A-Level textile design encourages students to work with a wide variety of skills and processes across the fields of textiles, fashion and interiors. This includes printed textiles, constructed textiles, embroidery, fashion construction, weaving and fabric manipulation. Learners are introduced to different techniques which they are then able to develop into personal final work. This can be clearly seen within the variety of imaginative outcomes produced this year.
Learners are encouraged to explore both historical and contemporary techniques and processes and to support their work with research into a range of suitable artists, designers, and trends. They are prepared for industry or Higher Education and all the learners from this year are continuing by pursuing degrees, employment or progressing onto the art foundation diploma course here at Dudley College.
I hope that you find the work inspiring. I am very proud of what the learners have achieved this year.
Clare Buchanan, A level Textile Design Tutor
Anmolprit Kaur
Through my project I explored the theme of spring contrasting with the season of winter. I looked at how the season of spring is slowly disappearing due to the climate change as the transition of the weather is starting to go from the cold winter weathers to the humid summer temperatures skipping the warmth of spring.
To develop this idea, I wanted to look at a form of ‘solution’ to this by creating a garment suitable for both winter and spring weathers by utilizing layers of thinner fabrics combined with thicker fabrics and colours of spring to showcase this. Moreover, by creating different layered garments which can be easily added and taken off the garments would be functional in both weathers.
Erin McCabe
Eve Oram
This project is themed around jellyfish and inspired by their vibrant colours and patterns. The piece is a 3-piece set including a skirt inspired by the body of a jellyfish, slash and stitch arm cuffs and a beaded top with smocked/ stitched fabric inside.
The patterns on the skirt are inspired by pollution and include bubbles made from a paper straw, dyed bubble wrap under a heat press and dyed string. The inside of the skirt was stuffed with recycled plastic bags. The outer layer of the skirt is made from organza which shines which reflects different colours in the sun mimicking neon jellyfish.
Gracie Roberts
For this project I explored the use of recycled materials, experimenting with ways of reusing and upcycling to promote ideas of sustainable fashion and more thoughtful design. I used a combination of everyday recyclables like plastic bags mixed with old clothes, of which I focused on my use of denim, sourced from old jeans.
For this I was inspired by the ethos of Maison Margiela’s spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection, where designer John Galliano created and used a concept he termed “recicla”, which focuses on giving garments a new life through restorative design, each item in the collection was created from second-hand garments.
I was also inspired by the silhouette and use of raw weaved edges from Viktor and Rolf’s “vagabond” collection from autumn/winter 2016, in this collection they used scrap fabrics from past collections and worked them together in a new way.
experimented with various techniques to combine as many scraps of fabric as possible, focusing on maximising my use of materials and ensuring my project was entirely zero waste, I concluded by using weaving as well as taking inspiration from the creation of rag-rugs and using both within my final piece.
Mya Lee Round
My topic for component 2 was faces and I worked round the inspiration from famous pop artists such as Roy Lichenstein.
My piece is to overall show women empowerment by featuring girly expressions and symbolism. I worked off images I took to create the printing screens and therefore it allowed me to personalise my own work whilst adding key symbols of pop art into them.
Arwen Wilson
I was attracted to the themes of ‘Make Do and Mend’ and the historical context of the usage of the phrase. After a visit to The Imperial War Museum in London I was further inspired by a book, written during World War Two, of tips on how to care for clothing. Using free-machine embroidery techniques, I incorporated some of the text from the book into my own work.
I also researched traditional patchwork techniques and experimented with a range of mixed media such as rust dye, teabags dipped in wax, and stitched paper. For my final piece I decided to focus on everyday domestic items, an apron, oven glove and peg bag. A washing line seemed a fitting way of connecting and displaying these everyday items.
Finally, I felt it was important to use materials that were upcycled or readily available at home, therefore, I combined vintage fabrics from charity shops with teabags and old dress-making patterns and used tea, coffee, red wine and rust to add subtle colour to the fabrics.
