Thinking About Studying Fashion? Here’s What You Need To Know

I am in my third year of studying fashion and here are somethings that I wish I had known before, and think will help if you are looking into it…

Over the last year or so, I have had quite a few questions about what I am studying, how I manage my time and pretty much everything to do with university. For me, university was a bit of a no brainer. However I am also aware that university isn’t a viable option for everyone, or that a lot of people simply don’t want to go. So whether you are studying fashion at school, college or university I really hope that this post will help and guide you into the subject. FYI – I am SO glad that I chose to study fashion, and if you’re here because you have been wanting to study it then I recommend you do!

Just as a quick background overview, I am currently studying Fashion Media and Marketing at Plymouth College of Art and I am in my third year. And I am still trying to come to terms with how little time I have left. When they say university goes really fast, honestly it does! But I also studied fashion for GCSE, and I also did a BTEC in fashion which was equivalent to two A-Levels. So I feel as if I have covered a variety of different topics within fashion.

Refine Your Subject Choice

So when say you want to study fashion, what do you actually want to study? Fashion in itself its such a broad subject. From textile design, print making, garment making, costume, media, marketing, photography, there is a WHOLE range of courses available. And throughout GCSEs, my BTEC and degree I have pretty much covered a large range of them. After studying it all the way through school and doing a lot of design, art and sewing, I realised that wasn’t what I was interested in. And I found the practical side of fashion too laborious. Where as, because I already had my blog, I knew the media and marketing side was more my thing. But, don’t panic if you don’t know. There are various options of foundation courses which will allow you to explore all options and then decide.

Thoroughly Research The Courses

I cannot stress this enough. This is probably the most important thing I realised when looking at different courses. There are similar courses all across the country, however just because they have the same course name it doesn’t mean they include the same thing. For example, what I wanted to do was quite niche within fashion. And there were only two universities that I looked at and applied for. The first was Winchester which has Fashion Marketing and Media, and the second was PCA which had Fashion Media and Marketing. The names are the alternate way but I thought they would be a similar course. But when I went to visit both of them, I realised how different they actually were. I preferred PCA hence why I went there, but you have to do your research properly to make sure you know as much as you can before applying.

Look At Past Work

A lot of places whether it be for a school, college or university will show you past work. You can see it through tours, virtual tours, or on their website. It is just really insightful to see what work can be produced on that course. It will give you insight into the modeuls they do, the resources they have and the type of work expected.

Talk To People & Alumni

I think it is so important to talk to people and alumni about work that they have done, what they thought about the course and the lectures etc. I actually know a few people through Instagram who are doing similar courses and we have discussed the differences. And before I started PCA I got the opportunity on an open day to speak to some alumni. You get a first hand reaction of the course which is so valuable.

Open Days, Open Days, Open Days

I know open days are few and far between right now because COVID means you can’t physically visit the uni. But if you can or if you do it online it is really important to. Whether its to tour the place, look at the facilities or learn more about the campus and residency. They are just so eye opening. Even my brother, who is studying engineering found his open days really made an impact when picking where to study. And if it is a university degree you are looking at it then you are spending a lot of money to go to that place so you have to check it out beforehand.

I hope this has been helpful, but if there is anything I have missed out then leave your question in the comments and I will answer!

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