Bachelor of Arts with Honours Validated Programme

Fashion design
& Development

Study Fashion Design & Development in English at Marbella Design Academy in sunny Spain and be awarded a UK Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in Fashion Design & Development by our UK partner, the University of Bedfordshire.

Join the ranks of our Fashion Design students achieving the highest professional standards.

Fashion design is the art of creating clothing and accessories, blending aesthetics, functionality, and cultural influences to develop unique styles and trends.
The Fashion Design & Development programme at Marbella Design Academy is built on a global vision of what is needed to become a skilled and successful fashion designer. The programme encourages students to explore and define their own creative identity and signature. The ability to express and communicate a unique and original vision is what sets our students apart in the industry. Through a comprehensive blend of creative challenges, hands-on projects and industry exposure, students will discover and develop their personal style and learn how to communicate it powerfully through their designs. Students will be equipped not only with the design expertise and business know-how of a fashion designer, but also with the creative confidence and innovative individuality needed to make a fresh impact in the fashion world.

As trends, technology, and consumer values evolve, students learn the skills and an inspirational mindset needed to stay ahead and thrive in this dynamic environment. The programme embraces new digital innovations of the Fashion industry and fully incorporates the use of CAD, Adobe, 3D Fashion, and AI technology within the creative process, helping students to explore new possibilities and influences in the industry. This blend of fashion design skills and modern tools equips students to lead in a fashion world where sustainability and technology go hand in hand.

The programme takes the students through the design process of creativity and development, conceptual thinking and intellectual flexibility. Design as a process from concept to garment production is iterative, and typically involves research, sketching, draping, and styling, alongside visual communication and presentation, as well as planning, experimentation and refinement of an original design idea. The programme further focuses in on the importance of business aspects such as branding, marketing, and developing a strong visual identity, equipping students with the skills to navigate and succeed in the commercial aspects of the fashion industry. Exposure and exchange with fashion professionals in all areas of the fashion industry, alongside inspirational tuition from our international team of globally experienced tutors provides students with a comprehensive and enriching education.

Why should you study Fashion Design & Development at Marbella Design Academy?

The Fashion Design & Development validated programme at Marbella Design Academy is aimed at all creative minds, passionate in the field of fashion design, creativity, visual arts and aesthetics to clothing.

At Marbella Design Academy, we are continuously advancing our educational and training programme and constantly developing the course content to ensure that it reflects the market and that our students are fully prepared with the essential design skills and business knowledge to compete in all areas of the fashion industry.

Validations and state recognitions

After graduation from Marbella Design Academy, you are awarded your official BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design & Development, validated and awarded by the University of Bedfordshire (UK).

When awarded your official BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design & Development, you can apply for a Master’s Degree at University of Bedfordshire or any other University of your choice.

More about our Fashion Design & Development programme

Class of 2022 Fashion Catwalk

Fashion Design student testimonial by Rana E.

Next available intakes are:

22nd September 2025

07th January 2026

Tuition Language: English

Duration: 3 Years

Schedule: Full-time tuition schedule

Application form Contact Us online BROCHURE

Bachelor of Arts degree by University of Bedfordshire - Marbella Design School

When awarded your undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree by University of Bedfordshire, you can apply for a Master validated programme at any university of your choice.

Study Plan & Material list

General Information

Duration: 3 years, 6 hours daily (Monday to Friday) Language: English

Credits: 360CP in the UK = 180 ECTS points

Calendar: Our first-year courses commence in September and January each year.
Our second and third-year courses begin in September.

Fees

15.000€ total fee per academic year*

This three-year Bachelor of Arts with Honours validated Interior Architecture & Design programme offered to our students is developed, delivered and assessed by Marbella Design Academy and Validated by the University of Bedfordshire.

Upon successful completion, you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts with Honours Degree, in Interior Architecture & Design by our UK partner, the University of Bedfordshire.

*The fee is made up of a yearly tuition fee of 12.000€ and administration fee of 3.000€

Bachelor of Arts validated programme in Fashion Design & Development

Total – days – hours and CORE credits during the 3 years of study (Holidays are not included in this calculation).

