Costume Design and Fashion - Flinders University

Offered in collaboration with TAFE SA, these degrees will kick-start your career in these iconic fields.

What does a career in costume design look like?

Think about your favourite character in a movie you love. What do they wear? What do they look like? Iconic characters have iconic looks, and with a career as a costume designer, you’ll be in charge of creating those looks and bringing characters to life.

You’ll be responsible for designing and creating costumes for characters in films, plays or on stage. You won’t be limited to just clothes, you’ll also strategically think about props, accessories and other character essentials.

You’ll fuse your creative and technical skills working for major stage productions, movie studios, entertainment companies and more.

What does a career in fashion look like?

Imagine being the one who decides whether it’s zebra or leopard print this year. If you dream of your designs on the catwalks in Paris and Milan, or creating trends for people all over the world, then this trillion-dollar industry could be the career for you.

There’s more to fashion than being a designer. You could also work as a fashion buyer, creative director, stylist, merchandiser or trend forecaster, to name a few. You’ll spend your days researching and forecasting future trends, working closely with executives, marketing managers and other designers, and creating new products.

Ranked No.1 in SA
in Creative Arts for learner engagement, skills development, student support and teaching quality.

(The Good Universities Guide 2023 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only)

⬆︎
28.4%
Fashion, industrial and jewellery designers

* National Skills Commission, 2021 Employment projections for the five years to 2026

Five Stars
in Creative Arts for learner engagement, learning resources, skills development and teaching quality.

(The Good Universities Guide 2022 (undergraduate))

Study Options

Bachelor of Creative Arts (Costume Design)

Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fashion)

Be career ready with a degree in Costume Design or Fashion

Costume Design and Fashion are industry-focused degrees that prepare you for employment in a variety of positions in a highly dynamic and diverse international industry.

Potential Occupations

A degree in Costume Design could open up the door to several careers such as a costume designer, costume buyer, costume maker, wardrobe manager or costume technician.

Studying Fashion can turn into a career as a fashion designer, product developer, garment technician, production assistant or fashion design assistant for example.

Why study costume design or fashion at Flinders?

Your creative career starts here

Connect with industry leaders
Join a legacy of artistic excellence
Be mentored by practising creative artists
Work on real-life performances and gain in production settings
Access dedicated costume design and fashion workshops
Learn about computer-aided design technologies that contribute to design, production and marketing process
Get a taste of real-life collaboration in the industry

“

Our interactive class environment made it easy to collaborate with other students and ask for their input which I loved. From asking them for advice to using their knowledge to help solve problems – it was so beneficial.

Emily Parker, Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fashion)

”

Get inspired

Kaleidoscope

Get a taste of the 2020 Graduate Fashion Parade.

Student testimonial - Costume Design

Hear from Lucy Wallosheck on her experience studying Costume Design.

Student testimonial - Fashion

Hear from fashion student Kat Hill on why she chose to study fashion at Flinders.

The HomeStart Fashion and Costume Graduate Parade

An insight into the 2023 Graduate Parade powered by HomeStart. This year's theme: IRIDESCENT!

Connect with industry partners

Teaching staff

Our incredible teaching and research staff within the costume design, dance, fashion and visual arts sector are experts in their professions and well-connected to industry.

Helen Jansson

"While Fashion industry processes remain intrinsically the same as they have been for many years, the change on how Fashion is perceived by wearers and viewers continues to change and morph over time, always presenting new and exciting challenges and directions."

After completing her Bachelor of Fashion (Honours), Helen worked in the fashion industry in Melbourne for 15 years. Her final role before moving to SA was the Creative Director of Davenport Industries.

With a portfolio of epic projects such as a fashion parade in a Boeing 747 as it circled Sydney for the launch of Virgin Underwear, Helen began teaching at TAFE SA in 2005 and became the Principal Lecturer in 2011.

Here she was instrumental to the development of the unique Bachelor of Creative Arts (Costume Design) and the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fashion).

Helen wants students to realise how broad and multi-layered the fashion and costume industries are, "There are so many opportunities for employment in Adelaide in both areas and the potential is growing year after year.

"Not only does SA have some of the biggest fashion and clothing houses in Australia, the theatre, film and festival scene is alive and well."

Take your study global with a semester exchange

Living and studying overseas presents you with the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture while continuing your tertiary study at one of Flinders University’s 70+ overseas partner universities.

Why wait until you graduate to see the world? Let our program offer you the educational adventure of a lifetime.