The BA (Hons) Cordwainers Footwear: Product Design and Innovation course, situated in the School of Design and Technology, is concerned with the design, development and realisation of fashion footwear products for the fashion footwear industry. You will learn the skills of research, how to produce initial design ideas, and how to develop designs through to a finished 3D prototype. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the fashion footwear industry, its markets, and the particular role of the fashion footwear product designer and developer within the industry. The Cordwainers and Leathersellers livery companies support the Cordwainers courses through prizes, scholarships and industrial visits. Cordwainers Footwear is one of a group of fashion product courses, all of which are designed and delivered with employment in the relevant industry in mind. To this end you will study a range of units that will equip you with the relevant professional, communication and business skills, and undertake live projects set by industry where there will be presentations to and from the companies involved. You will have the option of doing a placement year between the second and final year of the course. Successful completion of this year will give you an additional qualification, and you will have the opportunity to make contacts and build relationships within the industry before the end of your studies. This course focuses on producing graduates who are encouraged to make an innovative and visionary contribution to footwear product development within the fashion industry. Cordwainers Footwear is based at Golden Lane, on the edge of the City of London and very near to the Barbican Arts Centre, with its exhibition gallery, concert hall, theatre, cinema and cafes and restaurants. Clerkenwell, Hoxton and Smithfield, with their interesting mixes of shops, creative businesses, galleries, cafes, bars and clubs, are within walking distance, as is the Museum of London. The Barbican Estate is an excellent example of post-war urban architecture, and the nearby Whitecross Street has a very good lunchtime food market during the week, where you can select hot or cold food from a wide range of different cuisines.

All our undergraduate courses are concerned with the development of your personal and professional skills. On your course you will evolve from learning basic skills in your discipline through to a position where you are an independent creative thinker capable of making an effective contribution to the relevant sector of the fashion industry. Personal and Professional Development (PPD) skills are embedded in all units on every course. Speaker programmes with contributions from alumni, members of industry and others are a part of many courses, as are work placement opportunities in industry. Where relevant, students have the chance to attend trade fairs, enter industry competitions, visit exhibitions and go on field trips and visits. The central position of our John Prince’s Street site in the West End affords students easy access to all sectors of the fashion retail market. In addition, our position as a constituent College in the University of the Arts London means that our students have access to the wide range of activities and events that occur in all the Colleges and at the University’s centre. Last but not least, being in London gives every student opportunities to explore and be inspired by the cultural, intellectual and social life of one of the great capital cities of the world. Future Careers and Graduate Prospects Graduates who wish to continue their education at postgraduate level are encouraged to progress to suitable courses within the College, the University or elsewhere. Many graduates prefer to seek employment as soon as they have completed their undergraduate studies. Recent Footwear graduates have obtained positions as assistant designers for Nicholas Kirkwood, Adele Clarke and Georgina Goodman, as designers for Topshop and Bloch International, and as a junior account manager in marketing with Clarks Shoes. Graduates this year have obtained employment with Kurt Geiger London, Overlander in New Zealand, the bespoke shoemaker James Taylor in London, Jette Joop in Berlin, The Footsoldiers in London, Roland Mouret in London, and as a freelancer with Camper.