Why You Should Consider A Level Fashion And Textiles

Did you know that St Paul's is the only school in Milton Keynes, and one of very few in the country, that offers Fashion and Textiles at A level?

Below, Miss Martin, Fashion and Textiles teacher, discusses the Fashion and Textiles A Level and why it's so important:

As a society, we greatly value textiles, more than we probably realise. It is something we often take for granted as it is so ingrained in our day-to-day lives, a material we are in constant contact with. For most people, this value comes in the form of fashion. Buying and wearing clothing we like makes us feel good and allows us to express our culture, style and ideals. It’s a modern wonder how accessible clothing is now. Most people can afford to buy what they want, as frequently as they desire and be wearing it quicker than ever before. But at what cost?

For A Level Fashion and Textiles, you will fundamentally be a problem solver that has a specific interest in this often misunderstood and conjectured medium. You will learn a range of construction techniques that will allow you to explore products in a way you have never considered before, be able to come up with unique and out-of-the box solutions for problems that you may have never considered. The subject allows you to explore your creativity whilst remaining conscious at all times of the overall impact. Impact to the environment, impact on the user and impact on the wider world. A successful fashion student is not afraid of failure, they embrace mistakes and acknowledge that making mistakes often leads to the most innovative solutions.

Contributing to 10% of total global carbon emissions, the fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world, coming in behind only the oil and gas industry. By taking A level Fashion and Textiles, you have the future of the industry in your hands. How do we keep our much-loved fashion industry afloat whilst not destroying our planet? How do we ensure all fashion products are inclusive? What is the future of one of the most rapidly moving industries in the world? It is not the hands of current industry leaders, who may try but continually fall short. The future lies with those who have most at stake, the pioneering minds of young people.