Overview
Are you looking to move into fashion, accelerate your fashion career, set up your own business, or extend a family enterprise? This fast-paced, practical course is ideal for a wide range of ambitious, highly motivated students seeking a springboard to a career in global fashion marketing.
You’ll study in one of the world’s most thrilling fashion capitals, surrounded by iconic and emerging brands as well as linked occupations such as photography, styling, events and publishing. You’ll have endless opportunities for exposure to the world of fashion, from up-and-coming designers and their pop-up shops to global trend laboratories, exhibitions and museums, street markets, high-street stores and luxury fashion brands.
You’ll have the flexibility of being able to study part-time or full-time. In Term 2 (subject to student numbers) you’ll have the opportunity to choose a specialist project in Digital Fashion Marketing or Luxury Fashion Marketing or Beauty and Fragrances Marketing. There are opportunities for field trips (including overseas), internships and real consultancy projects.
Extended Professional Practice
This MSc course is now available with Extended Professional Practice. This 18-month option is aimed at students who are looking to develop a deeper understanding of business in a very practical way. You will undertake two Professional Practice modules which will take the form of either an internship with a host organisation, or a campus-based professional experience. Students are expected to spend twenty-two weeks at one (or more) work setting(s) and will have the opportunity to apply theory to practice. After completing the extended professional practice students are required to produce a substantial problem-based piece of individual written work.
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.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
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
Analyse the global markets for fashion and retail, and learn to manage fashion brands. Examine global trends in business systems, standards and practices. Explore product development and consumer behaviour, and choose to specialise in digital fashion marketing, luxury fashion marketing or beauty and fragrances marketing.
This exciting course covers a huge amount of ground, and in your second term you’ll be able to choose between three major project options:
- International Digital Innovation Fashion Marketing Project* – The effective use of communication technology enables fashion brands to ‘punch above their weight’ and have a global impact. You’ll learn to create digital marketing and social media campaigns, engaging with consumers in more meaningful and interactive ways. You’ll explore online fashion retail and branding, and learn tools to analyse the behaviour of digital consumers.
- International Luxury Fashion Marketing Project* – The global luxury sector continues to grow and generate profit. This pathway addresses the challenges and opportunities of the luxury fashion sector, so it’s ideal if you see your future career with premium fashion brands. You’ll learn to design global retailing and visual merchandising strategies, and how luxury goods and services are branded.
- International Beauty and Fragrances Marketing Project* – The international beauty and fragrance sector is increasingly dynamic; featuring a mix of global conglomerates and innovative niche brands. Many fashion brands now seek to capitalise on this and you’ll learn about integrating beauty and fragrances into a fashion brand’s strategy, creating promotional campaigns, analysing consumer behaviour and trends and producing creative retail and branding concepts.
*Second term major project options are subject to student numbers
Course Specification
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Modules
In more detail...
This is a challenging and fast-paced course covering a huge amount of content, based right in the heart of London – one of the world’s most exciting fashion capitals. You’ll be taught by experienced, helpful tutors who will ensure you have plenty of exposure to London’s many varied fashion scenes.
London
Studying in London means you’ll soak up a world of fashion – from vibrant street markets to iconic brands and edgy designer studios. We’re a stone’s throw from Brick Lane, and you’re in easy reach of the luxury stores of Bond Street and Knightsbridge or the department stores and flagship stores of Oxford Street. There are opportunities to visit trade fairs (such as Texfusion, Jacket Required and Pure London), major events such as London Fashion Week, and world-famous museums like the V&A and the Fashion & Textile Museum. You’ll also be surrounded by leading magazine publishers, trend laboratories, designers, photographers, stylists and retailers.
Major project options
During your second term, you’ll choose a specialist major project according to your particular interests or ambitions – either Digital Innovation Fashion Marketing, Luxury Fashion Marketing or Beauty and Fragrances Marketing. Each major project option includes opportunities for you to focus on developing very specific practical skills in communication, consumer behaviour, and retail marketing.
Joint award
Students who pass two specific modules can be awarded the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership, providing they register as a CMI member and pay the membership fees. With over 100,000 members, the CMI is internationally recognised as the professional body which sets the standards in management.
Staff
You’ll be taught by tutors with exceptional career experience in disciplines such as high-end luxury fashion, publishing, styling, retail and PR. Several are research-active and speak at international conferences, and the course leader founded the Fashion Research Network. Your tutors are keen to enthuse and guide you, and work hard to apply their extensive networks of contacts to create opportunities for their students.
Applied
There are lots of opportunities to apply your learning, within and beyond the classroom. You could do a short engagement assisting with a photoshoot or helping a business with branding and marketing. Guests speakers from across the fashion industry will come in for talks and workshops. You could go on extended field trips to European and/or international destinations, and your final major project could involve an internship, a consultancy with a client, or a real project with a UK fashion business.
