The Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion Where Fashion Means Business
Contents
Intro
5
Research
7
Enterprise
10
Curriculum
12
Publications
14
Universities are playing a greater role in the development of businesses and this is never more so than at London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London. As one of the leading fashion management research centres in the world, our Business and Management programmes have, over the last decade, built an impressive global reputation for nurturing analytical and creative graduates. Our alumni are heading up firms, setting up their own businesses and enabling companies to move to the next level. “By launching the Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion we can contribute to the development of the UK business schools and be a leading player in the global business school market. Our unique focus across the fashion industry sets us apart and means we can push boundaries across creative management research and practice.� PROFESSOR FRANCES CORNER Head of London College of Fashion and Pro Vice-Chancellor University of the Arts London
The Fashion Business School at LCF brings together our business, management and enterprise functions in order to position and capitalise on this activity. We are currently in the process of submitting an application to achieve Small Business Charter status for the Fashion Business School.
Our reputation for highly sought after courses and alumni including the Masters in Strategic Fashion Marketing and BA (Hons) Fashion Management, demonstrates how we, as educators allied to the industry we inform, can change the future. Not just the individuals who study with us but the local and global businesses we collaborate with.
and Supply, and The European Foundation for Management Development Programme Accreditation System (EFMD EPAS).
The UK government’s recent policy statements for growth in the economy are reliant on Universities, and in particular Business Schools, engaging with micro, small and medium enterprises. LCF proactively engages with companies of varying size through on-course opportunities for students, knowledge transfer models, enterprise, training, research and consultancy. Most recently we have been featured as a case study in the Mayor’s Cultural Strategy for London, with reference to our fashion business incubation.
“Students who are going to be successful in the next twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years will need many different skills than the ones from the past. They will need to acquire forms of analytical skills, they’ll need to focus on emotional intelligence, creativity, innovation and how the consumer is changing their buying patterns…Training in soft skills like communication and problem solving are important skills for leaders in today’s world.”
London College of Fashion is in a unique position to provide a complete and comprehensive offer serving the breadth of the fashion industry. Alongside our design and media focused portfolios our Fashion Business School will include six undergraduate courses and six masters courses, through to an Executive MBA and PhD. All of LCF’s courses offer either a yearlong placement in industry or short-term work experience. In 13/14 over 1200 placement opportunities were brokered and advertised for students through the LCF Careers website. LCF is also an accredited centre for the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), a centre of excellence for the British Display Society and a member of the (Chartered from January 2015) Association of Business Schools. Further accreditations are in progress with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered Institute of Purchasing
Speaking during his keynote address at the Association of Business Schools conference 2014 Steve Pateman, Executive Director, Head of UK Banking Santander UK said:
Preparatory work is well advanced and research has shown that the Fashion Business School would have the capability of enhancing the College’s and University’s reputation. Since 2013 we have risen from 98/114 to 81/114 in The Guardian University guide: league table for business, management and marketing and we are the only art and design university in the table.
“Graduating from LCF not only helped my career, it changed my whole life. Three months after handing in my Final Major Project the company I had been working for offered me a new position that was equivalent to a promotion. During my four years at LCF, in addition to the technical skills and knowledge, I learnt a lot about myself and developed a lot of “soft” skills, which I put into use in my job every day.” NATALIA KACZMAREK Planning Analyst for Topshop, BA (Hons) Fashion Business, 2014
Research
The Creative Management, Branding and Enterprise Research Hub
“Relevant, high-level research, both local and global, lies at the core of our role in providing appropriate support enabling the future development of this exciting, challenging, fast-paced industry.� DR. IAN W. KING Professor of Aesthetics and Management, LCF and UAL
Through its intimate knowledge of the fashion industry London College of Fashion, as part of University of the Arts London, is well placed to define a research discipline, originating from an art and design heritage, into an original and unique perspective that articulates creative management, branding and enterprise practice relevant to niche business alongside the global conglomerates. Whether design, production or retailing led, enterprise and entrepreneurship is at the heart of the fashion business world and is a source of innovation and new thinking with relevance beyond fashion and the creative, retailing or digital technology industries. It is widely acknowledged that the contemporary approaches to business and management are addressing complex multicultural global issues and while fashion drives significant global economic value it is also challenging traditional economic rules and disrupting familiar management theory. The fashion industry adopts creative and flexible management approaches,
identifies innovation in small and micro enterprises and fuses both traditional and emerging digital philosophies into branding strategies. The creative management, branding and enterprise research hub is rich in new knowledge and perspectives and this is critical to sustain a competitive advantage in a changing international market environment. Estimated to be worth $1 trillion globally in 2014 (businessoffashion.com), the fashion industry is now a serious and culturally influential business sector. The UK fashion industry makes a significant contribution to the UK economy, and directly contributes nearly £26 billion to the UK economy. It also has an indirect economic impact, in encouraging spending in other industries, of over £20 billion. That equals a total impact of £46 billion. The UK industry employs nearly a million people, across a wide spectrum of roles, and provides diverse opportunities for young people – a critical issue given the growing concern about employment opportunities for the next generation. (British Fashion Council
Report The Value of the UK Fashion Industry 2013, with updated figures published 2015). The creative management, branding and enterprise hub will be a key driver of research excellence and outputs that explores and challenges the thinking, scenarios and environments related to creative management, branding and enterprise. Research at LCF is aligned to the Graduate School. It has specialist centres of excellence such as the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and Centre for Fashion Curation, which are vibrant communities of practice and dynamic centres of both current research and contemporary debate. The School’s Professors, Readers, Research Fellows and PhD students work alongside Course Leaders to enrich core curriculums and stimulate world leading research output. Curriculums are relevant, innovative and student-centred, and the School boasts an unrivalled network of industry partners and collaborators.
