Fashion and Accessory Design

HEAD – Genève will launch a new masters program in Fashion and Accessory Design in fall 2012, the first of its kind in Switzerland*.

The program is aimed at students and young professionals from Switzerland and abroad who are active in the field of fashion and accessories (i.e. clothing and accessories in the broadest sense: jewelry, watches, eyewear, “personal equipment†, etc.) or related disciplines.

The course will center on design projects which are intended for the human body and focused on issues about individual identity and social position, activities and needs, as well as, more generally, lifestyle and zeitgeist. The reinforcement and development of the designer’s creative skills through the appropriation of his or her own stylistic language, idiom and universe are at the heart of this program. On completing the course, the designer should be able to translate these elements into collections and productions that respond to current or future social issues, and apply them in a variety of contexts.

In-depth product knowledge and technical skills enable designers to develop a general mastery of the design, production and sales processes. Creativity has become a driving force of competitive advantage and success on globalised markets. By incorporating training in the interrelated skills in the fields of design and artistic direction, this master’s program responds to the demands of this context. It trains creatives to assume management positions in the fashion and accessories sector (design – production – sales, marketing, communication, product positioning). Their strength lies in their capacity to adapt their creativity to market trends, that is a cooperative and systematic creativity which spans the process of conception, design, production, distribution, and communication.

The aim of the program is to train innovative creatives who are able to provide new aesthetic impulses as independent designers at the head of their own labels or of creative studios, as well as artistic directors within established brands and labels.

This master’s major is part of the Master of Arts HES-SO in Design offered by HEAD – Genève and ECAL – Lausanne. The program includes several interdisciplinary modules which are provided jointly by the two universities.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The program is organised in three types of modules:

1. A studio/laboratory devoted to specific areas of teaching and the development of a Fashion Design or Accessory Design project (30 ECTS)
2. Optional theoretical and technical classes (30 ECTS)
3. A theoretical and practical Master thesis (30 ECTS)

Teaching languages: French with additional contributions in English

Duration: Four semesters, October 2012 – June 2014

Credits: 90 ECTS

Qualification awarded: Master of Arts HES-SO in Design, major Fashion and Accessory Design

Cost of studies: 500 Swiss francs per semester

Programme and Aims (PDF - 103.6 kb)

ADMISSIONS

Required qualifications: Higher education Bachelors degree (HES, Higher education college or university) or equivalent training

Deadline for application: 8 May 2013
Interviews: 3 – 7 June 2013
Start of the academic year: 16 September 2013

Information about admission requirements and procedures:
Haute école d’art et de design – Genève
Bureau de la scolarité du domaine Design
Boulevard James-Fazy 15
CH – 1201 Genève
T +41 22 388 51 03
F +41 22 388 51 59
lise-marine.benhassel@hesge.ch