2025/26 entry
MA Fashion Innovation and Realisation
About this course
LJMU's Fashion Innovation MA provides a thorough understanding of industry design, technology and commercial practice within the fashion industry.
- Expand your knowledge of fashion design or communication, and contribute to the wider field of fashion through research-based critical work.
- Develop innovative fashion practice through guidance from academics, businesses and industry entrepreneurs
- Work within an interdisciplinary, flexible and modular programme of study
- Develop your work in state-of-the-art workspaces and facilities
- Benefit from extensive networking and collaboration opportunities in fashion and related industries
- The 2022 Liverpool School of Art and Design MA Online Degree Show
- View and engage with work produced by masters students from the Liverpool School of Art & Design
LJMUs Fashion Innovation & Realisation MA is a programme with collaborative practice and discovery at its core. The programme aims to recruit Home and International students who are ready to challenge the fashion industry socially, ethically, culturally and politically forming individual project proposals which define existing practice and broaden its scope and ambition by addressing real-world issues which extend beyond graduation. Students from both traditional fashion design and communication undergraduate programmes as well as those who have undergraduate qualifications in non-traditional subjects, but have a real passion for fashion are equally encouraged to apply. It is this diverse cohort which provides the rich postgraduate community within LJMU.
The programme aims to raise awareness of practical applications within fashion, and introduce students to resources and workshops which can provide the platform necessary for innovation and the realisation of individual practice and self-initiated project/s. The MA is designed to develop real world skills and establish which area of fashion students wish to focus on as the programme progresses. This allows students to explore Fashion, Innovation and Realisation project briefs in unexpected forms. The MA also aims to outline research which is happening in transdisciplinary areas, and to develop research skills and relevant approaches to practice as well as the critical techniques required to support students final project. Students will, be expected to develop a personal practice that challenges traditional perspectives within fashion disciplines, whilst at the same time engaging with internal and/or external partners. A particular emphasis will, be placed on acquiring and developing existing skills and to provide opportunities to enhance and apply them within an appropriate fashion context.
Read about a recent MA student's experience in establishing her credentials in the sustainable fashion industry
Alongside the current Fashion Innovation and Realisation staff the MA will introduce key industry partners and collaborators of international reputation via the LJMU Luminary Lecture series and UG visiting speaker programme. There will also be a number of opportunities to collaborate with students and staff from the Schools other MAs in Art in Science, Fine Art, Graphic Design & Illustration, Urban Design and Exhibition Studies, particularly during two modules shared by all the postgraduate taught programmes. Learning takes place predominantly through the creative and critical exploration of research focused Fashion Innovation and Realisation projects where the programme will encourage you to work across other disciplines and reflect on previous practice to offer fresh perspectives. Tutorials, seminars and workshops will take place in the John Lennon Art & Design Building (JLADB); a RIBA award winning Art School in the heart of Liverpools Knowledge Quarter. You will benefit from state-of-the-art workspaces and facilities, as well as external key partnerships with Tate Liverpool, Biennial, FACT and cultural organisations such as; Walker Art Gallery, Bluecoat, Baltic and Fabric District.
Additional funding is available for this programme via the Susan Cotton Travel Award and the Michael Pugh Thomas and Julia Carter Preston Legacy postgraduate study awards.
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Hear from our students
Hear from two recent graduates who talk about their experiences studying on this unique MA in fashion.
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Mihaela's story
Mihaela Giuiu chose to study at LJMU because the course is focused on innovation and encourages collaborations. She thinks collaborations are important and through the course wanted to explore wear...
