Undergraduate BA (Hons) Fashion Business

What Is Fashion Business?

Fashion business refers to the strategic planning, organisation, and implementation of business operations in the fashion industry. It involves managing the production, marketing, and sales of fashion products and services, as well as the coordination of the supply chain, logistics, and retail operations.

By choosing to study BA (Hons) Fashion Business degree, you will learn the key principles needed to manage a global fashion brand. You will explore a wide range of concepts to understand the business of fashion on a global scale, investigating how external and internal market factors can impact strategic decisions made by fashion brands.

This 2-year accelerated degree course will develop your business and planning skills to ensure that you can tackle the challenges that face fashion brands. You’ll learn how to understand what your customers want and create business plans that consider trends, sustainability developments and the ever-changing needs of consumers, which is essential for anyone wanting to run a successful fashion brand.

You’ll discover how effective management and planning informs and benefits every aspect of a business, from buying and merchandising to marketing and product development and how each of these departments collaborate to make a brand truly successful.  

You’ll develop a solid foundation of business knowledge and understand how to strategically plan to ensure that a business succeeds. You’ll learn about the new technologies and innovations impacting brands within the fashion industry and discover economic theories and how to apply these fashion businesses.   

The course will develop your entrepreneurial skills and teach you the essentials of data analysis to ensure that you can accurately assess how a business is performing, which is a vital skill for anyone managing a brand. You’ll develop your problem-solving, financial and analytical skills and learn how to use data to improve sales and increase profits.

Our accelerated degrees are taught over three teaching semesters a year instead of the traditional two. This means you'll learn the same academic content as a three-year course, whilst saving on tuition fees and living costs. You can also start your career a year earlier than your peers. 

BA (HONS) FASHION BUSINESS MODULES

Our BA (Hons) Fashion Business course includes six specialist fashion business modules: 

YEAR 1

• Fashion Business Fundamentals (40 Credits): Develop the technical, research, creative, financial and analytical skills needed for an active role in the fashion retail industry. Understand the international fashion market through economic theory and learn the fundamentals of the financial, social and environmental conditions in which fashion retail brands function. 
• Leadership & Management (40 Credits): Learn how to lead people and manage projects in a fashion environment. Examine the management challenges in the sector and develop analytical and creative problem-solving skills. Develop entrepreneurial and analytical skills needed to be an effective and strategic decision maker. 
• Product Strategy & Development (40 Credits): Discover the process, rationale and mechanisms used to create new products, and how this is influenced by new design ideas, trends and a brand’s DNA. Utilise new technologies and strategies and learn how to plan your own product ranges so that you can create innovative and exciting products. 

YEAR 2

• Strategic Business Planning & Finance (40 Credits): Understand the behaviour of domestic and international fashion businesses through economic theory and discover how to use data analysis to develop an evidence-based approach to decision-making.  
• Personal Professional Project (40 Credits): Complete an individual project that represents the knowledge and skills you have learnt during the degree. This is a self-directed project that will allow you to demonstrate your skills and put into practice what you have learnt. You will receive guidance from your tutor. 
• Live Project & Industry Experience – Brand Development & Communication (40 Credits): Complete a live project, working with a brand, focused on branding and communication strategies. Gain knowledge and insights from industry enrichment throughout the project. 

CORE MODULES

There are six core modules that are taught across all undergraduate courses: 

YEAR 1 

• Study and Research Skills (20 Credits): Develop the knowledge and skills necessary for studying fashion at undergraduate level. Complete a research project that allows you to practice creative research techniques in your specialist area. Explore theories on decolonisation, equity, diversity, and inclusion. 
• The Fashion Industry (20 Credits): Learn about the contemporary fashion industry in all aspects and discover the relationship between marketing and brand management. Explore the business structures across luxury, mid-market, and high street brands to the identify differences and commonalities in how brands operate. 
• Consumer and Data Insights (20 Credits): Learn how to gather, collate and analyse important data, and discover how to use your findings in evidence-based decision-making. Find out how to gain important insights into consumers’ habits and learn how to incorporate this data into your strategies. 

YEAR 2 

• Consumer Behaviour (20 Credits): Explore how consumer behaviour impacts all aspects of a fashion business and understand how individual and collective consumer habits are influenced by cultural, social, and economic factors.  
• Global Markets (20 Credits): Develop your understanding of global markets and the international business landscape. Learn about the impact of globalisation on businesses and consumers, and how business models are changing in reaction to social and political change. Learn about the diversity, complexity, and vibrancy of the international business landscape for fashion, and how each element of the industry is connected. 
• Entrepreneurial Practice (20 Credits): Discover the core elements that make a business entrepreneurial and how the business ecosystem can drive change. Explore the theoretical and practical entrepreneurial capabilities for start-ups and established businesses.  

*Course structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes

We work with over 140 brands at the Fashion Retail Academy. Each of our degree courses includes practical, industry-focused content taught by some of fashion’s biggest names to give you valuable skills and work experience.

