Undergraduate BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Styling

Fashion communication and styling are central to the fashion industry, and effectively and engagingly communicating a brand's products and identity to consumers is essential to a brand's success. With the shift to online retailing, consumers need to be more connected to the brand and the need for new talent has never been more critical. This course will give you a comprehensive theoretical and practical foundation for a career in fashion communications. 

BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Styling will teach you the key principles, tools and knowledge needed for a successful career in fashion. You’ll explore a wide range of concepts, such as storytelling and fashion imagery, and gain an insight into the theory and practice of communication and styling. 

On this accelerated two-year undergraduate degree, you’ll develop fashion-focused communication, styling and storytelling skills, and develop practical skills for a range of creative and commercial roles. You’ll explore communication in a fashion environment through a range of mediums and develop your own creative practice and professional portfolio. 

You’ll study modules such as Fashion Image, Design Thinking & Storytelling and Entrepreneurial Practice, and learn about the communication and cultural theories that will affect the future of fashion communication and media. You'll work with a dedicated industry mentor throughout the course and complete work placements.

We’ll teach you how identity is communicated through both image and context, and about the fashion publishing environment. You’ll develop an understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and understand how to demonstrate these through your work. You’ll discover how to research, curate and evaluate visual references, develop an awareness of contemporary platforms and spaces, and how to define your own creative perspective. 

accelerated learning

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 COMMUNICATION & STYLING MODULES 

Our BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Styling course includes specialist modules*: 

YEAR 1  

• Fashion Image (40 Credits): Examine fashion imagery and learn how fashion storytelling relates to communication through various forms of visual media. Learn to analyse the storytelling of a fashion image, and discover the meanings, responsibilities and influences that fashion image-making has. Understand how to draw on cultural influences to create inspiring visual media. 
• Fashion Identity (40 Credits): Learn how stylists and creative directors style people such as musicians, actors and cultural icons. Build your knowledge of creative fashion styling from both a theoretical and practical perspective, as well as develop an understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Research your chosen fashion publications and their legacies, styles, content, tone and aesthetics. 
• Fashion Motion and Interactivity (40 Credits): Learn about the requirements of moving images for the fashion industry, including film, animation and live performances. Discover how various live social channels have disrupted the fashion industry and changed the future of media broadcasting. Learn how to analyse a client of your choice (this could be a fashion brand, magazine, event, or individual) and create a short creative film, animation or film of a live event.

YEAR 2 

• Product Styling & E-Commerce (40 Credits): Learn how product imagery and styling are a crucial part of the e-commerce world, through still images, VR, AR or moving model shots that help drive sales. Discover the practicalities of styling for e-commerce and understand how to plan and document shoots. Analyse data mining techniques and learn how brands maximise their reach, traffic and loyalty.
• 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, and you will receive guidance from your tutor.
• Live Project & Industry Experience - Fashion Innovation (40 Credits): Complete a live project, working with a brand, focused on product strategies. Gain knowledge and insights from industry enrichment throughout your project.   

All 40 credit modules receive 100 hours of teaching time.

CORE MODULES

There are 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. Explore the business structures across luxury, mid-market, and high street to identify differences and commonalities of how brands operate. Discover the relationship between marketing and brand management.    
• Fashion Storytelling (20 Credits): Learn how to research, curate and evaluate visual references and develop an awareness of contemporary platforms and spaces. Understand the components you need for a strong, persuasive message and discover the five steps of design thinking: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test. Discover the role of stylists and art directors at a conceptual level. 

YEAR 2  

• 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.   
• The Client (20 Credits): Develop a considered understanding of audience, market context, and how to interpret a brief. Work to a professional brief to extend your network of professional contacts and prepare you for professional practice.

*This course is subject to validation. Modules may change during the approvals process.

All 20 credit modules receive 50 hours of teaching time.

We work with over 140 brands at the FRA. 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.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

As part of our undergraduate programmes, you’ll have industry experience 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 experience. 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.

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

Graduates from BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Styling could work in a wide variety of job roles, including:

• Fashion Stylist
• PR Manager/PR Assistant
• Photographer
• Fashion Editor
• Art Director
• Content Producer
• Copywriter
• Social Media Content Creator

All applications are processed through UCAS.

UCAS Code: FCS1

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. 

Assessment Methods

This course is assessed via 100% coursework. The assessment tools include, but aren’t limited to, professionally relevant projects, essays and presentations. 

Course fees

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

Fees & Funding

This course is subject to validation by our awarding institution, Falmouth University

Our fashion communications and styling undergraduate degree programme has 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. Once you have graduated your degree, you will be awarded by Falmouth University at a Fashion Retail Academy graduation ceremony.

2024-2025

Term dates to be confirmed.

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

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

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  

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. 

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.