Fees and funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students
Fees
The fees quoted at the top of this page cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as:
- library membership with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources
- access to programme-appropriate software
- library and student IT support
- free on-campus wifi via eduroam
Additional costs
Although not all of the following are compulsory/relevant, you should keep in mind the costs of:
- accommodation and living expenditure
- books (should you wish to have your own copies)
- printing, photocopying and stationery
- PC/laptop (should you prefer to purchase your own for independent study and online learning activities)
- mobile phone/tablet (to access online services)
- field trips (travel and activity costs)
- placements (travel expenses and living costs)
- student visas (international students only)
- study abroad opportunities (travel costs, accommodation, visas and immunisations)
- academic conferences (travel costs)
- professional-body membership
- graduation (gown hire etc)
Funding
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages.
Please be aware that the UK’s departure from the EU may affect your tuition fees. Learn more about your fee status and which tuition fees are relevant to you.
Employability
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
Studying for a postgraduate research degree enhances your employability in a number of ways. It also enables you to focus on specific areas of interest and expand your subject knowledge ready for employment within a range of related sectors within the fashion industry, including freelance and self-employment. Alternatively, there is the option for further study at PhD level, or you could take up a teaching role.
"The Liverpool School of Art and Design provides a space for aspiring fashion professionals to evolve and apply their practice in a professionally relevant environment, technically equipped to produce fully formed, relevant and exciting creative contributions to industry."
Kayla Owens, Programme Leader
The student experience
Discover life as a postgraduate student at LJMU.
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Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
This course is currently undergoing its scheduled programme review, which may impact the advertised modules. Programme review is a standard part of the University’s approach to quality assurance and enhancement, enabling us to ensure that our courses remain up to date and maintain their high standard and relevancy.
Once the review is completed, this course website page will be updated to reflect any approved changes to the advertised course. These approved changes will also be communicated to those who apply for the course to ensure they wish to proceed with their application.
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
Core modules
Research and Practice 2 (Fashion Innovation and Realisation)
30 credits
This module builds on the Fashion Research Methods module and develops alongside the Masters Project module, to contextualize your individual programmes of study by demonstrating, through a written text, issues that underpin and impact on practice. Through in-depth research and writing, this module increases and elevates your knowledge of the fashion industry. It aims to:
- provide advanced awareness of historical and contemporary fashion through independent investigation
- enable you to conduct primary and secondary research on a range of related fashion business, market and entrepreneurship subjects
- promote professionalism in written outcomes with appropriate referencing and context
Research and Practice 1
30 credits
This module is shared by all students studying on taught postgraduate programmes at Liverpool School of Art and Design and allows you to collaborate across programmes.
- A series of lectures, seminars, tutorials and visits will introduce you to current and emerging practice in relation to a diverse range of historical, theoretical and critical principles
- Guest lecturers will expose you to areas of collaboration
- Seminars and tutorials will require you to share, discuss and evaluate your ideas and practice with others
Studio Practice (Fashion Innovation and Realisation)
30 credits
This module ensures that you develop creative and technical excellence in your aesthetic understanding of practical and creative practice. It aims to:
- support you in the sourcing and utilisation of appropriate materials and methodologies to create samples and trials in an appropriate format
- ensure you develop practical and critical skills that demonstrate creativity, individual languages and signatures
Major Project (Fashion Innovation and Realisation)
60 credits
The Final Project builds on the research carried out during semesters 1 and 2, and represents the culmination of your proposed plan to execute your final Masters project. It aims to:
- develop a comprehensive understanding of the synergy between relevant theory and professional practice
- support the in-depth development of an innovative, self-directed body of work appropriate to your selected specialism(s)
- support the exploration of entrepreneurial methods and contemporary industrial practices through product development, manufacture and flat design concepts
- develop your ability to communicate sophisticated aesthetic concerns and in-depth knowledge of a personally selected specialism, enhancing your capacity to engage in professional practice
Transdisciplinary Practice
30 credits
This module intends to promote in depth investigation into contemporary creative practices and provide, through the possibilities of transdisciplinary participation in live Institute of Art and Technology research projects, an understanding of the social, cultural and economic environment of the city.
Within the module, you will facilitate an engagement with cultural and regulatory institutions and organisations to enrich your experience of the professional environment of contemporary urban art and design.