“The fashion sector provides a unique lens for the relevant highlevel emergent research, locally and internationally, which informs the core of our role. Research at University of the Arts London was recently assessed as being 83% World Leading and international in the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) for Art & Design, History, Practice, Theory, is ranked a top 5 research university in its broader peer group in the UK and first in the Power ranking for Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory category.” JANE HARRIS [PHD RCA] Associate Dean of Research Professor of Digital Design & Innovation
“For every stitch on a garment there’s a business decision.”
EVA VON ALVENSLEBEN Sustainability Strategy Manager, Kering
Enterprise
Between 2012-14, Enterprise at London College of Fashion supported 820 UK fashion SME’s and 248 international fashion SME’s. Of the 820 SME’s supported 199 SME’s (41%) are University of the Arts London graduates, of which 87 (44%) are LCF graduates.
The Centre for Fashion Enterprise The Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) supported by LCF/UAL, is London’s pioneering Fashion Business Incubator and is located at the LCF Mare Street campus. London is home to some of the fashion industry’s brightest design talent and we recognise that it is crucial in today’s market for small businesses to understand their USP and vision, to be better informed and follow a considered development strategy. CFE facilitates this, unlocking creativity and business potential, allowing designers to gain an international foothold. By working with the next generation of iconic design innovators, CFE fast tracks designers into businesses. Successes include Erdem, Richard Nicoll, Peter Pilotto, Meadham Kirchoff and Mary Katrantzou.
Mary Katrantzou has grown from being a CFE start-up to having a turnover of a £10m in 6 years. CFE International specialises in incubation, business support, strategic planning and organisational development. Through expert knowledge, organisations are empowered at a local and global level. CFE International have developed partnerships with organisations operating in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and has also partnered with IFM Paris to launch a pan-European ‘Worth’ project, initiating partnerships between designers with enterprises (manufacturers, retailers, craftspeople, technology companies) in fashion, textiles, jewellery, footwear, eyewear, furniture and leather industries, from different EU member states (and other CIP participating countries) to create new products.
“London College of Fashion supports the Centre for Fashion Enterprise, which is a good example of small businesses driving growth and employability in this country and across Europe. The whole economy seems to be driven by this powerhouse of small businesses.� WENDY MALEM Dean of the Graduate School, LCF Director of the Centre for Fashion Enterprise
“We ensure that on every course we have industry projects that are part of their DNA. We work not just with fashion companies but any organisation that values the creative ideas which business and management students from a fashion background bring to problem solving�. ANDREW HUGHES Dean of the School of Management & Science
Curriculum
“The business planning unit of my B&M degree at LCF was hugely beneficial. I always considered setting up my own business in the future, but completing a full business plan turned my ideas into a tangible and practical reality. Although it was a challenging experience, the lecturers were really supportive and guided us throughout. Overall I felt the experience was empowering and grew my self-confidence and entrepreneurial sprit immeasurably. I now know it’s achievable to create and run my own successful business.” SARAN KENNEDY WILLIAMS Fashion Buying and Merchandising Student
Graduate Studies
Undergraduate Studies
London College of Fashion is a thriving, creative post graduate community that recruits students from a diverse range of backgrounds and disciplines. Led by Dean Wendy Malem, the Graduate School, with 27 courses, 60 PhD students and 500 Masters or other post graduate students, has a unique focus on research, innovation, enterprise and collaboration. The School’s ethos centres on a belief that fashion education needs to be attuned and responsive to fashion’s changing culture, and this is reflected in its progressive range of courses that aim to fuel, inspire and lead all areas of the fashion industry from management through to communication and design.
The School of Management and Science provides undergraduate courses for over 1700 students of whom over 1150 are studying for degrees in business and management. Many of these undergraduate courses are accredited by their professional bodies including the CMI, CIM and the BDS, underpinning the excellent credentials they have.
While management is a core expertise in LCF’s Fashion Business School, it is also a responsive, dynamic part of our portfolio with new courses including MA Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation, MA Fashion Enterprise Creation and the Executive MBA (Fashion), it also impacts across the other programmes (design and technology, media and communications and curation and culture). For tomorrow’s fashion strategists, managers, business men and women and entrepreneurs, this is where fashion’s roots are firmly laid and positioned to flourish and thrive. 50% of current LCF Executive MBA students are developing consultancy projects with fashion SMEs. With its dynamic range of courses, the School recruits from a diverse range of backgrounds and disciplines. Its graduates are shaping all areas of the industry at a global level, from culture and communication to retail and design. LCF has a proven track record for developing the employability and enterprise attributes of our students. Industry engagement is maximised through accredited short-term work experience, a year long Diploma in Professional Studies, varied industry sponsored projects and a strong network of contacts, both international and UK based.
