What Is A Level Fashion & Textiles?

Choosing your A Level subjects can feel daunting, especially when you’re not exactly sure what a subject involves. 

If you enjoyed GCSE Design & Technology or if you simply have a passion for fashion, A Level Fashion & Textiles might be the right choice for you.

This article will guide you through what A Level Fashion & Textiles is, how it’s assessed, and future pathways it can open up.

Key Takeaways

• A Level Fashion & Textiles is a creative subject focused on fashion, clothing and design

• A Level Fashion & Textiles has two core components: technical principles and designing and making principles 

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of written papers and a non-exam assessment (NEA)

• A Level Fashion & Textiles is best suited to creative, hands-on learners who love clothing and fashion

What is A Level Fashion & Textiles All About?

A Level Fashion & Textiles is all about creativity, design, and making. It blends theoretical study with practical skills, allowing you to explore fashion design, textile techniques, and the cultural significance of clothing and fabrics.

It is part of A Level Design & Technology, a qualification designed to equip learners with real-world skills – especially in creative industries (opens in a new tab).

Consider the clothes you wear every day. Each item is designed and manufactured in a multi-step process. A Level Fashion & Textiles outlines exactly what this process entails, and its practical element even involves you in it directly.

What Will You Study in A Level Fashion & Textiles?

The three main exam boards offering A Level Fashion & Textiles are AQA (opens in a new tab), Eduqas (opens in a new tab), and OCR (opens in a new tab).

While the specific content for each exam board differs, A Level Fashion & Textiles covers the following two core themes:

Technical Principles

• What you’ll learn

  • Materials and their applications

  • Performance characteristics of materials

  • Methods of joining and use of components

  • The use of finishes

  • Enhancement of materials

  • Modern industrial and commercial practice

  • Digital design and manufacture

  • Requirements for textile and fashion design and development

  • Health and safety

  • Protecting designs and intellectual property

  • Design for manufacturing, maintenance, repair and disposal

  • Feasibility studies

  • Enterprise and marketing in the development of products

  • Design communication

• Skills you’ll develop

  • Primary and secondary research from a variety of sources, e.g. libraries, fashion shows and magazines

  • Analysis of data obtained from testing, 

  • Problem-solving with respect to the needs, wants and values of users

  • Visual communication of your designs

Designing and Making Principles

• What you’ll learn 

  • Design methods and processes

  • Design theory

  • How technology and cultural changes can impact on the work of designers

  • Accuracy in design and manufacture

  • Responsible design

  • Design for manufacture

  • National and international standards in product design

• Skills you’ll develop

  • Critical analysis

  • Evaluation

  • Selecting appropriate tools, equipment and processes

  • Project management

How is A Level Fashion & Textiles Assessed?

The table below compares how A Level Fashion & Textiles is assessed by AQA, Eduqas and OCR:

What Skills Will You Gain?

A Level Fashion & Textiles offers a range of transferable, practical skills, including the following:

• Creative

  • Generating original ideas 

  • Producing creative solutions to design challenges

• Technical

  • Hands-on experience with sewing, pattern cutting, printing, dyeing, and embellishment

• Visual Communication 

  • Expressing ideas through sketches, mood boards, and technical drawings

• Research

  • Investigating fashion movements 

  • Analysing designer work

• Problem-Solving

  • Working out how to turn designs into reality 

  • Troubleshooting issues

• Project Management 

  • Planning long-term projects 

  • Meeting deadlines

These skills are useful for undergraduate degrees in Fashion Design (opens in a new tab), creative careers in the fashion industry, and any role requiring creativity and attention to detail.

Who Should Take A Level Fashion & Textiles?

This A Level is ideal if you

• Love fashion, clothing, and textiles

• Enjoy practical, hands-on subjects where you make things

• Are creative and like expressing yourself through design

• Want to develop professional-level making skills

• Think you might study fashion, textiles, or design at university

While prior experience with textiles isn’t always needed (opens in a new tab), subjects like GCSE DT and Art & Design provide very useful foundations for this subject. In fact, New City College (opens in a new tab) lists GCSE Art & Design among its entry requirements.

