Dive into the world of fashion designers and stylists

On this three-week course from Bloomsbury Academic, you’ll explore the design sector of the fashion industry from two perspectives, the manufacturer and the retailer. You’ll also look at the careers involved in marketing and promoting designers and fashion lines.

Discover design roles for apparel and accessories

From all around the world, fashion designers share their trend and consumer knowledge, as well as their imaginations, personalities, and aesthetic preferences, as they develop their creations.

You’ll delve into fashion design careers, from fashion designer to patternmaker, and discuss the challenges involved in each, as well as the best routes to enter these roles.

Explore the full range of careers in fashion product development

Product development is the creation, production, and marketing of a product from start to finish.

This course will take you through each career within product development, looking at the steps that are taken for each season to create new fashion lines and the roles involved in each step.

Learn about fashion marketing and promotion careers

When you peruse a fashion magazine, such as Vogue, In Style, or W, you are inundated by promotion in the forms of glossy and, sometimes, eyebrow-raising advertisements of fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Cynthia Rowley, Versace, and Gucci. This promotion is just one example of fashion marketing.

On the final week of this course, you’ll delve into the many careers within fashion promotion for both designers and manufacturers. This includes roles such as fashion stylist, advertising, public relations, and social media director. You’ll also look at the many types of events and publications that some of these positions will work with.

Syllabus

Week 1
Designing apparel and accessories for the manufacturer
- Course welcome
  In this activity, you will be introduced to the content that will be covered during this course. You will also get an overview of the topics covered during the first week of this course.
- Fashion designers
  In this activity, you will learn more about the artist dedicated to the creation of apparel and accessories, when you explore the role, career and challenges of the fashion designer.
- Other designers
  In this activity, you will learn more about the various other types of designers that play an important role in product development.
- Specification and patterns
  In this activity, you will explore the typical duties of the specification technician, and the key role of patternmakers in the design and production processes.
- Week wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 2
Product development by the manufacturer and retailer
- Weekly welcome
  Moving into the second week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
- Introduction to product development by manufacturers and retailers
  In this activity, we explore product development as a function in retail operation or as a division within an organization and look at the steps taken when developing a line.
- Why retailers became designers
  In this activity, we learn about the four main reasons why retailers moved into the business of developing their own products or lines of products.
- Product development and its roles
  In this activity, you will learn more about the different types of product development businesses, and the roles and responsibilities of the different career paths in the product development process.
- Related professions and roles
  There are various related professions and roles involved in the product development process, and in this activity, we take a closer look at these roles.
- Wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 3
Promotion for the designer and manufacturer
- Weekly welcome
  Moving into the final week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
- Roles in promotion
  In this activity, you will learn more about the different roles in promotion, differentiating between trade and consumer publications, and explore the different career paths involved in the promotion of fashion.
- Fashion event producer
  In this activity, you will learn more about the duties of a fashion event producer and the role they play in increasing the visibility of design houses, brands, products, or fabrics by coordinating fashion events.
- Course wrap up
  In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight into other courses in this series.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now
Join - $79

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe the differences in the careers of technical designers, patternmakers, and specification technicians
Describe the processes needed to bring a product, or product line, from conception and manufacturing to marketing and sales
Explain product development conducted by both the manufacturer and the retailer
Discuss the reasons retailers moved into the business of developing their own product lines
Explain the product development classifications that have evolved from the customization of product lines
Explore the career opportunities of product development staff and describe the roles and responsibilities of the different careers in the field of product development
Explore the promotion career opportunities at the primary level of the fashion industry
Describe the goal of promotion for the designer or manufacturer

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone wanting to work in the fashion industry, especially in the fashion design, development, or promotion fields.

Who will you learn with?

Astrid deRidder

I lead a team of content experts who work with educators to create, develop and deliver high quality and inspiring content that changes lives.

Who developed the course?

Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes.and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names.

Fairchild Books

With a history stretching back over more than 100 years, Fairchild Books is a world-leading publisher in the fields of fashion and interior design.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

Unlimited access to this course
Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Join - $79

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