1st Year, 1200 hours incl: lectures, direct, independent study – 120 CORE CREDITS

2nd Year, 1200 hours incl: lectures, direct, independent study – 120 CORE CREDITS

3rd Year, 1200 hours incl: lectures, direct, independent study – 120 CORE CREDITS

In total for all 3 years of study: Approx. 3.600 hours incl. lectures, direct and independent study:

360 CORE CREDITS (UK) = 180 ECTS Points (60 ECTS points per academic year)

STUDY PLAN – 1ST YEAR

120 Credits = 60 ECTS points. In total for all 3 years of study: 360 CORE CREDITS (UK) = 180 ECTS Points (60 ECTS points per academic year)

Level 4

Fundamentals of Design and Fashion Design:

Fundamentals of Creative Process & Design: Introduces and explores the main issues involved in the professional design field and introduces research, learning and communication skills.

History of Art: A basic overview and timeline of different art movements (pictorial art, sculpture, architecture) from prehistoric to present times. It includes an introduction to research methodologies and writing skills.

The fashion specific components are:

History of Fashion Design: Offers an overview of the key periods. This component explores changes in the mode of production and the prevalence of historical influences in modern day fashion design practice.

Fundamentals of Design and Fashion Design: Introduces you to the implications of worldwide fashion industry, as well as the context of fashion in relation to: cultural, social and environmental issues. Fashion industry research and fashion trend evaluation techniques will be introduced and practised. This component will allow you to understand the design practices that are fundamental to fashion design and will form the basis for future design projects.

Fashion Communication & Development

Fashion Production 1: The fundamentals of basic Production and Technology will cover elements of basic Block Development, Size Specification criteria and Pattern Drafting will also be introduced, allowing you to progress towards strategies for future more complex garment development and production processes. The pattern drafting & cutting processes and techniques will take place in group practice, workshops and also on an individual study basis as necessary. It allows the students to identify characteristics through materials, fabrics and fibres knowledge, enabling them to develop a sensitivity to the many different qualities. The module completes the textile studies with a focus on the use of colour in fashion design. The induction on (including Health & Safety/” Best Practice” awareness) and use of industrial machinery and equipment in atelier/ workshops will be applied.

Materials and colour usage will be studied.

Fashion Illustration 1: Mainly hand and CAD drawing techniques together with fashion drawing/illustration level I and industry related digital software. Introduce and engage a spectrum of explorative design skills that will form a balanced basis for future progression and communication development. Various principles and techniques of communicating fashion design ideas will be explored. Conceptual development processes like hand and CAD drawing techniques complimented with relative introduction to industry related digital software will be taught in order to provide students with the necessary skills to express their initial ideas in a professional manner and style. You will be encouraged to engage these skills to translate and communicate design ideas into a themed “Mood Board” process and format as practised in the industry. In the free-hand drawing component you will look at the basic skills of drawing including perspective, proportion and scale, shading and various colouring techniques, which will, then progress in developing a more specific and individual fashion illustration style. In industry related digital software components you will learn how to use the applications and how to best interpret the most suitable graphic format and technique.

Design Projects in Fashion Design

Project 1: The students have to establish the contextual and critical basis of design and apply the knowledge acquired during the programme to date, not only to address the creative and problem-solving aspects of the Project but also to organise a compelling presentation of the work to market standards.

Collaborative Multidisciplinary Practice 1: Working in a team environment and interlacing skills from their specialities will give the students the capability of managing a team and delegating tasks and roles within a group. Knowledge, subject skills and understanding are progressively and cumulatively acquired, refined and consolidated, demonstrated by application within projects. The combined uses of these skills are meant to produce a creative solution to a specific design challenge and equip the student with resources to accomplish a professionally presented project.

Final Project & Portfolio 1

Creative skills will be approached combined with technical and practical knowledge in the quest for the expression of an individual look and branded style. Manual graphic style as well as CAD will be employed to develop and complete the design work and implement presentation boards. Creativity, imagination and originality will be engaged via recent drawing and illustration skills gained.