Check with your school or college to clarify any specific entry requirements they might have for A Level Fashion & Textiles.

What Can A Level Fashion & Textiles Lead To?

With its blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application, A Level Fashion & Textiles can open up a range of further study options and career pathways.

Further Study Options

A Level Fashion & Textiles is valued highly by universities, especially for the following courses:

• Fashion Design

• Textile Design

• Fashion Marketing and Management

• Costume Design

• Fashion Communication

• Surface Pattern Design

Career Pathways

With the UK fashion industry alone being worth nearly £21 billion (opens in a new tab), A Level Fashion & Textiles provides you with genuinely marketable skills that can be used in different industries and roles. Here are just some:

• Fashion Designer

• Textile Designer

• Costume Designer

• Fashion Stylist

• Pattern Cutter

• Fashion Buyer

• Fashion Illustrator

• Sustainable Fashion Specialist

Is A Level Fashion & Textiles Hard?

While A Level Fashion & Textiles can be very rewarding for the right kind of student, it does pose challenges.

One student described the workload as especially “heavy” (opens in a new tab), admitting that they found it difficult to balance their time between this A Level and their other ones. The non-exam assessment in particular requires significant hours outside of lessons, so finding it difficult to dedicate equal time to your different subjects is understandable.

That being said, motivated students will enjoy getting stuck into an interesting and creative project. Developing time management skills will also make the A Level a lot more manageable.

It’s also worth noting that A Level Fashion & Textiles requires you to apply Key Stage 4 Maths and Science skills – for instance, confidently using numbers and percentages and knowing the physical properties of materials. If you found GCSE Maths and Science difficult, you may also find A Level Fashion & Textiles hard, but a willingness to persevere will help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there coursework or practical work in A Level Fashion & Textiles?

Yes! AQA, Eduqas and OCR all include a non-exam assessment worth 50% of your A Level. It is known as a ‘design and make’ or ‘iterative design’ project, and you’ll have to submit a portfolio of evidence for it.

Is A Level Fashion & Textiles useful for my future?

The skills you’ll gain from it – such as creative problem-solving, visual communication and project management – are transferable and useful in a variety of contexts.

Whether the subject content will be useful for your future depends on what your goals are. If you want to study Fashion and/or Textiles beyond A Level or work in a creative industry, it will be useful. If not, you might benefit more from studying a different A Level.

Is A Level Fashion & Textiles respected by universities?

Yes. Meghan Martin, a Fashion & Textiles teacher and an official outreach partner for an art and design university, has said that many of her students have gone straight to related degrees (opens in a new tab) at prestigious art and design universities without taking a foundation course.

Final Thoughts

A Level Fashion & Textiles is a highly practical subject with real-world application. While it’s especially well-suited for students who want to study fashion-related degrees or work in the fashion industry, its transferable skills will be useful in multiple different academic and workplace settings.

Think about your future goals and how or whether A Level Fashion & Textiles fits into that. Ask your school or college which exam board they use, check the content you’d be covering, and see if it sounds like something that would appeal to you.

References

• AQA A Level Fashion & Textiles (opens in a new tab)

• British Fashion Council (opens in a new tab)

• Complete University Guide (opens in a new tab)

• Eduqas A Level Fashion & Textiles (opens in a new tab)

• OCR A Level Fashion & Textiles (opens in a new tab)

• OCR: A Level Design and Technology Factsheet (opens in a new tab)

• OCR: Why study A Level Fashion and Textiles: shaping future creatives (opens in a new tab)

• New City College: Fashion and Textiles (A Level) (opens in a new tab)

• Queen Mary’s College: Fashion and Textiles A Level (opens in a new tab)

• The Student Room (opens in a new tab)