Once a month, the students from The Fashion Institute of Garment Technology visits CTCFD’s Plumstead campus for a day of tutorials including Textiles, Digital Application and Industrial Garment Construction.
CTCFD’s sister campus, The Fashion Institute of Garment Technology is based in Bellville in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs, and offers a 2 year vocational training course accredited through the City & Guilds of London. In the students’ first year, they complete introductory tutorial classes to prepare themselves for the demands of the second year syllabus; and to do that they spend one day a month at the CTCFD campus.
These tutorials include Textiles, where students are introduced to different terminology used in the fashion industry including different fibers, weaves and knits. Students will explore a number of natural and synthetic fabrics as they prepare themselves to create garments – it’s an important part of the design process to select the correct fabric for your style!
The students then break into two groups, rotating through Digital Fashion Application & Industrial Garment Construction training for the rest of their visit. Digital Fashion Application explores the need for graduates to be trained in computer aided design. Students will learn to navigate a number of digital programs this year in the run up to their second year of study, where they will be designing and publishing their own website.
Industrial Garment Construction training teaches the students to feel comfortable sitting behind a number of industrial machines. While their every day garment technology takes place using their personal domestic machines, it is imperative that graduates understand and can function industrial machines when stepping into the industry. This industrial training will continue into the students’ second year, offering the opportunity for them to complete their final assessments on the industrial machines.
CTCFD thoroughly enjoys The Fashion Institute’s visits, its very exciting to catch up with these highly dedicated students and find out how their studies are progressing. We wish them the best of luck as they continue to improve and grow!