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Fashion Communication and Styling BA Honours

This is a multidisciplinary Fashion communication degree with the opportunity for live industry projects and internship
Code
WF30
Start
September 2024
September 2025
Duration
3 years full-time
Attendance
Full-time
Fees
£9,250 (UK)*
£16,600 (INT)*
Course leader
Lucy Fine

Why choose Fashion Communication and Styling BA Honours at Middlesex?

We pride ourselves on being part of one of the most innovative and exciting fashion courses in London.

You'll be able to build valuable skills on placement before London Fashion Week. You'll also be able to take part in the Degree Show, showcasing your work and increasing your professional network.

What you will gain

You’ll get the opportunity to work with a wide range of media and visual communication methods that are central to the fashion industry.

We take an innovative approach to the subject and you’ll be encouraged to consider and develop your own personal style and direction.

Besides a theoretical and practical foundation, you’ll also gain essential abilities that will enhance your employability even beyond the fashion industry.

3 great reasons to pick this course

  • Excellent facilities
    Our fashion and photography studios are among the best in the country. Students can also study technologies such as green screen and video editing
  • Placements at London Fashion Week
    Students take part in a six-week placement during London Fashion Week. We also offer a four-year 'Thick Sandwich' course, with the option of a year-long placement in the third year
  • Building industry connections
    In the final year, most students submit work to publications and collaborate with other creatives outside of the university including agencies, magazines and designers

What you will learn

Ours is one of the most exciting fashion courses in London - we’re proud to be ranked fourth in London for Fashion (Guardian University Guide 2019).

You’ll explore fashion’s past and future developments and take part in the Degree Show, showcasing your work and building your professional network.

You’ll work with a wide range of media and visual communication methods that are central to the fashion industry, all the while developing your own personal style and direction.

The course will give you essential skills that will enhance your employability in the fashion industry and beyond.

Our Fashion Communication and Styling BA will offer you the chance to:

  • Showcase your work and develop your professional networks through our Degree Show
  • Prepare for the modern world of work through exposure to live briefs set by industry experts, and through work placements within your chosen area of fashion
  • Receive support from personal tutors, Graduate Academic Assistants and specialised technicians, who are also experienced professionals in their respective fields
  • Gain insight into the latest professional practices in media and visual communications to prepare yourself for the constantly evolving fashion industry

Keep informed

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Our course will help you gain insight into both contemporary fashion and the wider field of visual communication. You'll engage with a broad range of professional skills and acquire first-hand experience of current industry practice, through work experience and collaboration.

Year 1

In your first year, you'll learn a broad range of skills and get the opportunity to apply these skills through live and collaborative projects. You'll cover topics such as styling, photography, graphic design and art direction, film and magazine production.

Year 2

Your second year is industry-focused with a six-week industry placement during London Fashion Week and a live industry brief. In previous years this project has run in collaboration with Buffalozine, The Face and Dust Magazine.

Year 3

This final year is self-directed, supported by one-to-one tutorials and workshops. You'll work towards the production of a professional portfolio showcasing your specialist skills and a written dissertation.

Modules

  • Year 1

    • Fashion Communication Skills (30 credits) - Compulsory

      Taking place in the first term, this module will encourage the exploration of individual style, identity and abilities through a series of introductory projects covering specialist fields of fashion communication. It will provide induction sessions in appropriate workshops within the Faculty and a basic level of training in associated skills. We will give an overview of the range of roles, tasks and creative responsibilities within the fields of fashion communication.

    • Communication, Collaboration and Production (30 credits) - Compulsory

      During term 2, you will be given the opportunity to apply the skills you gained in the first term, in relation to the production of fashion communication outcomes. We encourage you to consider your own role within the field of fashion communication, how this role interacts within a wider collaborative network and how project requirements reflect client and audience needs. As the title suggests, the programme of study will typically include a mixture of collaborative and individual projects.

    • Visual Communication Research (30 credits) - Compulsory

      Throughout this year-long module, you will explore a range of visual research methods relating to fields of fashion communication and styling. We will introduce you to networks of communities and their currency and influence on contemporary fashion design, communication and promotion and related audience and markets. We will also investigate cultural and sub-cultural belonging and how this influences and translates into identity and style. You will gather, organise, edit and display a range of personal, original and inspiring research material.

    • Fashion History and Theory (30 credits) - Compulsory

      Throughout this year long module, we will introduce to you to different ways of looking at and thinking about fashion, providing an introduction to historical sources and narratives as well as key cultural and contextual theories. You will be encouraged to draw connections between fashions from the past and the present to encourage you to understand the rich cultural and social meanings of clothing and adornment in Western traditions. We cover a broad range of visual and material research methodologies, enabling you to be resourceful and explore different archives and historical collections in a hands-on way.

  • Year 2

    • Fashion Communication Practice (30 credits) – Compulsory

      This term 1 project will enable you to hone skills appropriate to a specific role, ideally reflecting your choice of career pathway. It will engender a developed awareness of fashion communication industry practice through the adoption of a specialism, typically styling, photography and film or art direction, in relation to self-generated themes. We will provide a range of industry-focused project opportunities appropriate to this specialist role.

