Fashion Design Portfolio for 15 - 17 Year Olds
- Level(s) of Study: Short course
- Course Fee:
£525
- Start Date(s): 28 July 2025, 4 August 2025
- Duration: Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, one week
- Study Mode(s): Part-time
- Campus: City Campus
- Entry Requirements: More information
Introduction:
Course dates:
28 July - 1 August 2025, Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm
4 - 8 August 2025, Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm
Nottingham is famous for its fashion industry, being the home of international designer Paul Smith and a host of innovative boutique stores.
And NTU students have been winning awards at all the major fashion competitions for many years.
So why not become part of the creative action and develop your fashion knowledge and portfolio on our annual summer course, perfect for the next generation of fashion designers?
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You’ll be part of a design community in our creative studio culture; one that promotes discussion and collaboration, and encourages experimentation and the constant swapping of ideas. -
With a limited class size you'll have the one-to-one attention you need to ensure you leave with the skills to continue developing your portfolio. -
Benefit from learning with an experienced tutor who has established links to the profession and significant experience working in varied practices. -
On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance.
Doing your Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential Award?
This course can count as your Gold DofE Residential Award and is an amazing opportunity to make new friends and memories. It will be fun and gently challenging, allowing you to follow your passion and discover talents you never knew you had.
DofE participants must book both the course and accommodation on campus for this to count towards your Gold Award.
You must also attend the social events that are planned on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and you must plan and attend your own social activities with other participants on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Here's what our previous attendees have said:
'I just wanted to say a big thank you, my daughter had an amazing week, on both the course and making new friends in the accommodation. The course has given her the confidence to consider applying for a design course in the future.'
'Amazing course, learnt a lot whilst having fun.'
'I have learnt lots of skills which I would not have otherwise learnt, which will be very helpful for my studies now and in the future.'
'I chose this course as I wanted to further my fashion design portfolio, the tutor was fantastic.'
'I really enjoyed learning in a university environment.'
'I’m thinking of studying fashion in the future, possibly at university so I knew I needed to improve my portfolio skills as it’s needed to get in. I’ve left with a good understanding of how to create a portfolio and being sure that fashion is an area I would like to go into.'
'I’ve learnt the fashion design process and I know how to replicate it into another project to extend my portfolio.'
What you’ll study
On this course you'll learn how to create fashion concepts, taking your designs from an initial idea and sketch to a developed garment.
During this course you will:
- develop your personal approach to fashion concept development
- research themes and trends and apply them to your work
- explore fashion ideas in 2D and 3D
- learn how to create contemporary fashion illustrations
- experiment with draping fabric on a mannequin to create contemporary fashion forms
- produce a garment using unconventional, second hand materials.
By the end of the course you'll have a portfolio of new drawings and designs, plus examples of working in 3D.
You'll have real hands-on experience of what it's like to be a fashion student at university, and an understanding of what admissions tutors are looking for. It's ideal if you're looking to progress into fashion design, accessory design or costume.
Social events
We appoint NTU Student Ambassadors who host social events on Monday and Wednesday evening to help you make friends across the whole of our summer school programme for 15 – 17 year olds, which are free to attend.
Here's an overview of what you'll cover each day:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Concept development for Fashion: Using provided research imagery, you will pull together a concept and create your own concept board as your inspirational starting point for the week’s projects.
- Figure template development: You will learn how to create your very own fashion figure template, creating a variety of poses ready to sketch your designs on to this week.
- Design using collage: Using your concept imagery, you will create design ideas using contemporary collage techniques. You will create a set of designs based on your concept.
- Repurposing workshop: Utilising the second-hand garments, you have bought in, you will learn how to create new silhouettes as a unique design starting point. You will document your creations using photography and illustration methods.
- Draping on the stand workshop: Using calico, you will learn how to drape on the stand to create contemporary design ideas, and you will document your ideas through photography and illustration.
- 2D design from stand work: In this workshop you will learn how to create design ideas from your stand work, by using collage methods and developing design sketches to create a collection of 6 looks based on your concept
- Paper Body adornment workshop: In this workshop, you will be working in 3D to create a garment form of body adornment that can be worn.