Through key Institute of Art and Technology projects and partnerships, a range of transdisciplinary projects which challenge the notion of the interdisciplinary practice within the context of contemporary art & design, and which enable you to propose, plan, organise, publish and promote your work and research within the context of The Institute of Art and Design.
Teaching
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
The majority of teaching takes place on Monday and Tuesday, via a modular programme of study.
Teaching methods
This programme offers a blend of theory and practice. It will enable you to focus on your own specialist area of fashion, in disciplines such as communication, editorial, branding, campaign, trend prediction, retail solutions, photography, language, design, garment production, textiles and fabrication development. Teaching is individually tailored around each student. Weeks are divided between tutorials, seminars, studio supervisions and workshops.
Applied learning
The MA has been developed specifically to allow individuals to build relevant real-world projects which challenge and/or find solutions for issues within the broader field of fashion.
You will be encouraged to innovate through a series of self-initiated and taught components - including studio and collaborative practice - before completing a major project around your chosen specialism. You will also have opportunities to undertake field trips to further enhance your learning experience.
Assessment
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Assessment takes place via a variety of methods including, progress review, presentation, group critique, written and practical work. The high levels of seminar and tutorial contact allow for a considerable amount of formative assessment and feedback prior to the summative assessment for each module. Programme assessment seeks to replicate professional industry practices
Course tutors
Our staff are committed to the highest standards of teaching and learning
Kayla Owen
Programme Leader
Kayla is an Academic, Fashion Designer and PhD researcher who has worked in the fashion industry and academia for almost twenty years, both in the UK and abroad. She has designed and manufactured fashion collections, shown on catwalks and exhibited 2D and 3D work nationally and internationally. Most recently presenting a paper on Community ID at the Zonemoda 'Be Cool' Conference, Rimini, Italy.
As a PhD researcher, cross discipline aspects of materials, techniques and processes have been central to my work. I am currently working predominantly with leather and non-leather. Exploring the notion of €˜Second Skin: Deconstructing the Fashion Leather Aesthetic' investigating the interface between new advancements in leather production, developments in manufacture processes and the possible impact of these on the fashion leather aesthetic and the sub cultures that have emerged as a result.
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Professor
School facilities
What you can expect from your School
Liverpool School of art and Design is housed in the RIBA award winning John Lennon Art and Design Building in the Mount Pleasant Campus and offers extensive studio spaces, lecture theatres and a dedicated public exhibition space.
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
- a minimum 2:1 in an arts or fashion industry-related subject
Additional requirements
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Interview required
- to attend a Teams interview during which you will provide evidence of your learning capability, study opportunity and commitment to postgraduate study.
We recommend applications are submitted by July to allow sufficient time for these to be considered and for interviews to be arranged before the programme commences. Applications will however be considered up until the end of August.
International requirements
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IELTS
- IELTS English language requirement: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each component)
Further information
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Extra Requirements
- a reference
- a satisfactory portfolio of work - please note we are unable to consider your application until this is received. When applying please attach a PDF portfolio containing 5 images of your own recent artworks. Images must be professionally labelled with details of media, dimensions, date, and title. Artworks made more than 3 years ago may be included if these relate to a direction you wish to focus on during postgraduate study.
If you do not provide a portfolio at the point of application, you will be contacted to submit this to our attachment upload facility.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
- RPL is accepted on this programme
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RPL
- RPL is accepted on this programme
Application and selection
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
The application and selection process for each programme depends on its exact requirements and how these requirements are most effectively assessed. You will find the specific information you need for this course below.
You need to demonstrate that you have a sufficient level of knowledge to embark on the programme (including the required linguistic competence) and to complete it within the time limits. You should provide evidence, at the interview stage, of your learning capabilities and commitment to a postgraduate programme of study.
Applications from non-standard applicants are welcomed. In exceptional circumstances applications by mature fashion practitioners without sufficient qualifications will be considered.
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.