on curation and artistry. By combining all three, our course plugs that gap. Weave whole worlds around your biggest cultural passions by researching, gathering, ideating, and finding your own signature style of art direction. It’s time to call yourself more than just ‘a creative’ — it’s time to step into creative direction.

Key features

• No one does ‘curation’ like us: Learn how to blend trends and research to tell better, richer stories.

• Gain hands-on industry experience: You’ll have the opportunity to complete a work experience placement of up to a year in length. Dependent on the duration of your placement, you could gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice.

• Personalise your studies: Select from eight optional modules to tailor your studies to your interests. You’ll also take part in CoLab, a unique chance to work across disciplines on creative projects with a focus on sustainability, innovation or social change.

• Study abroad and explore new ideas: Take part in study visits to key UK and European fashion cities, gaining first-hand insight into global trends, exhibitions and creative culture. You can also apply to study abroad with one of NTU’s prestigious international partners.

Careers and employability

‘Creative Director’ and ‘Art Director’ are job titles — but even at a junior level, you’ll be involved in direction and curation from your first days in the industry. That’s true whether you’re working in-house at a big company, for an agency, or as a freelancer. It’s our job to give you the full professional picture of what creative direction and art direction look like in the real world — and to ensure you’ve developed a great portfolio of hands-on experience, building your professional reputation as a specialist in a particular scene or field.

We’ve focused on ‘curation’ because it’s cropping up increasingly in job titles — whether you’re booking models, developing an avant-garde menu for a Michelin-starred restaurant, or compiling the perfect between-sets playlist at a music festival. This is a future-focused course; we’ll be imagining jobs that don’t even exist yet, and seeing how the newest names and agencies are doing things that little bit differently. You’ll learn to ride trends and stay in step with an industry where tastes, production methods and insights are constantly evolving.

Along the way (and for up to three years after your course finishes), you’ll have the support of our friendly, award-winning Employability experts. Once you’ve graduated, your professional pathways could include:

• Creative Director

• Art Director / Fashion Art Director

• Designer

• Photographer

• Stylist

• Copywriter / Fashion author

• Videographer

• Event Producer

[Year One]

• Experiment and Investigate: Introduction to Creative Direction and Curation
• Research and Evaluate: Fashion Environments, Cultures and Trends
• Ideate and Curate
• The Industry and You

[Year Two]

• Curate and Create for Fashion
• Direct and Product for Fashion
• Co Lab: Research, Exploration and Risk-taking You will also choose one optional 20-credit module from:
• Publishing: Experimental Formats
• Telling Stories
• Responding to the Visual World
• Creative Live Event Production
• Music Video
• Web3 & Creative Autonomy
• Fashion Styling
• Virtual Production

[Year Three]

• Optional Placement Year (Sandwich)*: We have an option for all of our students to undertake a placement year (Sandwich) and allow you to decide whether this is right for you once you have completed years 1 and 2 of your course. This time spent working in industry provides our students with crucial work experience, which is highly prized and much sought after by employers upon graduation. If you are successful in securing a placement you will have the chance to gain an additional Certificate or Diploma in Professional Practice, dependent on duration.

The additional placement year incurs a fee. For international students considering the transfer to the 4-yr SW route it’s important to seek advice from the International Student Support team and the Home Office regarding any potential visa implications and costs. For UK students, advice should also be sought regarding SLC eligibility, if applicable.

• If you choose to take the sandwich route option, you will still need to apply for this course with the full-time UCAS code: W233

[Final Year]

• Develop, Propose and Create: Negotiated Project
• Personal and Professional Direction
• Real World Project