This year our BTEC L2 Art and Design Skills students have worked in a diverse range of projects, exploring creative disciplines such as photography, textiles, ceramics, print making and 3D. Learners have also had the opportunity to take part in live competitions and events, including Dudley Remembers and The Dudley young photographer of the year.
This year our BTEC Diploma in Art and Design Practice Level 3 students have worked in a diverse range of projects, exploring creative disciplines such as photography, ceramics, print making and 3D. Learners have also had the opportunity to take part in live competitions and events, including Dudley Remembers and The Dudley young photographer of the year.
The work on show here is just a snapshot of some of the work produced over the past two years. While our students are taught digital skills, they also learn traditional art and design skills in order to develop a broad portfolio of art and design for their progression onto higher education.
Some of our recent students have gone on to study at degree level in subject areas such as visual communication or graphic design, but also illustration, animation, fashion illustration, automotive design, architecture, interior architecture, jewellery design, digital media, and many other creative pathways.
Over the past few months all our students who made university applications were accepted (as usual), and generally on their first choice. Some have chosen to begin their studies at degree level, and others have decided to stay on at Dudley College for a Foundation Year. Well done all – it’s been great working with you. Good luck for the future.
Paul Oldnall, graphics tutor
Ashani Allen
Ashani has recently created his first original typeface, Allen Sans, which you can download here. This was released on the 13th of June 2024 and developed over two weeks as part of an endeavoured college project.
He says: “Allen Sans is my first original typeface inspired by the very illustrious sans-serif forerunners such as Helvetica, Futura, Avant Garde Gothic and Gill Sans.
Allen Sans is open-source, meaning you are free to modify and redistribute the face if you so desire, but please credit this page as the original.
The face is absolutely free for commercial usage – including logo design, editorial design, advertising and all other applications of typography.
I hope you create beautiful pieces of work with this sans face, happy designing!”
Raphael Caparros
Pacific Vizion is a Filipino fashion brand that specialises in graphic representations representing the essence of the Philippines. My designs are inspired by the retro culture and urban landscapes. I aim to create a unique style that resonates with the spirit of the country, both accessible and approachable to a young, youthful audience who want fashion with personality.
Originating in the UK and being inspired by the fun, vibrant culture back home, Pacific Vizion is something I hope can be the canvas and foundation for something bigger and greater in the near future, starting from what was my Final Major Project in college.
Promoting my ethnic culture was a great way for me to differentiate myself from others around me as I was able to hone in on the familiarity and knowledge I had about my own country and its culture. This translated into fun, vibrant graphic outcomes which represents its cultural meaning in a more aesthetic and approachable way, which is through modern streetwear.
Overall I had a lot of fun developing this project from the ground up as it was something that I could easily relate to and something that me and my Filipino friends would be excited to see progress. I was very pleased with how this project turned out.
Unleash Your Creativity: Production Arts at Dudley College of Technology
Bring your imagination to life on our exciting Production Arts course! Develop the skills to thrive in the fast-paced world of film, television, and theatre.
This hands-on program provides a comprehensive foundation in:
Special Effects Makeup: Master techniques like prosthetics, body casting, and performance makeup. Set Design & Construction: Learn to create stunning and functional theatrical environments. Costume Design & Construction: Craft captivating costumes that bring characters to life.
From Concept to Curtain Call: The Scarlet Oak Project
Students had the incredible opportunity to work alongside professional puppeteers, developing and creating a series of short puppet shows based on classic fairy tales.
They dove deep into the creative process, participating in:
> Initial Design Stages: Brainstorming concepts, sketching character and set designs. > Construction: Building puppets, sets, and props. > Performance: Bringing the final productions to life.
This unique project allowed students to:
> Develop their technical skills in a practical setting. > Gain experience in collaborative teamwork. > Learn from industry professionals.
Are you passionate about bringing stories to life? Our Production Arts course is the perfect launchpad for your creative career.
A-Level textile design encourages students to work with a wide variety of skills and processes across the fields of textiles, fashion and interiors. This includes printed textiles, constructed textiles, embroidery, fashion construction, weaving and fabric manipulation. Learners are introduced to different techniques which they are then able to develop into personal final work. This can be clearly seen within the variety of imaginative outcomes produced this year.