Since 1996 when BA Fashion Management was first offered at LCF our undergraduate degrees offer a unique HE offer based on a rigorous curriculum, which is industry focussed, and vocationally relevant. Our other degrees BA Fashion Marketing, BA Fashion Buying and Merchandising, and BA Fashion Visual Merchandising & Branding follow the same model but offer students a more specialised vocational higher education. Part time students working in the fashion industry are well served by a BA in Fashion Business, whilst the integrated Masters in International Fashion Management offers a unique quantitative focussed 4 or 5 year course for future industry international decision makers. Employment opportunities for graduates of the undergraduate courses are excellent - in the most recent Graduate Destination Survey over 94% of business and management graduates were in employment or had progressed to post graduate education.
Examples of publications that scope the key evolving themes in the Fashion Business School.
As a result of its close relationship with small fashion businesses (SMEs), Wendy Malem the Director of Centre for Fashion Enterprise has sat on the European Commission DG Industry and Enterprise advisory group since 2012 representing the UK fashion SMEs. She gave the keynote speech in Brussels “European Fashion. Is there a new fashion system?” in May 2014.
The Director advises on SMEs and developing fashion economies through UNIDO, the British Council and Ministries of Industrial Development in Indonesia, Turkey and Sri Lanka . In UK LCF has produced commissioned research for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, NESTA and Intellectual Property Office:
Industry commissioned research:
Fashion Business Staff areas of interest:
Hammond, L (2014) “Survey of Bangladesh Manufacturers and their design / product development practices to influence national performance cluster strategies” funded by UNIDO.
Alexander, B & Bain, J.K. (2014) “An exploration of fashion small to medium enterprises and experimental retailing: the development of a pop-up store strategy”. Global Fashion 2014 Conference Ghent, Belgium.
Montecchi M, Nobbs K: (2014) “Disrupting Fashion through Innovation: How crowd sourcing is changing the business model for fashion brands and prompting engagement with communities.” IFFTI Conference, Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan.
Clark, J., (2014) “Fashion Merchandising: Principles & Practice”, Palgrave
O’Sullivan J, Nobbs K, Middleton H, Clarke J: (2014) “An exploratory study of power in the buyer/merchandiser relationship within the fashion buying cycle”. Global Fashion 2014 Conference Ghent, Belgium.
Kerra, N; Malem, W, Miller, J (2012) “UK Designer Fashion Economy: value relationships- identifying barriers and creating opportunities for growth” (commissioned and funded £50,000 by NESTA and published in December 2008); Centre for Fashion Enterprise Konig, A; Malem, W, Miller, J (2009) “High-end fashion manufacturing in the UK: Product, process and vision”. (Commissioned and funded £65,000 by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Centre for Fashion Enterprise Malem, W; Allen. A. (2012) “Intellectual Property Protection in the UK Fashion Industries for Designers” (Commissioned and funded £80,000 by the Intellectual Property Office and launched in April) Centre for Fashion Enterprise
Gander, J: (2015) “Creative management: a study is based on producing musical product achieved through establishing spatial and material relations in order to regulate tasks and roles and manage the challenge of making decisions within temporarily assembled teams engaged in tasks characterised by high levels of uncertainty.” Hammond, L: (2014) “Growth and business development: promoting new talent with SME fashion design and adding value to the economy of Bangladesh: characteristics, opportunities and barriers to growth”. International Journal of Trade and Global Markets. King, Ian and Vickery, Jonathan (2013) “Experiencing Organisations: New Aesthetic Perspectives.” Libri Publishing, Farringdon, UK. ISBN 9781907471551 Malem, W., (2008) “Fashion Designers as business: London”. International Journal for Fashion Marketing and Management.
Varley, R (2014) “Retail Product Management: Buying and Merchandising 3rd Edition”, Routledge: London Vecchi, A. (2014). “Evidence from Chinese acquisitions of Made in Italy firms in the luxury sector – The acquisition of a traditional luxury firm.” European Journal of Management, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp.113124 Roncha, A, (2013) “Crowdsourcing and consumer collaboration driving fashion retail business innovation”, Oxford Retail futures Conference: Innovation in Retail and Distribution, SAID Business School, University of Oxford, UK. Searing, C & Zeilig, H: (2015) ”Cosmetic advertising and the demands of ageing beauty”, Beauty demands workshop University of Warwick. Thope, C & Poldner, K. (2014) “David and goliath in sustainable fashion, strategic business alliances in the UK fashion Industry, Int. J. Strategic Business Alliances Vol 3, No2/3”
For further information on the Fashion Business School contact: LCF Communications T 020 7514 2998 E communications@fashion.arts.ac.uk www.arts.ac.uk/fashion
Photography: Emmi Hyypp채 www.emmihyyppa.com