Bachelor of Arts Honours in Fashion

Purpose

Fashion is increasingly seen as a site for advancing theoretical understandings of complex human ethnographies in both historical and contemporary settings. Fashion, as a lens of social scientific enquiry, is receiving much attention in academic circles and is increasingly being targeted as a site for understanding complex historical, anthropological and sociological narratives of identity.

Fashion theory, in this context, takes the definition of fashion as, "The cultural construction of the embodied identity", and becomes a key part of the broader fashion knowledge system that demands greater attention and critical scrutiny.

Both the Fashion Design and Manufacturing Practitioner and the Fashion Marketing and Merchandising Practitioner are increasingly required, through new knowledge reproduction, to access and consolidate, or to generate, detailed and complex information at both theoretical and practical levels, in order to make effective decisions.

The demand for theoretical models to manage new dynamics in fashion apparel production is on the increase. These dynamics include:

• Gathering or generating data and discerning trends;
• Determining saleable colours, design concepts, textiles and silhouettes;
• Assessing processes of manufacture and production on seasonal and bi-seasonal time lines;
• Effectively distributing, managing and selling contemporary commercial apparel.

This qualification allows learners to focus on a specific area of the total fashion industry and to develop critical, higher-order cognitive skills in order to meet the challenges and demands of their chosen area of specialisation.

Rationale

The national goals articulated in the Education White Paper express a clear need to provide a fuller range of advanced educational opportunities and to diversify the higher education system in respect of programmes that are needed to meet national and regional social, cultural and economic development needs. In the increasingly competitive, sophisticated and changing world of fashion, the development of both cognitive and practical higher order skills - to allow fashion practitioners to gather, sort, analyse and present data and information is becoming increasingly essential.

These skills are required to target the design, production and presentation of apparel to satisfy local and global retail environments in increasingly shorter spaces of time.

They are also used in the growing theoretical perceptions that Fashion plays in understanding complex historical and contemporary ethnographies related to dress narratives, or explorations of identity in multidisciplinary contexts.

It is assumed that learners who register for this degree

• Have achieved a competency level ordinarily associated with a first Bachelor's Degree: Fashion or in a cognate field.
• Are able to assimilate, process, analyse, reflect upon and critique information, as well as reproduce a range of theoretical and technical tasks.
• Have sufficient knowledge of and competency in fashion theory, design and technology, and merchandising principles and methods.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Learners who can demonstrate proficiency in the whole qualification or any part of this qualification may apply for Recognition of Prior Learning.

Access to the Qualification

Access is open to learners who are in possession of a three-year Bachelor's Degree: Fashion with a minimum of a 65% aggregate pass at the exit level.

Learners who do not meet the admission requirements can apply for admission through the Recognition of Prior Learning.

The Bachelor of Arts Honours: Fashion consists of four compulsory modules, totalling 123 credits

• Research Methodology, 11 credits.
• Fashion Theory, 21 credits.
• Merchandising Theory, 21 credits.
• Research Dissertation, 70 credits.

1. Demonstrate an advanced, theoretically-driven understanding of fashion as a lens of social scientific enquiry, incorporating complex human ethnographies, in both historical and contemporary settings.
2. Demonstrate critical thinking and practices in the areas of fashion marketing and merchandising, including a solid understanding of the theoretical and business models related to consumer behaviour.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of, and skills in, the design and methods of both quantitative and qualitative academic research.
4. Produce a coherent research report that demonstrates vocational competence and readiness to enter the professional context.

Critical Cross-Field Outcomes

All the Critical Cross-Field Outcomes are addressed in this qualification.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Contextualise, analyse, understand and apply fashion theories.
• Read and interpret complex ethnographic and symbolic texts and apply knowledge in own creative context.
• Evaluate theoretical work and produce written texts which demonstrate understanding and engagement with relevant theory.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Demonstrate and apply critical thinking skills in the areas of fashion marketing and merchandising.
• Understand and apply theoretical and business models, both historical and current, that have informed the complexities of understanding consumer behaviour and responding to the needs of the consumer in an ever increasing 'global' marketplace.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Use appropriate academic research techniques and methods within accepted international standards.
• Produce a Research Proposal that demonstrates engagement with the broader academic research discourse and results in a thoughtful and purposeful set of choices directed at the realisation of a final research report (minor research dissertation).

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Apply research practices relevant to the field of fashion and participate in advanced Postgraduate studies.
• Think critically and theoretically, and solve problems inductively, through a legitimate process of academic research.
• Utilise accumulated skills (theoretical, applied and attitudinal) to produce a research report that reflects a vocational/professional competency and ability to work independently.

Integrated Assessment

The production of the research dissertation represents the summative expression of the learner's accumulated knowledge and skills that naturally integrate a range of knowledge discourses from the broader fashion education system. Although disciplinary specialisation (depth) is one of the hallmarks of an Honours qualification, fashion, as a site for research, represents a broad range of inter-related discourses at both theoretical and practical levels. It is therefore guaranteed that an integration of these sub-systems will be realised in the summative assessment.