As the University helps celebrate Winchester Fashion Week 2019 as sponsor of the city-wide celebration of style, Dr Samantha Lynch, Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing programme, outlines the distinctive experience the course offers students hoping for a career in the competitive global fashion industry, from the belief that fashion can be a force for good to blending creativity with business acumen.
This is unlike similar courses at other institutions which are often situated in an art school. We seek to develop students who want to run fashion brands and businesses, who have both a creative mind-set with marketing and business acumen. Our fashion teaching team each have an industry background - whether that be in marketing, retail or fashion - and we fuse this insight with our academic knowledge.
Over and above the educational experience, Winchester is a great place to study and to live. Here you can achieve a good work-life balance and I believe this is really important for our students. With access to London in just an hour, you can experience all that our fashion capital has to offer. In Winchester we also have a vibrant fashion community, with many independent businesses and that provides a fantastic source of employability opportunities.
The University of Winchester Business School is one of seven UK champion schools for the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative.
Our work on fashion sustainability encourages students to rethink and challenge existing industry practices to create a more sustainable economy and society. We have a dedicated focus on sustainability, ethics and responsible management within our modules.
We have also teamed up with leading brands in the fashion industry to share knowledge, including outdoor clothing company Patagonia, which is renowned for being a leader in environmental and social initiatives. We seek to provide a platform for our graduates to become confident, responsible and innovative future leaders within fashion as a result of their experiences with us.
Given the competitive nature of our industry, we encourage our Fashion Marketing students to obtain work experience throughout their degree programme, whether that be during the summer or via a part-time role.
Winchester Fashion Week is a key highlight in our fashion calendar and the University's sponsorship of this event provides a number of opportunities for Winchester students to gain employability skills, shape their educational experience and contribute to the local community. This year around 50 students have been involved in preparing and delivering Winchester Fashion Week.
The course prepares our students for a career in the commercial side of the global fashion industry.
Our Fashion Marketing programme is designed to provide students with a well-rounded view of the fashion industry. So, while a student may join the course wanting to be a fashion buyer, they may then decide that they are more excited by working in fashion PR as a result of their experiences with us.
The programme seeks to help students find out what sparks their interest. Our course is evolving too and we regularly revisit our modules to ensure they reflect the needs of the industry. At Winchester, you can be confident you are learning about the latest developments and trends within fashion marketing.
We are very proud of everything that our Fashion Marketing graduates have achieved both in the UK and beyond. A recent graduate of the programme has gone on to work as a junior copywriter for leading department store Selfridges & Co.
Our programme has a global outlook and this is shaped by our international students. One of our most recent international student graduates is now working as an International brand manager in Canada. Our BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing programme will equip you with the skills you need to create a successful career within fashion.
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