Overview
This is a challenging, fast-paced and stimulating MBA course, designed to offer the industry-specific business and management skills you need to build a successful career in international fashion management.
This course offers a comprehensive understanding of the business of fashion, rather than teaching you to be a designer or producer, so that you can build a career in management or leadership. It focuses on the global and technological shifts which have characterised the industry in recent years; the management of fashion design and product development; and international fashion manufacturing and retailing strategies.
You may have recently completed your undergraduate degree, in fashion or any other discipline. Alternatively, you may have been working for some time and want to accelerate your career progression in fashion, or to make a move into fashion for the first time.
In addition to gaining academic skills and knowledge, MBA students have the opportunity to undertake a professional development programme designed to develop career plans, improve professional skills, and increase employability.
Why Coventry University London?
We believe that there is no better place to learn about business than to study in the heart of one of the most successful business and financial centres in the world. Launched in 2010 and located in the City of London, we are minutes away from the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange, and are surrounded by several blue chip companies.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityHeart of the City
Minutes from the Bank of England and Stock ExchangeCourse information
The MBA International Fashion Management Course addresses the needs of the next generation of fashion industry professionals by providing a challenging and stimulating course that combines the highest quality of academic and professional discipline built on current research and advanced scholarship, with direct input from and exposure to the fashion industry.
The learning and assessment on the MBA International Fashion Management course is structured around active, participative and individual learning, while focusing on systematic understanding of knowledge and critical awareness of current trends and/ or new insights, much of what is at, or informed by, the forefront of academic discipline, field of study and an area of professional practice.
Teamwork, business simulations and real-industry fashion projects with fashion industry clients and professionals (who so far included clients like London Hat Week, Sarah Haran, Endrime, Laura Lee Jewellery among others) all of which are underpinned by academic analysis and synthesis, offering students an opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in professional practice.
Course Specification
Download PDF (590 KB)
Modules
In more detail...
This course is designed to produce the fashion leaders of the future, whether you choose to go into management, design, manufacturing, the supply chain or retail, or into associated trades such as publishing or PR. You’ll learn the strategic business skills you’d expect from an MBA, and how to apply them to the specific challenges of the fashion industries.
London
Where better to study fashion than here in the heart of London? From Mary Quant’s iconic 1960s mini skirt to Vivienne Westwood’s dramatic punk frock, from Carnaby Street to Brick Lane, London has always been at the forefront of fashion. You’ll be encouraged to explore the opportunities London has to offer – from London Fashion Week to museums like the V&A, fabulous street markets like Camden or Portobello Road, high-street retailers, and exclusive luxury brands. You’ll be surrounded by world-famous publishers, designers, photographers, stylists and retailers – all coming together to create fashion in one exhilarating place.
Tutors
You will be taught by tutors with exceptional career experience in a diverse range of fashion disciplines. They have strong track records working in fields such as high-end luxury fashion, publishing, styling, retail and PR. They are extremely keen to enthuse and guide you, and always apply their extensive networks of contacts to create opportunities for their students.
Professional
This course has been designed in collaboration with experts from industry and takes into account the requirements of professional industry associations. This ensures that the course remains relevant for current business practice and delivers the skills which employers need. You will explore the business of fashion in the round, including issues of globalism, ethics and sustainability. Successfully completing two particular modules qualifies you to achieve a CMI leadership qualification.
Applied
Both within and beyond the classroom, your learning will always be applied to the workplace. You might have opportunities for ‘work tasters’ – perhaps assisting with a renowned photographer’s shoot or helping an organisation with its marketing activities. You’ll have the opportunity to do a consultancy project for a real client, or an internship; past internships have included accessories brands, UK-based marketing agencies for overseas brands, and European fashion labels.
Adaptability
Fashion is an industry with change built-in – even so, it has been through a number of significant economic, technological and sustainability challenges in recent years. You’ll learn to track and respond to all kinds of changes, from shifting consumer appetites and spending patterns to design preferences and business imperatives. You’ll learn to adapt positively to constant change, be able to think on your feet and to steer your organisation safely through shifting conditions.
- Make the most of a range of work experience and networking possibilities
- Be taught by superb tutors with fascinating business and professional experience
- Enjoy a truly multi-cultural experience, studying alongside people from over 50 countries
- Study in our new fashion studio, equipped with Apple Macs with the latest design software
- Access business start-up advice and support if you’re interested in starting your own business when you graduate
- Take the opportunity to obtain the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership
- Study in the heart of London, close to vibrant street markets as well as the West End and Oxford Street, where you’ll find the flagship stores of major global brands
- There are opportunities for field trips within the UK (for example, to factories, ateliers, museums, stores and exhibitions) as well as overseas, such as Copenhagen or the Première Vision trade show in Paris
Your main study themes are:
- Identifying trends – Leaders must respond to the change which is inherent in fashion. The ability to identify and react to rapid shifts in consumer appetites and designer tastes is critical to sustainable success.
- Change – Those shifting micro trends, coupled with rapidly changing macro issues (global economics, resource availability, environmental concerns and geo-politics), require fashion leaders to accept and manage the inevitability of change and to be agile in their approach.
- Profiling consumers – Fashion spans every possible socio-demographic and every culture. Leaders must identify, understand and communicate with the right customers for their brands in a two-way conversation involving both listening and informing.
- Sustainability – Fashion is the second biggest industrial polluter, after oil. Leaders in fashion must therefore find solutions to protect the environment, resources, people and even the industry itself.
