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About the course

The four-year bachelor course Fashion Design, a component of the faculty Art & Design at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, has a long and illustrious history. The department of Fashion Design and Fashion Illustration was founded in 1953 by Dutch fashion legend Elly Lamaker, and despite its humble beginnings, soon established its rightful place in the eyes of existing visual art institutes, the fashion industry, and comparable international design programmes. The fashion programme of ArtEZ Art & Design Arnhem continues to set the standard for education to this day.

Since that time, the Fashion Design department at ArtEZ has continuously thrived. A highly skilled team of more than 20 lecturers stands ready to share their expertise with the 100-plus students, both local and international. There are two freshmen classes with 20 students each, and class sizes in the subsequent years vary between 20 and 25 students. 

In 2011, ArtEZ Fashion Design Arnhem was distinguished with the prestigious Grand Seigneur, the highest accolade within the Dutch fashion industry, granted in honour of more than 50 years of groundbreaking and innovative fashion education presented at the highest level. The department was accredited by the Dutch government (NVAO) in 2014, and was appraised as Excellent

ArtEZ Fashion Design Arnhem is rightly renowned both within the Netherlands and abroad, and there is a long list of former students who have gone on to build outstanding, successful professional careers. Arnhem’s fashion students regularly win coveted Dutch and international prizes, and 'Arnhemmers' can be found working in all segments of the industry.  

Objectives

The primary goal of the Fashion Design programme at ArtEZ Arnhem is to provide students with a high quality bachelor level training and education in order to prepare them to enter the industry of fashion design.

Key concepts are the development of creativity, originality, a feeling for current issues, a critical and analytical capacity, the building of essential skills, and developing the appropriate work discipline necessary to be able to function optimally within the professional field, either as an independent designer or in a team environment within a company.  

In order to achieve the desired level of quality, the department maintains a clear structure, and studies are divided into a foundation phase and a secondary phase. During the propaedeutic foundation phase – in the first and second years – assignments are geared at breaking down entrenched and clichéd ideas about fashion, and students will become acquainted with design methods. The shaping of each individual’s unique formation of ideas is stimulated, and understanding is explored in both the arts and theoretical knowledge relating to the profession. In the third and fourth years, students go deeper towards the development of an individual signature. Students also take crucial steps towards the professional practice by means of the collective design project Collectie Arnhem for third year students, an internship outside the academy, and by learning how to design coherent collections, all important steps on the way towards graduation.

Students are encouraged to participate in both Dutch and internationally recognized fashion competitions such as: Lichting in the Netherlands, Hyères in France, the H&M Design Award in Sweden, the Redress Design Award and the International Youth Design Competition in China, Designblok Prague in the Czech Republic, the ITS and the Mittelmoda Fashion Award in Italy, and the Apolda European Design Award in Germany. This gives the students the chance to see how they measure up to young designers from renowned fashion institutes at a global level, and also provides an opportunity of presenting themselves to the international press and professional public. The department of Fashion Design of ArtEZ Arnhem’s continuity, recognition and international reputation and position are also strengthened in this way. 

The academic programme

Fashion Design at ArtEZ is a four-year Bachelor programme at the Higher Vocational Education (HBO) level. Developing student’s creativity takes a prominent place within the course, followed by the development of craftsman-like and practical skills, and theoretical knowledge. Each year, the regular academic schedule is supplemented by several weeks of studio workshops where students are encouraged to implement their designs. The academic year is divided into two semesters. This course is characterized by a large number of contact hours, especially in the first two years.  Much study time is spent within the academy, creating an opportunity for indispensable, intensive dialogue with both faculty and fellow students. 

The four years of study follow roughly the following form:

First year: Learning and unlearning
Experimental design assignments are included to break down entrenched patterns of thinking and promote each student's personal and original forming of ideas. There is a first acquaintance with visual arts subjects in general and with fashion in particular. Courses include: Experimental Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Figure Drawing, Textiles, Visual Grammar, Pattern Drawing, Production, Computer Skills, Fashion Theory and Art Theory. 

Second year: The foundation of professional skills
In the second year, the emphasis is on the broadening of professional knowledge and the learning of skills specific to the profession. Courses include: Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Print Design, Publicity, Photographic Image, Pattern Drawing, Production, Textiles, Computer Skills, Fashion Theory and Art Theory. In addition a number of clinics are organized in the second year: these are meetings with specialized professionals, designed to provide information on the various professional specialisations. This is a very intensive year, with even more contact hours than in the first year. A study load of sixty hours a week or more is not uncommon.

