Fashion Marketing BA (Hons)

There is an ongoing debate regarding what characterises a ‘responsible business’, covering everything from the requirement to maximise shareholder value, to considering everyone who is impacted by the business, and everything in between. In response to this ongoing debate, this module questions and unpicks how businesses balance the need for economic viability with a commitment to behaving responsibly. You will engage with theoretical and practical perspectives on issues such as:

• The provision of environmentally safe, ethical and equal working conditions
• Sustainable procurement
• The role of philanthropy

This module will challenge you to apply your learning to complex debates around contemporary business and societal issues.

This module will enhance your understanding of the fashion industry, introducing you to the key fashion marketing concepts and theories which you will refer back to throughout your degree. You will learn to consider these principles the core elements of marketing theory. We will cover:

• Internal and external marketing environments
• Consumer behaviour
• Various strategies employed in industry, from mass to luxury
• Developing appropriate future fashion marketing strategies in line with consumer expectations

We will also explore current areas of concern within the industry, such as globalisation, digitalisation and sustainability, and explore how brands develop successful strategies to address these.

This module will develop your awareness of principles and concepts related to visual communications, building your understanding of its significance within fashion marketing.

This is a practice-based module which will develop your creative and communication skills, as you interpret and apply the visual and verbal concepts we discuss. You’ll also learn to use industry-standard software. Some areas we will cover include:

• Visual narratives created for relevant customers and markets
• The practical use of digital media
• Digital media for content creation
• Key marketing touchpoints within the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase experiences.
• Typography, colour theory and image selection
• Roles within the visual-communication industry, such as art direction and graphic design

On this module you will develop professional skills in collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. It is an introduction to creative practice, independent research, group-based evaluation, peer-to-peer evaluation, and reflective practice. Ongoing feedback will challenge you to stretch your abilities. Experimentation, evaluation, and rethinking will be at the core of the module. We will focus on three skills:

• Creating and developing individual works
• Collaborating with others to achieve creative outcomes
• Gathering and showcasing evidence of the creative process

This will help you to identify your current strengths and weaknesses, as you experience fashion marketing in practice.

With the increasing spending power of new consumers and digital natives, Web3, the metaverse, and other emerging technologies are altering the relationships between brands and consumers. These new practices blur the boundaries between physical and digital spaces, positioning the consumer as a key player in brand communication. This module explores the shift towards experiences and the role of technologies in immersing target audiences within a brand’s universe. You will examine the ongoing evolution of social media, consider how data informs brand communications, and investigate the shift to omnichannel strategies.

Fashion represents the ideas of society and culture at a given time. It is used to express our individual identity, it can represent conformity to social norms, and in other cases reject them. By studying social movements, cultural values and their impact on fashion, businesses can make better decisions about design, marketing, and production in the future. This module will consider the power of fashion from a historical as well as a contemporary perspective. We will discuss changes in social class structures, politics, and influence, as well as the impact of globalisation, technology, or the impact of popular culture on fashion.

Fashion is a significant aspect of modern culture, and the industry faces the challenge of adapting to rapid and continuous change. The future of forecasting is becoming more challenging with the advent of AI-generated big data, and the active role consumers play in creating trends. This module delves into the role and structure of the fashion forecasting industry, and its integration into the broader fashion business. Issues such as corporate responsibility, sustainability and ethical behaviour are core to the principles of York Business School and this module highlights responsible decision making. 

This module explores branding concepts and PR strategies in the fashion industry, focusing on real-world public relations and branding methods. You will explore the key aspects of fashion branding and public relations, as you build your awareness of historical and contemporary principles and concepts. Through this you will develop theoretical and practical skills within this specific sector of the fashion industry, though these skills can be transferred to other sectors. We will also discuss the relationship between planet, profit and people, and the role of branding and PR in these issues. 

