Fashion Communication with Foundation Year
Fashion communication is the discipline of giving fashion ideas visual and cultural form, translating the language of clothes, identity and trend into images, words, moving pictures and experiences that reach audiences. It sits at the intersection of art direction, journalism, graphic design, photography, film, styling, events and trend analysis, and the most effective fashion communicators are fluent across all of these modes even if they eventually choose to specialise in one or two. The fashion industry depends on this work, because without compelling visual storytelling, even the most innovative design remains invisible.
At Birmingham City University this four-year full-time programme incorporates a foundation year, which develops the creative and technical foundations you need before moving into the main degree. You will learn to brand, style, write, shoot, package and direct fashion content, engaging with the full range of disciplines that the current description identifies. You will develop skills in art direction and image-making alongside the journalistic and editorial instincts needed to work with words and ideas about fashion.
The programme benefits from the university's strong creative arts environment and Birmingham's position as one of the UK's most important fashion retail and production centres.
Fashion communication graduates work as art directors, fashion editors, stylists, photographers, content producers, brand strategists, journalists, social media managers, trend forecasters, event producers and creative consultants. The range of disciplines covered by the degree means that graduates can pursue careers in fashion itself or in the broader creative industries where the skills developed are equally valued. Many graduates go on to work with fashion brands, retailers, magazines, advertising agencies and digital platforms.
Postgraduate study in fashion communication, fashion media, art direction or fashion business provides routes for those who want to develop a specific specialism further.