- Explore your interests and talents in order to find the fashion marketing career that’s right for you
- Pass two modules to qualify for the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership
- Enjoy working in our on-campus fashion studio, featuring a suite of Apple Macs equipped with the latest software
- Access business start-up advice and support if you’re interested in starting your own business when you graduate
- Walk just a few blocks from our campus to Spitalfields and Brick Lane – two well-known hubs for fashion professionals and entrepreneurs
- Hear guest lectures from a diverse range of fascinating individuals in fashion, such as photographers, stylists, designers and founders of ethical brands
- Build your hands-on experience (and your CV) with real experiences such as event management, work placements, internships and consultancy projects.
- Participate in 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:
- Ethics & sustainability – You’ll explore a range of ethical issues faced by the fashion industry, such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, environmental concern and animal welfare.
- Problem-solving – Throughout your studies you’ll develop a strategic approach to identifying, analysing and solving business problems, learning to source reliable information on which to base your decisions.
- Consumer behaviour – The key to marketing is understanding your consumer and meeting their needs, so you’ll learn to identify, profile, reach and engage with a wide range of global fashion consumers.
- Innovation – The fashion industry is fuelled by change, but this presents particular problems for business. Learn to become an agile leader, capable of responding to constant change through developing your skills and thought processes to become proactively responsive to the fashion industry’s new markets and opportunities for growth.
Coventry University was awarded ‘Gold’ in the UK’s recent Teaching Excellence Framework, so you’ll benefit from superb tuition here at our London campus. Your tutors have considerable experience across a range of fashion 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.
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 marketing, asking you to apply them to contemporary fashion 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 available to you in London – such as store visits, museums, exhibitions, conferences and simply observing stores, streets and markets. A significant proportion of
your time should be dedicated to personal study, a lifelong skill which will benefit you 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, hands-on activities and real-world projects. You’ll be expected to work under pressure to deliver work which is fit for purpose in the contemporary fashion business environment.
You’ll be assessed through seminars, workshops, debates, presentations and written assignments, which might include marketing report, a research journal, trend or range book, and creative pitches. You might be asked to develop brand strategies, social media campaigns, consumer profiles, plans for a brand-new independent fashion boutique or concept store, a trend prediction portfolio, a fashion design and product development portfolio, or a digital fashion portfolio.
On successful completion, you should be able to:
- Understand the markets and customers for the fashion and luxury industries, including the needs of stakeholders such as employees, sponsors, collaborators and competitors
- Carry out the branding and marketing of fashion and luxury goods and/or services
- Articulate the impact of external factors which affect fashion marketing, including ethical, environmental, economic, social and technological change issues; international developments and corporate governance
- Understand the management of resources and operations in fashion marketing, using appropriate communication and information technologies
- Describe the international market structures and strategies which affect global marketing in this context, and how to develop and apply effective business policies and strategies
- Apply and commission creative and/or digital skills for the fashion industry
- Employ critical thinking and creativity, and manage it in others, using well-informed logic and your skilled research
- Identify and solve fashion business problems, having evaluated a comprehensive range of options.
This course takes a global perspective on the entire curriculum. Not only will you explore fashion in its international context, but you’ll also learn how it is resourced, manufactured, marketed and sold around the world. You’ll have opportunities for overseas trips (for example, Paris or Copenhagen) and you could arrange to do an internship or consultancy project overseas.
Studying alongside an international cohort of students from around 50 countries means you’ll be able to learn from their insights and experiences, develop your cross-cultural skills, and build an invaluable network of international contacts.
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:
Students have the opportunity to attend field trips abroad such as Paris, Copenhagen or Berlin for which there are additional costs. In addition, students will be expected to cover expenditure on an individual and/or shared basis with other students for creative and digital outputs, which may include trend books, magazines, look books, photography, film making and digital portfolio.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
This course is intended to equip you with the skills you need to become an effective leader in fashion marketing, addressing the intellectual, financial and cultural demands of an ever-changing society and global fashion audience.
In addition to your fashion-specific skills, you’ll develop a range of broader, transferable skills in management, communication, teamwork, decision-making and strategic thinking. You’ll also learn to devise entrepreneurial and innovative solutions to problems which arise in fashion businesses. All of these skills are in high demand among employers in the global fashion industry.
The global perspective afforded by this programme will prepare you to work internationally, or based in one country but trading with others, or based anywhere but responding to a global market for your fashion goods and/or services.
Where our graduates work
Your master’s degree in International Fashion Marketing will open up a whole world of career opportunities. When you graduate, you might look for a role in social-media management, fashion content management, editorial, PR, buying, advertising, brand management or visual merchandising, for example. You might go into consultancy or journalism, or start your own business.
Recent graduates are now working in diverse businesses including small independent luxury brands or in the marketing teams of larger international companies. Others have gone on to collaborate with young creatives or to launch their own companies, while still others have helped to advance a family fashion business or led the diversification of a family business into fashion.