    • Fashion Communication Internship (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This module will enable you to undertake a period of work experience within a field of the fashion communication at the beginning of the second term. We support you in identifying possible career networks and areas of employment. The project provides the opportunity for you to apply the specialist and transferable skills you have acquired so far in a professional setting.

    • Industry, Media and Audience (30 Credits) - Compulsory

      When you return from your internship in term 2, this module will build on your awareness of fashion communication industry practice in relation to market and audience. You will further hone your skills in a particular field, as a stylist, photographer or art director, considering how your own creative practice demonstrates awareness of professional standards and client expectations. You will further explore your personal style and direction through the production of a self-directed project aimed at an appropriate market, outlet or platform.

    • Fashion Communication and Styling Placement Year - Optional

      This OPTIONAL module allow you to undertake a year-long internship in the fashion industry, returning to undertake take your final year as a fourth year of study. You will utilise an employment experience to provide an insight into the work methods and operation of a fashion business or freelance role in a field of fashion design and production. You will carefully document the experience, engendering an understanding of the principles of reflective practice and their application in a professional context.

  • Year 3

    • Contextual Studies Research Project (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This project will allow you to engage with the identification, organisation and development of a substantial, in-depth, self-directed dissertation with a clear and sustained critical argument. We encourage the pursuit of a research topic related to issues explored in your own practice in any area of fashion. You will further develop critical awareness and self-reflection of historical and/or contemporary contexts of your discipline and research topic, building on primary and secondary research skills embedded in Years One and Two, and developing your ability to identify, analyse and critically evaluate appropriate sources and research methods.

    • Fashion Communication Portfolio (90 credits) - Compulsory

      This is your final major project. The year-long module will provide the opportunity for you to research, develop and produce a series of self-directed projects that reflect your understanding of industry standards within a chosen field of fashion communication, demonstrate a clear personal style and direction and show awareness of current and innovative practice. The aim is to produce a graduate portfolio of creative output appropriate to a specific role or field of fashion communication.

  1. Teaching and independent learning
  2. Coursework and feedback

You will have access to a broad range of resources and facilities, including:

  • Photographic studios
  • Printmaking studios
  • Reprographics
  • Digital design workshops
  • Film studios
  • Materials Room, including archives of magazines, catalogues, ‘zines and dress collection

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Financial support

You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.

How can the BA Fashion Communication and Styling support your career?

This degree leads to a diverse range of fashion media roles including stylist, photographer, fashion editor, art director, casting agent, graphic designer and PR consultant.

Year after year our students produce outstanding industry-standard work and leave the course with an impressive portfolio to launch their careers. Take a look at some of the work from last year’s graduates on our Creative Graduates 2022 website.

Success stories

Graduates from the fashion courses at Middlesex include internationally known illustrator and art director Richard Gray, menswear designer Martine Rose and Richard Sloan, stylist and art director who has worked with Kylie Minogue and Lily Allen.

Jared Behl
Jared is a fashion image maker and founder of @forservicezine who graduated in 2020. Jared has consulted for Balenciaga on their Summer 22 campaign.

Valeria Chrampani
Valeria is a fashion stylist and consultant who graduated in 2022 and has a cult following on Instagram with her @sushiandbaklava account. Vogue was celebrating her Y2K-focused Depop store pop-up at Selfridges before she even graduated.
valeriachrampani.com

MDXworks

Our employability service, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.

Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has put us in the top 10 UK universities for students who want to be CEOs and entrepreneurs (Hitachi, 2021).

MDXcelerator Student Start-Up Support

Want to be your own boss? You'll have the chance to pitch your business to gain mentoring and grants of up to £15,000.

Global network

You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.

  1. UK entry
  2. International entry
  3. Interviews and portfolio
  4. How to apply

The fees below are for the 2024/25 academic year:

UK students1

Full-time: £9,250

Part-time: £77 per taught credit

International students2

Full-time students: £16,600

Part-time students: £138 per taught credit

Additional costs

The following study tools are included in your fees:

  • Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
  • Free access to the resources and learning materials
  • Free access to everything on your reading list
  • Free specialist software for your course
  • Free printing for academic paperwork
  • Free online training with LinkedIn Learning
  • Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders.

The following course-related costs are not included in the fees, and you may be required to purchase these to complete the course. The costs are approximate and may change due to changes in pricing at the retailer.

  • Optional field trips abroad (approximately £150 per student)
  • Additional books that you wish to purchase
  • Additional printing and finish for final projects (approximately £100 per student in Year 1 and 2, approximately £200 in Year 3)

Scholarships and bursaries

To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:

  • MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
  • Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
  • Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.

David Poole
Co-Programme Leader, Fashion Communication and Styling

David is a graduate of Fashion Design from the Limerick School of Art and Design, Ireland. David's work is primarily concerned with the space that exists between particulars, in the connectivity between processes of abstraction and the realisation of concepts in visual language. Working professionally across image making, photography, illustration, design and education, but also in education, David has worked collaboratively across disciplines in art, design and education. This is most evident in Slashstroke, a multilateral creative organisation, which brings together creatives from around the world to discuss and produce new work exploring central questions around creativity, process and practice and reaches out directly through public interaction in live events, work shops and exhibitions.

