Fashion Promotion & Marketing Degree Course

Program Overview

This three-year Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fashion Promotion and Marketing at the University of Central Lancashire prepares students for careers in the fashion industry. Through a blend of studio, workshop, and digital learning, students develop skills in styling, marketing, image-making, and digital communication. Graduates are highly sought after in fields such as brand management, events, and marketing, with many securing positions at major fashion companies.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program is a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fashion Promotion and Marketing. It is a full-time, three-year program offered at the Preston Campus of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). The program is designed for students who are passionate about the fashion and lifestyle industry and want to learn about branding, marketing, image-making, digital communication, social media, and styling. The program aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in this fast-paced and evolving creative industry.

Outline:

The program is divided into three years, with a variety of compulsory and optional modules.

Year 1:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Introduction to Fashion Communication and Styling:
This module introduces students to fundamental research skills, creative problem-solving, fashion and still life styling, color theory, retail trends, visual merchandising, and customer profiling.
• Fashion Promotion in Context: This module explores market research techniques, presentation skills, technical skills, media and creative computing, writing for PR and the media, styling platforms, and editorial photography.
• Creative CAD: This module introduces students to a range of creative software used in the industry, including the differences between different software and how to select the most appropriate for specific tasks.
Students will develop their CAD skills to improve their creative work and learn about self-directed study and time management.
• Critical Studies in Fashion and Textiles 1: This module introduces students to the study of Design History in the context of style and culture at various periods in history, examining the role of the designer in society, historical, cultural, and geographical considerations, as well as gender and race perspectives.

Year 2:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Development of Fashion Communication:
This module aims to develop skills in fashion promotion and styling for a variety of market levels. Students will utilize digital media for promotion development and presentation, and develop research, creative, and technical skills.
• Creative CAD - Fashion Publication: This module further develops research, creative, and technical skills in CAD.
Students will be encouraged to create links, develop communication and networking skills with external companies or clients, improve communication skills in team environments, and manage time effectively.
• Preparation for Industry: This module provides students with the opportunity to meet guest speakers from the industry who will offer insight and knowledge on career progression within the fashion arena.
Students will be able to highlight industry requirements and set targets to reach them.
• Critical Studies in Fashion and Textiles 2: This module examines the motivation behind the adornment of the body and why humans have constantly desired to modify their appearance.
• Optional Modules:
Students will develop practical skills in styling and demonstrate the importance of time management within image making.
• Fashion Image: This module examines the contribution photography makes to fashion.
Students will develop practical photographic and styling skills and be encouraged to work in teams to achieve their goals.
• Fashion Enterprise: This module develops students' understanding of the business of fashion and how small businesses function in the competitive market place.
Students will be introduced to the strategies associated with brand success by examining case studies and identifying examples of how a brand can extend its product portfolio to adjust to market trends. Students will further develop their research, creative, and technical skills and apply them to all areas of their work. They will be introduced to working with external bodies from the fashion industry and develop an awareness of time management and adhering to deadlines.

Year 3:

• Creative and Critical Thinking: This module aims to develop students' creativity and examine a wide range of research data.
Students will be encouraged to examine problems in work outside their comfort zones.
• Optional Modules:
• Styling Final Project:
This course allows students to build their portfolio, develop their own contacts, and promote their skills through a personal promotion campaign. Students will also investigate specific areas of interest within styling and image making.
• Promotion Final Campaign: This module provides an exciting opportunity to produce a comprehensive promotional campaign of the student's choice, giving them the chance to evidence and consolidate their skills and techniques acquired in previous academic study and present them in their final project.
• Creative Marketing Report: This module supports the final campaign by maximizing time management in terms of research and final campaign planning.
It will also give students the opportunity to engage in academic practice in the submission of a fully referenced written report of 5000 words.
• Critical Studies in Fashion and Textiles 3: This module discusses marketing techniques and the presentation of design in a commercial world via a variety of approaches in the study of fashion theories.
Students will investigate changing patterns of consumption, taste, and ideology through stage, film, and retail, and study the presentation of dress through exhibition and gallery display.

Assessment:

Assessment is ongoing throughout the course and includes:

• Individual presentations
• Verbal critiques
• Group assessment work
• Seminar presentations
Each module is assessed through project-based work, and in some cases, a portfolio submission at the end of the module. In the final year, students will present a creative and innovative promotional campaign or styling portfolio.

Teaching:

The teaching on the course is a blended experience between studio, workshops, and digital tutorials. The program prides itself on creating a creative community between tutors and students. Tutorials enable students to discuss their work with their project tutor individually or in small group sessions. Students can expect to feel supported and pushed by staff who will get to know them and their strengths. Students will regularly interact with guest speakers from across the creative industries, including multinationals like Nike, River Island, and Boohoo, as well as recent graduates starting to make a name for themselves.

Careers:

Graduates of this program are highly sought after and go on to work in areas like styling, brand management, events, graphic design, trend forecasting, and marketing. The program has alumni working at major companies, including trend forecasters The Future Laboratory and advertising agency Mother London. Graduates also work at fashion brands such as Vogue, Net a Porter, Boohoo, and ASOS. The increasing growth in the digital marketing sector means that students with skills in graphics, content creation, styling, and marketing are in high demand. They are hugely employable, and companies actively seek out graduates of this program.

Other:

• The program has strong industry links with over 150 global fashion brands, including River Island, Burberry, and Boohoo.
• Students have access to industry-standard laser cutters, fabric printers, and photographic studios, as well as support from specialist technicians.
• In the third year, students have the option to spend at least 30 weeks putting theory into practice on a full-time industry placement.
• The program is a member of the British Fashion Council Colleges Council, which represents the leading fashion departments in universities and colleges throughout the UK.
• Students have the opportunity to enter national and international project briefs and work on live projects with industry partners.
Many students have won prestigious national awards, including Graduate Fashion Week’s Re-Style and London Photographic Awards, Creative and Strategic Marketing Awards, and have been finalists in the D&AD Photography Award and ID magazine’s Diversity Now! Competition.

• Full-time UK: £9,250 per year
• Sandwich year: £1,500 for the sandwich year
• Part-time: £1,540 per 20 credits
• Full-time International: £16,500 per year