Learners are encouraged to explore both historical and contemporary techniques and processes and to support their work with research into a range of suitable artists, designers, and trends. They are prepared for industry or Higher Education and all the learners from this year are continuing by pursuing degrees, employment or progressing onto the art foundation diploma course here at Dudley College.
I hope that you find the work inspiring. I am very proud of what the learners have achieved this year.
Clare Buchanan, A level Textile Design Tutor
Amii Cresswell-Stevens
Isabell Hignell
Olivia Hill
This collection of work is my response to the starting point of ‘decay’, where I took my own influence from zombies, mould and skeletons. I decided to take more of a ‘grotesque’ approach to my work, as I found that it allowed me to work closer with finer areas of texture and detail as well as working with quite a natural colour palette (though I did contrast this occasionally by incorporating green – I found this reinforced my influence from zombies.)
Throughout the project I prioritised working with texture-oriented techniques while trying to maintain quite a delicate and fragile type of aesthetic, I found that this worked well with my chosen combination of final techniques – aquafilm, embellishment and heat manipulation. Aquafilm has a delicate appearance and ability to be manipulated and easily layered amongst other things. Fabric manipulation, such as embellishing/tearing fabric worked well in my experimentation as I could work with how much texture and sheerness that I could provide. Using the heat gun on plastics would give a textured and destroyed appearance which I found emphasised my influence from zombies – I even dusted one of these samples with a green pigment.
For my final piece, I chose to make a top garment incorporating these three key techniques. I attempted to make the garment more structured by adding larger plastic samples across the waist of the garment and I layered aquafilm on-top of this. I also chose to add a shoulder strap of just aquafilm for a sheer but textured effect.
In September, I am going to study fashion textiles at The University of The West of England in Bristol.
Imamah Laraib
Banita Manak
This project was all about interiors as a starting point, I decided to take the route of the interiors of the body. By closely looking at the anatomy it allowed me to choose the right methods to show the complexities and how intricate these pieces that make up how delicate our bodies actually are. Throughout this project I had experimented with a wide range of techniques and towards the end I had chosen my favourite pieces and combined them together to make this final fashion piece, which is a compilation of the many ideas I had explored in this project.
Grace Steele
For this project I chose the theme “Decay” because I found it very inspiring and different from my earlier projects. I had many ideas for this project, but I decided to focus on architectural decay including rust and water damage.
Since I live in a deprived area, finding primary sources was not difficult. There were many buildings that I found interesting because of the decay and lack of upkeep. Although I chose to focus on architecture, for my final piece I created a fashion-based piece which consists of layering of different fabrics to create a distressed look. I think this is interesting because my original inspiration was Giles Deacons Fall 2012 collection which contains fashion pieces inspired by decay and burning. These dresses are interesting because of the colours scheme and the layering involved.
For this piece, I experimented with much more machine embroidery, slash & stitch, and knitting. I found this project to be the most inspiring I have created yet due to the variety of different techniques I was able to experiment with. My final piece was successful in creating the aesthetic I wanted to create so I am overall incredibly happy with the outcome.
Sarah Tavares
My final piece aims to reflect the decay of our society, but also the ghastly beauty behind it. Each tile is made to look distressed and torn away from the wall, symbolising that we as individuals are pulling away from what used to be the social norms, which can be perceived as a positive or negative movement.
On one hand, we are becoming a generation unlike any seen before, but we’re also pulling away from each other, sectioning off into groups and segregating ourselves from the rest of society. The red and brown threads also represent this pulling apart of society. The brown shows the material world that we are changing by doing so, the buildings destroyed by war, the cities levelled by hatred and the monuments built to commemorate them, but what good is a monument if nobody listens to what it’s trying to say?