Industry Mentor

We match every undergraduate student with their own dedicated industry mentor. You’ll meet a minimum of once a term, and they’ll be there to support and guide you, and give you insight into working life. They’ll share their professional experience and personal connections to top names in fashion. Current students are working with mentors from brands like Jigsaw, Whistles, Burberry and Lipsy.

Three-Week work placement

As part of our undergraduate programmes, you’ll have an industry work placement with one of our partner brands each year. You’ll be assigned to an industry manager either individually or as a small group, and you’ll work remotely or in the office. You’ll be given tasks to complete, providing you with an understanding of a specific job role and its place within an organisation. You could be working in a single team, or across multiple areas of the business.

In your first year, you’ll complete three weeks of placement. In your second year, your work placement will be either 3 weeks full time or two days a week over 3 months. You’ll earn practical, professional skills that give a valuable boost to your CV.

YOU 2.0 Assessment Centre Bootcamp 

All graduating students will pass through our unique assessment centre bootcamp, designed to give you experience of industry interviews and assessment days. You’ll learn what to expect and how to prepare for interviews. We’ll teach you how to stand out from the crowd, so you'll know exactly what talent acquisition teams are looking for and feel confident applying for industry roles.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIFE AS AN FRA STUDENT?

Book a place on our drop-in Q&A session with our current undergraduate students to find out more about what it's like to study at the Fashion Retail Academy: 

BOOK A PLACE

These sessions will occur on a monthly basis. 

When you graduate from one of our accelerated undergraduate degree programmes, you'll be ready to progress straight into employment in the fashion industry.

Previous graduates from BA (Hons) Fashion Business for are now working in a wide variety of job roles, including:

• Fashion Retailer Manager
• Fashion Business Manager
• Brand Strategist
• Fashion Stylist
• Buying Admin Assistant
• Merchandising Admin Assistant

Other students have gone on to start their own successful fashion businesses.

All applications are processed through UCAS.

UCAS Code: fam1

Our offers are usually between 104 and 120 UCAS points for our undergraduate courses, from Level 3 equivalent qualifications such as:

• A levels
• a BTEC Extended Diploma
• a Foundation Diploma

You can check how many points your qualifications are worth using the online UCAS Tariff Calculator.

For more details on applying for our undergraduate degrees, please see our Undergraduate Application Process.

Due to the creative nature of our courses, you'll be considered on your own individual merit and potential to succeed. We encourage you to get in touch if you're predicted fewer than 104 UCAS points, thinking about transferring from another institution, or if you have other qualifications or relevant experience.

International Students

We are currently unable to accept international applications for our undergraduate degree courses. If you'd like to study at the Fashion Retail Academy, please apply for one of our Level 4 diploma programmes. 

Course fees

• £11,100 per year
• Student tuition and maintenance loans are available

Fees & Funding

BA (Hons) Fashion Business was previously called BA (Hons) Business Management for Fashion.

Our undergraduate degree programmes have been exclusively developed in partnership with Falmouth University.

All our undergraduate courses are taught at our Central London campus by our team of leading academics and industry professionals. Throughout your studies, you will be part of Falmouth University's Student Union and have access to their library facilities alongside our own. Upon graduation, your degree will be awarded by Falmouth University at a Fashion Retail Academy graduation ceremony.

2023-2024 

• Freshers Week: 18 September 2023
• Start of term: 25 September
• End of term: 15 December
• Winter holidays: 18 December 2023 - 21 January 2024
• Start of term: 22 January 2024
• End of term: 22 March
• Early Spring Holidays: 25 March - 7 April
• Start of term: 8 April
• Late Spring Holidays (Assessment Break): 29 April - 26 May
• Start of term: 27 May
• End of term: 16 August 2024

*Term Dates are subject to change 

2024-2025

Term dates to be confirmed.

Rachael Taylor - 'Economic and Financial Performance of Different UK and Fashion Retail Organisations 2018 - Now'

the role of the government in the economy

effect of brexit on GDP & Inflation

effect of Brexit on the fashion industry

'changing world order' - effect on the retail industry

From September 2024, the Fashion Retail Academy will be located at our new campus at Electra House near Liverpool Street, Central London.   

The listed building is currently undergoing a £30 million refurbishment, created to our exact specifications.    

Liverpool Street has excellent transport links to the rest of London and beyond, and Electra House is situated directly across from Moorgate tube station. There is a bus stop outside the building, and Liverpool Street Station is a short walk away. 

There will be:  

• 8 floors (Electra House is double the size of our current campus)
• A bigger library and more workspaces
• 35 classrooms
• Bespoke studio spaces
• 6 lecture theatres 
• Dedicated fashion design wing
• IT hub and self-service laptop lockers
• "Speakeasy" student common room and on-site cafe
• 2 specialist exhibition and event spaces
• Wellness spaces and communal areas
• Discovery nook

Students starting their course in September 2023 will start at our Gresse Street campus and move to Electra House for their second year. We will be there to support you throughout the transition, and provide any help and guidance wherever needed.   

Click here for more information about Electra House and how our new campus will benefit you.