- Paper body adornment workshop and photo shoot: You will photograph your paper body adornment on location, creating some great content for your portfolio.
- Portfolio Creation: Utilising all the mini projects that you have created this week, you will create your own portfolio, and discuss what Universities are looking for in a portfolio.
Student Work
How you’re taught
This course will be delivered in person on Nottingham Trent University city campus.
96% of previous course attendees were satisfied with the course, received the attention they needed and would consider doing another short course at NTU.
Contact hours
You will receive 25 contact hours of quality tuition with an experienced tutor.
Careers and employability
The course is designed to give you a real experience of university life, make new friends who share similar interests and develop your portfolio so that ultimately, you can make an informed decision about your future.
On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance, which will further enhance your CV.
After completing this course you might think about progress to or studying one of our undergraduate courses:
Campus and facilities
You will be based in the School of Art and Design on the City Campus.
You will have access to an excellent range of facilities and equipment in the fashion studios, with industry-standard fashion tables, professional mannequins, and space to work on your hand-drawn designs.
You’ll also have access to our library to use outside of your short course; whilst you can’t reserve or take away books, you are welcome to use them as a resource for research and referencing.
Entry requirements
Level: Open to all
Entry requirement: You should have an enthusiasm for fashion and an interest in developing your creative and technical skills.
You must be 15, 16 or 17 years old at the time of the course in order to attend.
Fees and funding
The fee for this course is £525.
Payment is due at the time of booking.
Secure your place with a deposit - If you're booking more than two months before the course starts, we can accept a £200 deposit to secure your place, and the balance is due one month before the course starts.
Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include great benefits such as the use of our modern library and free use of the IT equipment and software on the campus during your course.
Please bring with you on the first day:
- A3 size sketchbook
- Camera plus usb cable for exporting images and printing
- Coloured pencils and fine liner pens
- Basic set of watercolour painting and brushes
- Pritt-stick glue
- Stapler and plenty of staples
- One pack of letraset (or similar) sticky letters
- Dressmaking pins and safety pins
- A couple of fashion magazines for inspiration and tearing
- You should also bring five items of old clothes for a garment recycling workshop. You can go to the local vintage or second hand shop and pick up items for £1. You should bring a variety, including old jeans or trousers, a men's shirt, a long, lined skirt or dress - whatever inspires you from the rails.
Please note that lunch is not provided, so bring your packed lunch or money to buy food. The city centre, with plenty of cafés and grocery shops, is just a 5-minute walk away. You can also check which campus buildings have café outlets using MazeMap.
If you want to do some pre-course research, you can look at:
- Fashion Designers Sketchbooks by Hywell Davies
- New Icons of Fashion Illustration by Tony Glenville
- artsthread.com
- 1granary.com
- issu.com
Read our booking terms and conditions.
Need accommodation?
Accommodation can be booked separately to the course; the rooms are only a few minutes’ walk from our studios and classrooms, and cost £259 per week, which is ideal if you're looking to be based in Nottingham's lively city centre and want an economical place to stay.
These are single rooms with a private bathroom in shared apartments in Nottingham Trent University’s city campus accommodation.
If you're aged 16 or 17 then you can stay unaccompanied with agreement from a parent/guardian (to support safeguarding, all guests aged 16 and 17 will be accommodated together in the same halls of residence and there is a dedicated Warden available).
If you're aged 15 then you can stay as long as you are accompanied by a parent/guardian (you must book two separate rooms and let us know so we can place you in rooms next to each other).
This option is particularly popular with students completing their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential Award.
Find out more and book your accommodation here.
Looking to turn your one-week course into a two-week experience?
If you can match this with any second course, you’ll receive a 10% refund on your course fees (email the short course team with your order number to claim the refund).
How to apply
You can book this course via the NTU online store:
28 July - 1 August 2025, Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm
4 - 8 August 2025, Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm
Browse all our summer courses for 15 – 17 year olds.
Any questions?
Contact the short course team:
Email: creativeshortcourses@ntu.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2813