The red thread represents the flesh that will always bind us, the unwavering truth that, at the end of the day, we are all human beings, and no amount of hatred and disgust can change that. That is what holds us together. The bold lettering and feminist logo are there to represent those brave enough to speak out through art and the risks they take by doing so, I can only hope to make as much of an impact on the minds of our decaying society as they do.
Daisy Williams
I wanted to explore how knitting could be manipulated to create a fashion garment in my piece. I was really inspired by the technique of knitting due to how it can behave with different wools and stitches. I focused heavily on the knitting machine which is an old fashioned and complex technical machine to create my top, which I found extremely interesting due to its various stitch styles.
Furthermore, in this exploration I focused on the use of the fair isle stitch, which originated in Scotland, because of how it allows you to create pieces of knit which are patterned in various colour combinations and styles. I specifically chose one geometric pattern and manipulated the colour and length in my piece, as I wanted to create an asymmetrical design without overwhelming the piece. I found that adding pleats in the knit helped break up the design and also add more dimension to the piece, furthermore, I found adding carefully placed holes and the use of crochet on the lower torso of the top added more texture.
Overall, I really enjoyed creating this piece as it was all decided by myself on where the segments joined together, how big they were and how each knitted part would have subtle differences compared to the next. Furthermore, I found that the colours and style were all cohesive. However if I was to add more I would include the crocheted pieces all around the bottom of the design, although I do think they are successful on their own.
Students have been engaged in the production of media content for skills development in Script Writing, Cinematography and Video Editing. They have researched, planned and produced videos for various projects, including exploring narrative themes and TV studio multi-camera productions. Students also undertook productions exploring emerging technologies in live web streaming.
The standard of work has been excellent, with students researching, writing and producing final project work including short film, music video and documentary. Productions have benefitted from students having access to TV studio facilities to enable advanced uses of lighting and cinematography.
The work produced this year shows genuine creativity and imaginative uses of industry standard resources.
Stuart McConnell, Lecturer in Media
YEAR ONE
Promo Videos
NICE Mobility Charity Promo Video
Watch the NICE Mobility Charity Promo Video Here
Think AI – Live TV Studio Stream Production
Watch the Think AI – Live TV Studio Stream Production Video Here
Documentary Videos
Seth Bate – Lament of a Box
Watch the Seth Bate – Lament of a Box Video Here
Emma Cammies – Allergies
Watch Emma Cammies – Allergies Video Here
Olivia Chittenden – The Fans
Watch Olivia Chittenden – The Fans Video Here
Serina Shakes – The Photobooth
Watch Serina Shakes – The Photobooth Video Here
Dan Shirley – Identity
Watch Dan Shirley – Identity Video Here
Tommy Smith – Who Identity
Watch Tommy Smith – Who Identity Video Here
Music Videos
Supercut- Amelia Lee, Emma Cammies
Ice Ice Baby- Serena Shakes, Charlotte Bamford, Olivia Chittenden
Once in a lifetime- Tommy Smith, Cameron Golding, Seth Bate, Sebastian Lewis
Year Two – The Refugee Project
Watch the Refugee Project Video Created by our L3 TV and Film Students
The role of a graphic designer is incredibly varied. You may find yourself immersed in a fantasy world while designing a set of illustrations for a book, or exploring complex data to create exciting and vibrant infographics that inform rather than confuse.
Graphic communication students at Dudley Sixth are introduced to a wide selection of processes and techniques. Using a range of both traditional and digital methods, they are encouraged to move beyond their comfort zones to produce a variety of work supported by an understanding of design theory and a developing awareness of contemporary practitioners to inform and influence their ideas.
In their second year, students begin to develop their own visual identity while becoming increasingly self-directed and independent, producing a collection of work tailored to their interests and specialisms. This could be an advertising campaign, design work for a clothing website or a set of illustrations for an album sleeve or book. Throughout the year, students will be encouraged to try new approaches and consolidate the skills they have learned in their first year to produce strong, challenging and professionally-produced designs. I believe you will see all of these qualities in this year’s second year work. I hope you enjoy it.
Chris Worley, A-Level Graphic Communication Tutor, Dudley Sixth
