Role
Alison is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Fashion Design programme at Nottingham Trent University, teaching across Year One (Level 4) and Year Two (Level 5). In addition to delivering lectures, leading design and pattern‑cutting workshops, and providing pastoral support as a personal tutor to first‑year students, she contributes to the academic management of the course. This includes coordinating module delivery, supporting staff across the teaching team, contributing to curriculum development, and ensuring a high‑quality student experience through effective planning, communication, and assessment oversight.
Her specialist areas include Computer‑Aided Design (CAD) for Fashion, design development, and 2D portfolio skills, with a focus on strengthening students’ technical capability and visual communication.
Career overview
She has over 10 years’ experience as a lecturer in Fashion Design and more than 20 years’ experience in the fashion and textiles industry, working across a wide range of design roles for both major brands and licensees, as well as running her own consultancy. Her professional background includes:
- Design Consultant, Alexanders Consultancy Ltd (own business)
- Head of Design, BC International Ltd
- Design Manager, Coats Viyella Clothing
- Ladieswear Designer, Coats Viyella Clothing
- HPL / Visiting Lecturer, NTU (Fashion Design, Fashion Management)
Research areas
Alison’s research centres on sustainability and responsible design practice. She is co‑author of the chapter “NTU x Emmanuel House: Developing a Responsible Design Practice with Fashion Design Students and Service Users” in Design Materials and Making for Social Change.
She is actively involved in collaborative knowledge‑exchange projects with industry partners and academic colleagues and has presented her research at a range of national conferences. Her work explores how fashion education can foster ethical, socially engaged, and environmentally conscious design approaches.
Publications
From Rag Picking to Riches: Fashion Education Meets Textile Waste: KATHERINE TOWNSEND, EMMA PRINCE, ALISON ESCOTT, School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University, UK GILL BARKER, Emmanuel House, Nottingham, UK. 2019 https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/39507/1/1206503_Townsend.pdf
Design Materials and Making for Social Change: edited by Rebecca Earley , Rosie Hornbuckle https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003260356/design-materials-making-social-change-rebecca-earley-rosie-hornbuckle
Course(s) I teach on
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Undergraduate | Full-time / SandwichCOURSE
Fashion Design - BA (Hons)
https://www.ntu.ac.uk/course/art-and-design/ug/ba-hons-fashion-design