The course on fashion and textile forecasting familiarizes the students with various forms of communication in the fashion industry: professional jargon, material and colour sample charts and descriptions of general trends and impressions.

Various assignments are given in all these artistic disciplines. The students are expected to work on them using as much creativity as possible and with an emphasis on experiment model, a unique discipline which is taught in all departments and years.

2ND BACHELOR | The curriculum further contains theoretical courses covering the humanities and artistic-theoretical sciences such as the history of art, world literature, philosophy, sociology and psychology.

The same three main artistic subjects are taught in the second year. Fashion design, graphics and tailoring/ pattern design. From the rich history of dress until 1940, each of the students has to choose a historical figure with a costume typical for the period.

Then, they have to do thorough research on the historical figure they have chosen and on his or her period, including the political, cultural and social structures of the time, as well as a detailed study of the fabrics, materials, patterns and characteristics for the age. The students then spend the first term recreating this historical costume down to the smallest details, including underwear, accessories, hair and make-up. This rather time-consuming technical assignment prepares the student for the work they will have to do during the next two terms, in which the emphasis lies on the more creative aspects of the main assignment, which is: the creation of an ‘avant-garde’ fashion collection of five silhouettes. This consists of drawing and making complete outfits and selecting colours and materials, inspired by the research carried out in the first term.

The drawing course covers two specific subjects: the history of dress from the Renaissance to the present, and modelling/ draping. In this course the students acquire the skill of modelling and draping, working with materials directly on live models or dummies, without the aid of pencil and pattern paper. Not that the two disciplines are incompatible, quite on the contrary: by using materials to create forms and volumes directly, the students acquire a more direct knowledge of the art of tailoring, which they can then use in two-dimensional pattern drawing.

Seminars on shoemaking, millinery or glove-making and other projects add variety to the programme and may also be useful in the students’ later careers. Finally there are theoretical subjects: contemporary art, art history, philosophy, sociology and psychology.

3RD BACHELOR | Third-year students are required to present a collection of 8 silhouettes by the end of the year. This collection must be based on a preliminary study of either a European or a non-European culture. Again, the recreation of a typical costume or dress is seen as a necessary period of contemplation before starting to design the individual collection itself.

MASTERS | The final year is almost entirely devoted to the final collection which is to include a minimum of  12 silhouettes.

In this year, the students are expected to display a synthesis of all the skills and techniques they have acquired. The students are given complete freedom in selecting their source of inspiration: a favourite artist, a social or political question, a fascinating period in history. In order to have a fully-fledged all-round collection at the end of the year, the students have to start planning and designing very early on in the academic year.

Final-year students need to draw on all their organisational skills and plan everything well right from the start. The outcome is to be the crown on four years of hard work.
The final-year collections must reflect both the spirit of our times and the designer’s position with regard to prevailing trends.

The approaching reality of professional life means that students become preoccupied with practical questions. Therefore workshops are organised with fashion professionals throughout the year.