Fashion Marketing BA Honours

This module defines key marketing theories, processes, and concepts, their strengths and weaknesses and their use in different organisational contexts. It analyses the role and function of marketing within organisations to identify market trends and explain marketing practice and fashion trends. The module recognises the role and importance of customers in marketing decision-making and applies marketing theory to suggest and justify marketing mix decisions.

This module is designed provide a theoretical and practical understanding of integrated marketing communications in both commercial and social marketing domains.

Students will examine a range of marketing communication models used in traditional media as well as providing an emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented with the growth of new media channels within an everchanging digital landscape.

Students will develop a deeper appreciation of the importance of brand message structure and content as it reaches diverse audiences. Given the competitive nature of the marketplace, it is incumbent on marketers to design message strategies that can be heard above the ‘noise’ of competing organisations and brands. To that end, students will develop strategies for the creative use of media channels to devise persuasive message campaigns and thereby develop relevant employment skills for the creative industry sector.

This module sets much of the grounding contextual framework for the rest of the degree programme, considering the historical drivers and contemporary context of the fashion industry. The module aims to introduce students to the broad historical, social, cultural and economic contexts for the development of fast fashion and lifestyle brands and acknowledge how and why fashion and related industries have been associated with exploitative models of production and consumption.

Through analysis of historical case studies and contemporary brands, students will gain knowledge and understanding of how business ethics has emerged and evolved over the 20^th century and how communication practices have evolved to market fashion in an era of post-consumerism and stakeholder capitalism.

This module will introduce students to different ways of looking at and thinking about fashion, providing an introduction to key themes, narratives and concepts, and considering their historical and theoretical underpinnings. 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 global fashion 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, making context the centre of students’ creative and professional practice.

The module aims to develop an understanding of how fashion brands can encourage responsible consumerism. Marketing is sometimes seen as contradictory to positive societal and sustainable goals, nevertheless applying its principles can also serve to effectively promote societal outcomes.

Concepts such as sustainable and social marketing are at the forefront of current marketing thinking and practice and brands can use this knowledge to create offerings that will drive consumers towards a more responsible consumption.

Students will be encouraged to develop their own understanding of what it means to become a responsible consumer by being presented with theoretical concepts and ideas that lie on the interrelationship among marketing, public policy, social and environmental values.

This module aims to enable students to research the challenges of linking fashion and the environment responsibly. Hands-on analysis of fashion products enables students to recognise the material qualities of eco-fibres, fabrics and garments. Lectures and discussions establish how the category of ‘eco-fashion’ has emerged and examines the current and emerging regulatory frameworks which govern ‘eco-fashion’ and emerging eco-consumer cohorts.

Students will gain confidence in identifying a range of integrated marketing communication techniques to explore how greenwashing is applied and develop responsible marketing strategies for eliminating greenwashing from fashion and lifestyle marketing.

The module aims to provide a holistic view of branding concepts and theoretical frameworks within the context of an evolving digital landscape. There is a recognition that consumer brands play an important role in creating and influencing consumer expectations and are more than just labels on the products and services we consume.

Brands need to reflect and adapt to the changing values and ethical considerations that consumers are seeing as increasingly important in a world being defined by new environmental, social and cultural norms. In order to remain relevant, brands need to create greater emotional links with consumers.

To that end, students will explore the art of brand storytelling across multiple digital platforms, and understand how brand narratives emotionally link with consumer aspirations, as well as create increased levels of loyalty, engagement and brand value in today’s globalised and dynamic digital era.

This module provides opportunities to consider contemporary approaches to experimental and immersive marketing used to promote fashion brands and enables students to experiment with adopting sensory, digital and phygital approaches to marketing a fashion brand of the student’s choice.

Students will gain opportunities to study some of the innovative and creative ways fashion brands use physical events / digital showcases to market themselves in the established and emerging fashion capitals during some of the busiest and most important weeks of the fashion calendar, and how the metaverse is evolving and changing e-commerce, the retail experience, digital marketing, and communications.

To build upon the core academic research and communication skills introduced in the Fashion History and Social Identity module, students will develop specialist knowledge and understanding of critical issues in contemporary fashion, related to the production, consumption and mediation of fashion as a global aspect of both culture and industry.

The module adopts a decolonial perspective to explore and develop how contemporary debates, themes and concepts influence the material, visual and consumer cultures of fashion, challenging dominant historical narratives and unpicking fashion’s mythologies from a global perspective. Students will develop their own independent research interests in contemporary fashion cultures and industry, and a critical awareness of the fashion industry, helping them to position their creative work in an ethically-informed, responsible, and culturally competent manner.

This module will enable you to undertake a period of work experience within a field of fashion (marketing) scheduled at the start of the second term and running until the end of London Fashion Week. Academic staff support and encourage students in identifying possible career networks and areas of employment and develop key employment tools. The project set whilst on placement also asks students to investigate the organisation in terms of its ethical and sustainable focus and commitment and will give students practical industry experience to contextualise key themes across the programme.

This optional module allows you to undertake a year-long internship in the field of fashion industry before returning for your final 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 the field of your degree specialism. You will carefully document the experience engender an understanding of the principles of reflective practice and the application in a professional context and network building.

This module is underpinned by the ethos that ‘Entrepreneurship’ is now a career choice for many students in these challenging, dynamic and uncertain times. This module is designed to foster entrepreneurial talent and encourage and develop entrepreneurial new venture management skills as a Marketing Consultant for the fashion industries. It also aims to make students aware of opportunities in the marketplace and how to use Effectual Entrepreneurship to implement and generate sustainable incomes in a world outside the academic environment.

This module offers the opportunity to develop collaborative peer communities across the Design and Marketing departments at Middlesex and wider networks of emerging designers and creatives. You will be tasked with gathering and analysing market insight to create original campaigns and strategy and position your live client within the industry. You will develop an understanding of the designer’s creative process, how to practice effective consultancy, and negotiate a valuable set of outcomes for your client.

The module provides opportunities to analyse the strategic approach of managing a sustainable fashion business. Fashion brands have unique challenges, dynamic opportunities and are relying hugely on creativity.

Students will understand what sustainable fashion is and how the established theoretical knowledge and concepts of strategic management can be applied and/or adapted to fashion-oriented companies, while gaining all the practical skills required for developing fashion brands in a diverse and competitive global environment.

This project will allow students to engage with the identification, organisation and development of a substantial, in-depth, self-directed research project (Dissertation) with a clear and sustained critical argument. We encourage the pursuit of a research topic related to issues explored in students’ own practice in any area of fashion visual cultures.

Students will further develop critical awareness and self-reflection of historical and/or contemporary contexts of the discipline and research topic, building on primary and secondary research skills embedded at levels 4 and 5, and developing their ability to identify, analyse and critically evaluate appropriate sources and research methods.

This module builds on learning from prior modules and provides further collaborative experience working on a live client-driven consultancy project. External clients will provide the project brief and students will work in teams to develop practical solutions. This is an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real organisations and facilitate the practice of effective team working, problem solving reflective and presentation skills. You will also develop an understanding of the complexities relating to client management and project deliverables.