Third year: Coming into contact with professional practices
The first semester has a full programme, with lessons in Fashion Design, Fashion Illustration, Machine Knitting, Pattern Drawing, Moulage, and Collectie Arnhem: a design project in which the third-year students design a collection together, which they then sample, style and present. This project culminates in a fashion show, organized and designed by the students themselves and presented to a professional public end of January. In addition, the students are also required to write an Art Theory thesis. In the second semester, all students complete an internship lasting a minimum of three months, either in the Netherlands or abroad. The third year concludes with an intensive design workshop. In this, the experiences gained during Collectie Arnhem and the internship are brought together.   

Fourth year: Final graduation year
The fourth year is completely devoted to the development of the student's own unique signature style, and to the final completion of studies. The final, graduating year is closely supervised by a team of lecturers in fashion design, materials and print, technique, presentation and portfolio, and theory. In addition to the permanent faculty team, external experts also take part in the process of creating and evaluating the final graduation project. In the fourth year the students make a choice between two specializations, either Fashion Design 3-D or Fashion Design 2-D, depending on their personal talent, interests and ambitions, using the experiences gained during their internship (second semester of the third year of study) and at the advice of the supporting team of department lecturers.
 

Team of teachers

Matthijs Boelee Head of department
Alieke Broekhuizen Coordinator

Wendy Barten Instructor
Matthijs Boelee Fashion Design
Melanie Bomans Fashion Design
Anne Bosman Fashion Design
Alieke Broekhuizen Collectie Arnhem
Nemo Cheminée Experimental Design
Elsien Gringhuis Fashion Design
Ratna Ho Textiles
Anya Janssen Model Drawing
Hanneke Kamphuis Textiles | Print Design
Sunanda Koning Instructor
Eva Kramer Art Theory | Fashion Theory | Research
Kees de Klein Publicity | Photographic Image
Karina Lennards Pattern Drawing | Production
Jasiek Mischke Visual Grammar
Rachid Naas Show Production
Johannes Offerhaus Collectie Arnhem
Kevin Pleiter Machine Knitting
Melanie Rozema Fashion Design
Magda Saarloos Internship
Rolf Schoeber Computerskills
Machteld Schouten Fashion Illustration | Presentation
Stephanie Schuitemaker Collectie Arnhem
Rixt van der Tol Pattern Drawing | Production | Moulage
Gönül Yigit Instructor

Admission

Application
Apply for the ArtEZ Fashion Design BA course in Arnhem in Studielink.

Admission requirements
HAVO (Higher General Secondary Education), VWO (Advanced Secondary Education), Gymnasium (Advanced Secondary Education including Latin and/or Greek), or an equivalent foreign diploma.

Admission examination (online only!)
After applying for the admission procedure, you will take the entrance examination by sending your digital portfolio and home assignment. Your digital work (send in as PDF) as well as the filled in questionnaire will be assessed by a team of teachers on whether Fashion is the right course for you and whether you have sufficient talent and motivation to succeed in the course.

Upon receiving your documents, the teaching team of the Fashion Design BA program will first assess the quality of your work in conjunction with your motivation. If your work meets all the requirements, you will be invited to an online admission interview with two teachers.

We assess on:
1) Your creative ability to express yourself visually, drawing skills, understanding of and feel for colour, form and material, and the authenticity expressed by your work. 
2) Your motivation and ability to communicate. To what extent are you able to share your fascination and inspiration through image and motivation in the questionnaire. 
3) Your ability to reflect critically on images. Here we will be looking for an inquiring and experimental attitude, curiosity and a genuine interest in contemporary art and design practice.

There are two admission rounds, one in March, the other in April.

If you have any questions you can contact us at toelatingenartdesign.arnhem [at] artez.nl

Language Requirements
Starting in the 2016-2017 academic year, English will be the official language within the faculty of Art & Design; this means that the department will be offering bilingual education, in both English and Dutch. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, all students (both Dutch and international) must fulfil the English requirements of IELTS level 5.5. Dutch students with a HAVO (Higher General Secondary Education), VWO or Gymnasium level diploma automatically fulfil this requirement, but this does not apply to students with an MBO-4 level. International students whose native language is English, or those whose entire secondary education was in English also meet the language requirement automatically, as well as other international students whose diploma indicates that they have achieved the IELTS 5.5 level.

Further information concerning the language requirements is available at the Department of Student Affairs of ArtEZstudentenzaken [at] artez.nl ( )