The Design and Mood boards will be developed and stylized to a professional presentation level reflecting the personal style and individual “brand style” signature leading to the inspiration and creation to undertake the complete design process for a fashion collection and merging the different techniques, skills and production methods culminating in timely delivery of a physical outcome and also all suitable corresponding work for display within the formation of a working Portfolio

STUDY PLAN – 2nd YEAR

SECOND YEAR: 120 Credits = 60 ECTS points

In total for all 3 years of study: 360 CORE CREDITS (UK) = 180 ECTS Points (60 ECTS points per academic year)

Level 5

Fashion Theory

The History of Fashion Design 2: It will offer lectures in the history of fashion from the 1900s to the present day. The unit will examine how socio-economic, cultural, political, historical factors and major designers have influenced fashion trends and styles throughout recent history.

Fashion Marketing and Brand Identity: This module will be explored and the importance and impact of developing and promoting a strong brand to help create a strong image, ethos and even heritage background. Marketing techniques will be introduced with latest social media aspects; E- commerce and on-line trends will also be examined. Students will learn the importance of marketing from two different points of view, strategic and operational tools.

Sustainability and Ethical Education within the fashion industry: Will be examined and the consequences and likely impact on the present and future of this sector. This will be discussed in conjunction with an overview and history of the apparel and textile manufacturing Industry.

Fashion Production

Fashion Production 2: Students will pursue the skills and processes of designing and creating garment first as learnt in the 1st year and will develop them further. Best practice strategies with use of both colour and fabric knowledge will be studied and evaluated in a further way in order to allow the student to design creatively and with confidence using key fundamental skills of fashion in conjunction those 2-D ideas translated into real 3-D garments via the Production and Practice II element

Fashion Illustration 2: The Students will continue to develop hand-drawing skills in the Fashion Illustration II unit, and further develop their skills in using digital/ CAD in a further way with the Editable Vector Software II, Layout Design and Publishing Software II and Image Creation and Photo Editing Software II elements.

Creative Design Projects

Project 2: The students have to establish the contextual and critical basis of design and apply the knowledge acquired during the programme to date and develop further the experimentation and research towards the design and construction of garments via the experimentation of design processes, creative design development, and a compelling presentation of the work to market standards.

Collaborative Multidisciplinary Practice 2: Team working will be actively encouraged through the inter-disciplinary nature of the Collaborative Multidisciplinary Practice and you will experiment with modes of group participation. This module will encourage students to communicate with their fellow peers and across other creative design areas where ideas can be shared and exploited to their full potential to deliver the best results.

Final project & Portfolio 2

Students will be encouraged to make good use of the creative and technical skills gained so far and they will be able to incorporate them into working assignment brief and project design work according to the specified brief and time constraints given. Creative skills will be approached combined with technical and practical knowledge in the quest for the expression of an individual look and branded style. Manual graphic style as well as CAD will be employed to develop and complete the design work. Creativity, imagination and originality will be engaged via recent drawing and illustration skills gained from accurate research, the module generates a more complete approach to the design process to the production of the prototypes and realization of the designed looks merging the different techniques, skills and production methods. Those will be developed and stylized to a professional presentation level reflecting the personal style and individual “brand style” signature leading to the inspiration and creation and all suitable corresponding work for display within the formation of a working Portfolio.

STUDY PLAN – 3RD YEAR

120 Credits = 60 ECTS points. In total for all 3 years of study: 360 CORE CREDITS (UK) = 180 ECTS Points (60 ECTS points per academic year)

LEVEL 6

Advanced Fashion Design and Enterprise

Fashion Marketing and Enterprise: Marketing, Branding and Enterprise will highlight how these disciplines can help promote and develop a strong brand identity. Deep understanding of the spectrum of brand management, design and promotion from a corporate and consumer perspective. It aims to provide students with the skills to interpret and critically reflect upon strategic brand management and promotion research and apply this acquired knowledge to true-to-life scenarios. Research and evaluation of the effectiveness of good PR, advertising, promotions and marketing strategies in fashion and retail brands will be appraised. Range Planning will be evaluated.