You can expect to benefit from excellent tuition here at our London campus, since Coventry University was awarded ‘Gold’ in the UK’s recent Teaching Excellence Framework. Your tutors have superb fashion management experience across a range of disciplines, and use their ‘little black books’ of contacts to create maximum learning opportunities for students.
Although your studies will be underpinned by solid academic theory, this course provides every possible opportunity to apply what you’ve learned to the real business context, both on and off campus. You will learn by doing, undertaking a range of business-oriented projects in the classroom. You’ll also have the option to do work experience, an internship or a live consultancy project for a real client, plus a realistic business simulation.
You’ll learn through exposure to industry through opportunities for field trips, tours, guest lectures and visits to businesses and ateliers in the UK and overseas. Your final major project will challenge your skills in international fashion management, asking you to apply them to contemporary fashion industry issues.
You’ll also be expected to become a highly motivated independent learner. You’ll be encouraged to make the most of all the opportunities afforded by the streets of London. You could take advantage of tours, store visits, museums, exhibitions and conferences. Since this is an intensive programme, a significant proportion of your time should be dedicated to personal study, a lifelong skill which will serve you well throughout your career.
Teaching methods may include lectures, seminars, textbooks, workshops, debates, case studies, consultancy projects, simulations, business plans, online collaborations.
You will be assessed regularly so that both you and your tutors can identify your strengths as well as any areas where you may need additional support. Assessments reflect workplace activities, and will therefore focus on team work, business simulations and real-world projects. You’ll be expected to work under pressure to produce work which is fit for purpose in the contemporary business environment.
Through a blend of seminars, workshops, debates, presentations and written assignments, you might be assessed on your research journal, trend book and range book, and the development and presentation of board papers, executive summaries, and creative pitches
As examples, you might be asked to develop a brand-new independent fashion boutique or concept store, or to develop a fashion brand’s marketing audit report or a strategic, operational and financial plan. You might create a trend prediction portfolio, a fashion design and product development portfolio, a buying and merchandising portfolio, or a feasibility report for assessing an opportunity. You might do a financial analysis of a business, coming up with a cash budget or cash flow analysis.
On successful completion, you should be able to:
- Articulate the complex dynamics of factors impacting on fashion organisations, including legal systems; ethical, economic, environmental, social and technological change issues; international fashion developments; and corporate governance
- Describe the markets for fashion resources, goods and services, and profile different consumer groups within those markets
- Understand the concepts, processes and institutions in the production and marketing of fashion goods and services, and the management of resources and operations
- Recognise the key financing mechanisms for fashion businesses and understand accounting for managerial and financial reporting
- Understand organisation theory, workplace behaviour, industrial relations, human resource management and change management
- Competently use information systems and technologies relevant to fashion
- Develop effective business policies and strategies within a changing fashion context in order to meet stakeholder interests.
As reflected in the course title, this programme explores the world of fashion management from a truly global perspective. Every aspect of your learning will be set within an international context, whether you’re exploring ethics and sustainability, accounting standards, logistics and the supply chain, or the globalisation of fashion.
You’ll have the opportunity for an overseas field trip, and you could arrange to do your internship or consultancy project outside of the UK. You will also study as part of an international cohort of students from all over the world. Such students always offer rich perspectives on fashion and management in their home countries, and team projects with them will significantly enhance your skills in cross-cultural working.
What our students say...
The new fashion studio at Coventry University London offers Apple Macs, workstations, spotlights, mirrors and mannequins.
Entry Requirements
Flying Start
Included in the fees:
- Specified core textbooks
- Any mandatory UK residential field trips
- Any mandatory UK site visits and trips
- 1,000 sides of black and white laser prints
Additional costs not included in the fees:
You may have the opportunity to participate in non-mandatory field trips in the UK and abroad. These visits are not included in the programme fee and prices will vary depending on the location of the field trip. There may also be fees for other course materials, such as printing range books, magazines, etc. as part of course work
Career prospects
The global fashion market is valued at £2.4 trillion, accounting for around 2% of the world's GDP. The industry is growing at 5.5% a year – and if it were a country, it would be the seventh-largest in the world.
Fashion is a huge, highly competitive and growing industry, which means that strong business leaders are always in high demand. This MBA programme is exactly that – a degree in business administration rather than in fashion design and development. That means that you’ll learn to take your place among a new generation of business leaders, able to respond effectively to the demands of an unknowable future.
You will understand in-depth how the international fashion business operates and where its opportunities and challenges lie. Your global perspective will deliver a strong foundation in cross-cultural communication and international business. The course offers a springboard to a career culminating in senior management roles and should accelerate your promotion to rewarding leadership positions.
Where our graduates work
Graduates from this course have well-developed powers of analysis, strategic thinking and communication, and are well-equipped to meet the leadership challenges of today and tomorrow.
The internships on this course are of a very high standard, and quite a few lead to permanent positions on graduation. Past students have gone on to exciting careers for leading brands in Europe, Japan and China.
You could develop a successful career in a range of disciplines within fashion, including garment production, the supply chain, buying, advertising, fashion retailing, retail management, finance, brand management, visual merchandising, marketing, PR, publishing, journalism, IT, event production or consultancy. You might choose to be employed or to start your own business.
What our students say...
I currently work as a Product Manager Assistant for C&A. As an assistant buyer I work alongside different departments including trend, design, sourcing, quality assurance, visual merchandising and marketing. Coventry University London gave me the perfect base to start my career as a buyer.