In order for products to be profitable, they must be considered appealing and fulfilling to consumers. The process of creating this perception can be described as fashion campaign planning. Throughout this module, you will learn how campaigns are developed, in line with emerging trends, to promote and market products and brands. Social media has changed the role of campaign planning, and as part of this module you will analyse how this has transformed the sector, across both mainstream and luxury fashion markets. You will learn how to develop and realise a fashion campaign through digital, traditional and contemporary strategies, to successfully convey an idea to a target market.

Understanding research and conducting it is a life skil, as well as being valuable to the functioning of organisations. This module will give you the foundational skills to evaluate, design and conduct research. You will learn to:

• Formulate and scrutinise research questions
• Design and propose research methodology
• Collect qualitative and quantitative data
• Analyse data, reach conclusions using it, and report it

These skills will be transferable in all fields of business, including finance, marketing, economics, tourism and events. You will also learn IT skills for survey design and statistical data analysis. For this module’s assessments you will learn to create video presentations, to work conduct and report research collaboratively, and to propose an original piece of research.

This module will provide you with hands-on, business problem-solving experience, by working on live briefs. In most cases this would include visiting the organisation, communicating your progress with clients, conducting primary or secondary research, and making recommendations in form of report and presentation. This module goes beyond theory, equipping you with authentic workplace skills and a deeper understanding of your own strengths and abilities. All of our projects are designed to develops your skills, while also helping local organisations find solutions to real problems that matters to them.

Fashion buyers often have more influence over the financial success of a brand or retailer than any other sector of the business. The role has undergone great change in the last 20 years, from a straightforward process to a global, deeply analytical specialism. This module looks at the role of the fashion buyer in the context of a fashion business and its commercial success. You will learn about the strategic relationships between buyers and suppliers, as well as how businesses can use the role of fashion buying to create competitive advantage or successfully enter new markets. Issues around sustainability and ethics from both a business and consumer perspective will also be explored.

On this module you will develop a substantial piece of specialist work, with the support of a designated research investigation tutor. This could be in the form of either:

• A traditional Dissertation
• A Business Creation Feasibility Project

You will develop research objectives, formulate appropriate methodologies, and apply problem solving and analytical skills in a business context of your choice. You will also need to collect, analyse, interpret, and evaluate the data generated by your research. At the end of the module, you will have the opportunity to showcase your research at the York Business School Undergraduate Research Symposium.

On this module you will explore integrated marketing communications (IMC)in local and global, applying the knowledge you have build to real scenarios and live briefs. These briefs may involve:

• Creating content for multiple platforms, including social media and content-management systems (CMSs)
• Collaborating with an external client, applying your understanding and knowledge of strategies to their requirements.

We will encourage you to innovate, both in your practice and in the conceptualisation of IMCs. This module serves as a stepping stone to prepare you for entry-level graduate jobs in the industry.

The consumer lies at the heart of luxury fashion, with industry leaders redefining luxury brand experiences as co-creation between brands and consumers. On this module you will learn to create meaningful and authentic connections with luxury consumers through the creation of world-class luxury experiences. We will explore the shift towards immersive experiences, and consider how the physical and digital are combined to create luxury spaces. You will also think about the evolution of luxury brand strategy in line with cultural changes, exploring concepts like the artification and digitalisation of fashion.

Design thinking is an approach to solving problems that has validity outside of the design field. It is a process that explores problems through collaboration and iteration. By adopting more effective communication methods in the decision-making process, companies can become more effective at delivering relevant products and services, in line with the demands of future fashion markets. Design thinking is used widely in industry, and understanding the framework will give you the skills you need to introduce innovation and change into a brand or retailer’s future strategy.

This module will help you prepare for your future career goals, reflecting on the employable skills you have developed through your degree, and considering the options available to you. To do this you will:

• Evaluate the knowledge and skills you now have to offer
• Produce a professional curriculum vitae (CV)
• Learn how to prepare for interviews and applications
• Engage in extensive research into the career market within your chosen field at a national and international level

This will enable you to develop a long-term and short-term career plan, along with a strong portfolio of fashion outputs to offer potential employers.