Fashion, Brand and Communication BA (Hons)

Course overview

The course supports you to explore how fashion is communicated, promoted and represented creatively via different media, through a curriculum which will include photography, fashion illustration, graphics and branding, trends, styling, public relations, fashion film, fashion show production, set and installation design and the creative use of new digital platforms.

• This course shares a common first year with both BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) International Fashion Business, which enables you to work alongside students studying similar courses to you. This offers you, as a communicator, first-hand insight into fashion design in the making.
• This course aims to relate all aspects to current professional and critical practice in the fashion industry.
• The interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum is designed to provide a microcosm of the professional fashion world.

Why you should study this course

• This course benefits from being taught alongside our BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) International Fashion Business courses, with all three courses sharing a common first year. As a suite, these three courses offer insight and introduction to the evolving fashion industry in its broadest sense. Students working within any of the three courses will have the opportunity to work alongside other students, providing a more well-rounded experience.
• The BA (Hons) Fashion, Brand and Communication course is a hands-on creative course. With theory embedded throughout module activities, the work you will undertake will be creative in its content and approach. You will work towards a creative portfolio demonstrating your skills as an innovative and directional practitioner who is able to do more than write about a topic- you can apply your knowledge to creative solutions.
• Outstanding creative spaces in our purpose-built Delia Derbyshire building offer space and light along with industry standard equipment and technologies⁴. You will work in a range of scales, materials and processes. You will be encouraged to develop and apply both 2D and 3D techniques and will apply both analogue (traditional) and digital (new technology) approaches to ensure you develop your individual creative identity and ways of working relevant to current and emerging creative sector standards.
• You will be introduced to future proof interpretations of communication and will have the opportunity to develop work beyond a digital portfolio. You will be encouraged to seek opportunities for communication in a range of products, campaigns, and media- offering you potential to create a truly individual body of work ready to pursue your graduate goals.
• This course, along with others in the suite of Fashion courses is highly internationally focused. You can benefit from a wealth of international experience established by the course founders; who are passionate about ensuring global collaboration and industry readiness and who seek opportunities to develop solid international awareness and experience where possible. Themes included within course modules embrace this global approach and you are encouraged to consider diverse perspectives and references from the start of the course².

Careers and opportunities

Students on the course are expected to have ambitions within the creative sector and will be supported towards reaching their overall goals on the course.

In your first year, you may undertake in-house placements, expanding your network of contacts². The Fashion Futures module directly supports your development here.

In your second year, you will work on a range of branded projects building industry relevant portfolios. Your Fashion Futures: Industry Ready module directly prepares you to apply for industry placements of interest, and to prepare for post-second year plans. The optional sandwich year² is a real, focused opportunity to gain industry experience – this also helps refine your graduate goals and ensure you have a clear direction for your return to studies.

In your final year, you will develop an industry standard portfolio of work; applying skills gained throughout the course. Through the Fashion Futures: Graduate Ready module you’ll realise an industry facing promotional package demonstrating your employability.

Previous alumni from the suite of courses have undertaken placements at companies including Tatty Devine, Adidas, Karl Lagerfeld, Seraphine, Comptoir Des Cotonniers, Mary Katrantzou, Sainsbury’s TU, The Future Laboratory, Calvin Klein, Natori New York, POP Magazine, Arena Homme and magazine, Vogue, Iris Van Herpen, WGSN, Bottle Blonde, New Look, Burberry, Boden, George, Peter Jensen, Injury Hong Kong, The Fashion and Textile Museum and J Model Management, among others.

The suite of Fashion courses at Coventry University are geographically located in the golden fashion triangle of the UK. Home to the design hubs of the giant fashion retailers including, George, Next, Sainsbury’s TU, Morrisons Nutmeg, Murray and a plethora of independent fashion brands including Bottle Blonde, Alien Cow, Rosie Billington, Lumpy Coffee, (all Coventry University Fashion graduate start-ups).