Lucy Fine
Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design Styling Promotion

A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Lucy's MA Menswear collection focused on translating multi-cultural London through design and styling, which is still a fundamental theme of her work. She has worked with, amongst others, Top Man Design, Dexter Wong, and Electronic Sheep. Lucy is co-founder and project manager of Slashstroke, a creative organisation working in art, fashion, design and education. It delivers live interactive workshops and events, educational programs, creative direction and production. Clients include The Victoria and Albert Museum, London College of Fashion, The Sunday Times, Create London and The Barbican. Slashstroke is developing research and educational programs exploring the relationship between communities, educational institutions and creative industries. The Hackney Street Style School is a project launched in association with Middlesex University, Create London and Hackney Council making tangible links between local youths, career paths and education.

Gavin Fernandes
Senior Lecturer in Fashion Communication and Styling

Gavin joined Middlesex University in autumn 2011 and after lecturing part-time at London College of Fashion where over a period of thirteen years saw a selection of his students emerge as graduates to become successful creatives in the fashion communication industries - these include current fashion stylists and editors Anna Treveylan, Anders Sølvesten-Thompson, Jack Borkett and Dan May; fashion PR owner Ella Dror; fashion photographers Matt Irwin, Angelo Pennetta, Sean and Seng, Neil Bedford, Ben Morris, Nadia Lee Cohen and Kasia Wozniak, and photographer/film makers Laurence Ellis and Paul Gore. Gavin's own professional practice is creative fashion direction in which he incorporates both his own fashion styling and photography disciplines to encompass complex and provocative socio-political discussions around themes of cultural identity, religion, feminine empowerment and gender. His photographic narrative "Empire Line" was exhibited at Harewood House, Leeds as part of their 'Victorian Harewood' season.

Matt Ryalls
Senior Lecturer in Fashion Communication and Styling

Matt studied Fashion Design at Central St. Martins and has worked as a stylist and Fashion Editor for Arena, Dazed & Confused, Exit, Nylon, POP and The Face magazines. In addition he has collaborated with numerous designers on runway presentations internationally. Matt publishes various ‘zines that explore themes of identity, sexuality and gender that he exhibits internationally. Matt is also the Programme Leader for our Fashion MA.

Each year we take final year projects from students on BA Fashion Communication and Styling to be displayed at the Arts and Creative Industries degree show, usually held at the Truman Brewery.

Instagram

Follow us on Instagram for upcoming events, student work and degree highlights.

FSCMDX.co.uk

Created by our programme leaders and showcasing the best of our student work, this website is dedicated to this course, it's students and their work.

Look Book

Take a look at this years Look Book to see a showcase of our students work.

Gallery

Click the images below to have a look at some great examples of student work.

  • Philip Clarke

    Programme Director, Fashion

    An interdisciplinary visual communication programme, FCSMDX encourages students to explore a broad range of media and promotional tools. Our diagnostic first year enables students to engage with a variety of media and skills; they work on short projects, both independently and in collaboration with their peers, prior to selecting a specialist pathway. During their second year, students opt to focus on Art Direction, Photography & Film or Styling and undertake a six-week internship in a chosen area of the fashion industry.

    We make the most of our industry contacts. In addition to a rich programme of guest lectures, this year has seen us collaborate with Top Man, Rollacoaster, Law, Gap and Man About Town. Our graduates enjoy diverse employment opportunities, both within fashion media and in related fields. Recent graduates have gone on to work as graphic designers, photographers, editorial and celebrity stylists, casting agents, filmmakers and PR consultants. Renewed interest in traditional print media has developed in tandem with the evolution of digital platforms; our students are both encouraged to explore current trends and predict those of the future.

  • Kerry Francis

    Fashion Communication and Styling BA student

    I really like the diversity the course has offered me. I'd previously specialised in photography and I've been able to continue with this whilst improving my skills in other areas, such as graphics. The chance to take part in a six-week work placement was also a great experience and it allowed me to incorporate the theory I've learned into my practical work.

    After I graduate I plan to stay in London and gain more experience in the industry to figure out what area of fashion I'd like to explore for a career. The guidance offered by my tutors has been a great help in figuring out my pathway post-graduation.

  • Rokas Kamblevicius

    Fashion Communication and Styling BA graduate

    Rokas graduated with a first class honours degree in 2014. His final project involved the production of a menswear lifestyle publication. He completed an MA in Publishing at London College of Communication the following year, while working for the creative agency Hight and Irons. After a stint at Monocle, he has recently taken on the role of project manager at Tank Form, a boutique creative agency launched by Tank magazine.

  • Theo Spencer

    Fashion Communication and Styling BA graduate

    During his time on the FCS programme, Theo chose to specialise as an art director, producing a range of promotional campaigns for both new and established designers. He now works as a casting agent, working both independently and for other agencies (Supa, Wilhemina). His models have featured in a range of high-profile designer campaigns and in magazines such as Dazed and Confused, Wonderland and Esquire. His own image-making was featured in the art publication ‘Unlocked’ produced by Atopos.


We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

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