Fashion Styling:

This module aims to further creative thinking and develop a working understanding of fashion styling by taking the student on a journey of exploration, challenging ideas and thinking creatively. It aims to provide an understanding of the methods used to transmit Fashion communication messages through visual imagery and promotional destination and gain a great understanding of the role of the fashion stylist in contemporary media. Students will develop solutions from research to the final concept to develop their voice and different genres of styling and markets and know how to fit their message into the different fashion markets. Knowledge of the different roles a stylist can work, such as editorials and publications, entertainment industry, online stylist, brand stylist or personal stylist and how to work as a team. Runway presentations and Staging focuses on development and presentation of a professional catwalk fashion show.

Collection Development

Advanced Fashion Production 3: Students will engage in more advanced levels of fashion pattern drafting and garment make-up construction methodologies leading to final year collection. Garment costing and a break-down of production assembly procedures will be evaluated with construction techniques, cloth cutting and utilisation and production efficiencies will be studied. Creation and development of tech packs (garment and costing sheets) as one of the most necessary and important tools for a fashion designer.

Investigation and Pre-Collection: This module, in conjunction with pattern cutting techniques III, enables the student to create the fundamentals for the final major project. Working on a series of elements based on in-depth relevant, exhaustive investigation of their chosen concept. This research will help create a previous proposal form, sketchbook development, illustrations, pattern-cutting techniques and Development, creativity, construction, material selection, prototyping and a final presentation. All of this makes this exhaustive preliminary work to elevate the next step, which will be the final major project.

Final Major Project and Portfolio

Final Major Project, Collection & Portfolio: Students are required to undertake an in-depth, relevant and exhaustive investigation of their chosen concept into a coherent collection. The student will define the target market and concept and design a complete fashion collection, taking the pre-collection part as a basis and developing a Proposal Form. It requires the student to combine elements from all aspects of fashion design, including illustration, CAD resources, pattern making, 3D prototyping, trend research, colour, materials, creativity, fashion history, tech packs, and stylism. The project will culminate in developing a presentation and showcasing the final collection creatively and visually. In the Final Academic Portfolio component students will refine and finalize all their best and most credible fashion design work in a professional industry standard format. This will include critical selection of works to best represent one´s own individual and branded style.

Professional Practices: This module is designed to build on the presentation skills and reflective techniques developed in earlier academic years. You will consider your immediate career aims and develop your personal ‘pitch’ through the design of a tailored application, evidencing your skills and ready to move into the professional world. Students will have the opportunity to carry out their internships in the place that best suits their future professional career.

Laptop (portable computer), PC or MAC book Pro

We recommend you to buy a Lap Top with sufficient RAM memory and a powerful graphic card. We recommend a 15” screen. When you have purchased your computer, please practice working on it prior to start.

Computer Programmes

Please make sure you get the programmes in the same format as your laptop (for example a Mac formatted program will not work on a PC).

Adobe Master Collection CC2018 with manual from Adobe
Microsoft Office – student version

Remember to buy the original student version as they are much cheaper. Also ask for the latest version.

Basic material list (specified once classes start)

Basic sewing machine
Pattern cutting ruler (pattern master or other versions)
Masking tape
Fabric scissors
Paper scissors
Thread snips
Basting thread
Pins
Sewing needles
Thimble
Unpicker
Bobin
Soup/ Wax marker
Tracing wheel
Awl
A4 plastic sleeves for patterns
Mechanical pencil (HB)
Pencils (2B, 6B, 2HB)
Eraser
Pencil sharpener
Colouring supplies (specified once classes start)
Black, blue and red biros
3-5 colours of felt pens
Sketch pad (A3 size)
Charcoals

More Details

tuition fees entry requirements international student accommodation Application form

Testimonials

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“I have learned so much over these 3 incredible years! I felt that I had so much support from both my teachers and the school staff. We were given the freedom to create and design whatever we wanted to at all times! It has been amazing.”t

Roberta Peixoto

BA (Hons) in Fashion Design & Development, Brazil

If I could just say “Thank You” it would be not enough compared to what I received from Marbella Design Academy. To have the chance to join, learn, have fun, and to be a part of Marbella Design Academy was amazing.
Thank you to all Teachers , friends and every single person from the teams which helped me to grow until today. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Nan Khea, Thailand