Always wanted to know how to create a fashion magazine, turn your social media skills into an exciting career, plan a fashion show or predict consumer and lifestyle trends?

The BA (Hons) Fashion Communication course at Northumbria offers you the opportunity to explore the communication of fashion through images, experiences, film and the written word.

Addressing the visual, practical, intellectual and cultural demands of an ever-changing society and dynamic fashion audience, you’ll work on real-life creative briefs, giving you practical experience within an industry context.

Options for year-long work placements and study abroad will build your professional and entrepreneurial skills. Previous students have won prestigious national and international design and enterprise awards.

You will gain a broad range of skills to prepare you for a career in the dynamic industries that promote fashion from a course that boasts an impressive graduate recruitment rate.

Why study Fashion Communication at Northumbria?

Top Department - Northumbria is ranked 12th in the UK for Fashion & Textiles (Guardian University League Table, 2024)

Research Powerhouse - Art and Design at Northumbria is ranked 4th in the UK for research power (REF, 2021). This is a rise of 6 places compared to 2014.

Graduate Prospects - Art & Design at Northumbria is ranked 9th in the UK for Graduate Prospects (Times Good University Guide, 2024)

Student Rated - 100% of students studying Fashion Communication at Northumbria thought staff made their subject engaging and believed staff supported their learning and 93% studying Design believed they had chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth (NSS, 2023).

See other similar courses you may be interested in: BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Marketing

How will I learn during my degree?

Learning and teaching will enable you to acquire a flexible and imaginative approach to real-life problem solving. You’ll be active in your learning, carrying out research and displaying creative thinking as you advance your visual literacy skills and present your work and ideas to different audiences.

You will be introduced to fashion communication methodologies and practices, exploring branding and design influences while developing your academic, intellectual and practical skills.Cultural, critical and media studies will help you put fashion communication in a social, and theoretical context and allow you to develop your personal practice within a moral, ethical and commercial setting.

Through the creative and professional practice modules at each level, you’ll develop your own practice and get the chance to engage in competition briefs. You’ll build a professional portfolio of your own work and a CV to help you prepare for interviews and explore career options.

The Design School showcases student work through online and live exhibitions. Students regularly take part in Graduate Fashion Week in London, the world’s largest showcase of undergraduate fashion talent, with opportunities to talk to industry professionals and headhunters.

You have the option of a one-year placement within the fashion industry or studying abroad at a partner institution for a semester. Students have had placements at Vogue, Wonderland, Barbour, Frame, French Connection, and House of Holland, among many others. Students can also volunteer to work behind the scenes on Northumbria fashion shows at venues across the UK.

We regularly run field trips nationally and internationally, with students visiting New York, Florence and Milan, Amsterdam and Berlin, as well as to selected museums and exhibitions to feed into modules and projects.

Who teaches BA (Hons) Fashion Communication?

You will learn from award-winning, research-active academic staff who bring a wealth of professional experience from the world of fashion to Northumbria. Being taught by industry experts will allow you to develop the essential skills you need to succeed in your future career.

Research-active staff act as consultants and provide supportive critiques, questioning the reasoning and aesthetic judgement behind your work, to support you in developing your practice through self-reflection.

Alumni and industry collaborators support the course at every level through professional association, live projects, internships, visiting lecturers and competitive portfolio briefs.  

Staff have taken part in various recent conferences including Critical Costume 2020, Fashion, Style and Queer Culture at Drexel, USA, the European Popular Culture Association conference, and the Fashion Resilience conference. Students can attend online conferences, as well as Northumbria’s own research seminars where subject staff present their research papers.

Where will I learn during my studies?

As you learn, you will be expected to keep up with the fast-moving and evolving digital platforms used in the Fashion Communication world and become fluent in a wide range of online communication methods.

Access to Macs and subject specific software will help you keep up to date with publishing methods, and you will have access to photographic studios and a well-equipped technical resource area.

We have an “extended studio” or X-studio approach which encourages students to experiment with their creative practice beyond the campus in line with design industry practice. This encompasses live briefs with industry partners, field research, studio sessions, and interactive virtual learning environments including Milanote, Miro, Padlet, Flipgrid, and Blackboard. Students present their ideas and outputs using a range of different platforms and curate their work via digital portfolios and showreels.

Throughout your course, you will produce a digital online portfolio which will help you apply for work placements and act as a reference for your work through your studies to graduation and beyond.

How will my Fashion Communication degree provide me with the skills needed for my career?

Throughout your course you will gain experience of working on real-life creative projects, some set by industry collaborators, giving you the confidence to handle professional practice in the creative industries.

Such live briefs take place with many industry and creative partners, which have included size?, VANS, Dr Martens, END Clothing and Fashion Revolution, and which have led to students securing placements and/or graduate jobs.

As a graduate, you’ll be able to demonstrate your ability to conceive concepts, design innovative experiences, write editorial, promotional and creative copy, produce beautifully styled and photographed images and present professional campaigns and strategy. This broad range of multi-disciplinary skills is routinely praised by employers and the course boasts an impressive recruitment rate