When we talk about Fashion, the first thing that comes to our mind is the designers who create these amazing designs. But, there is so much more to Fashion Designing than just the Fashion Designers; One of which is Fashion Communication. Though Fashion is a highly creative field, With that creative thought process, you also need other sets of skills such as Communication skills – Written as well as oral, Analytical skills, etc.. to put your product across.
If you are confused by my previous statement, Everything will clear out as you read on.
No matter how good your designs are, It has no meaning if they could not reach the people it’s supposed to reach. Marketing is an integral part of the Fashion Field and is as important as Designing itself; The same way Communication is an integral part of Marketing.
Marketing is all about how you communicate your product to the right audience – It’s a mix of the right kind of research and proper communication, You mess up one of these two and you mess up your whole marketing strategy.
The fashion industry is busting with designers & new brands every day. There is so much noise in today’s time in the Fashion World that You need to stand out among all this noise for your brand to be recognized. That is the only way for your brand or you as a designer to survive.
But how do you stand out in all of this noise? – One might ask. The answer is simple. You leverage Fashion Marketing skills to promote your designs. But for any kind of
marketing to work, you need to have a product that people would love. Hence your skills as a Fashion Designer are important. To put it in simple words – You have to figure out that sweet spot of balance between Fashion Marketing & Fashion Designing.
But, how do you communicate a design to people? How do you promote your Design? What are the ways of doing it? What all does Fashion Communication involve?
A diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism is the answer to the above and some more of other questions.
What is Fashion Communication?
To put it in simple words, Fashion Communication is communicating Fashion to people. Fashion Communication can in a way be called a field that encompasses various smaller fields within it like Fashion Designing, Fashion Psychology, Fashion Journalism, etc.. We will talk about the major ones in detail in a while.
Fashion Communication is by far the most interesting field to open up in the industry – Mainly because of the eclectic niches that come together to form this field. A Fashion Communication specialist is expected to be Jack of all trades.
Fashion Communication is all about how you strategize the success of a Brand or a particular design. From Designing to Branding to Selling – A Fashion Communication specialist is expected to be involved in the process. Loads of activities that turn an idea into a sale happen based on the skills of a Fashion Communication Specialist.
All that being said, Fashion Communication though covers a lot of Fashion topics, following are the major domains you will be dealing with if you want to Fashion Communication & Journalism.
- Visual Merchandising
- Fashion Styling
- Fashion Photography
- Fashion Journalism
- Fashion Psychology
- Graphic Design/Fashion Illustration
- Communication – Oral as well as Written.
Let’s have a look at these in detail before we get onto the Eligibility, Scope, and other details of the Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism course, Shall we?
Visual Merchandising:
I am sure you would have Window shopped a lot of times. A Job of a Visual Merchandiser is to in a way intrigue a Window Shopper to come in and buy stuff. This is just not it, I just used the example to make you better understand what it is about. Visual Merchandising deals with the creation of the merchandise that can be used to lure a customer to buy your stuff or designs in this case. That “Stuff” could be near a window in a shop or something that can be used outside to promote.
The best example of Merchandising would be Marvel (If you don’t know what Marvel is, You need to come out of that rock you are living in). Marvel creates Merchandise like Iron Man, Black Widow figures, Posters, Wall Stickers, etc.. for every movie & every comic book they are about to release, It’s part of their marketing. This is what the whole Visual Merchandising is about.
Let’s get back to the Fashion field now. Visual Merchandising is not just about creating these small things, Its is about the decorations of a shop, signs, displays and define the overall look of the place looks from both inside & outside. It also includes calculations on where to display what kind of things are based on the traffic that comes into the shop and their behavior.
Fashion Styling:
You would have already understood what Fashion Styling is all about just by the name of it. Yet, Let me try and explain for my satisfaction.
Fashion Styling itself has loads of layers to it. It’s all about creating a narrative; not by words, but by the presentation. Fashion Styling deals with the presentation of a Dress or design, the accessories that go with it, the hairstyle, makeup, props to be used with the dress, the aesthetics of it all.
Normally, Fashion Stylists coordinate with models to style them for the occasion. They work on individuals as well as for Fashion Houses. It’s all about styling a model to present the design in the best possible way for the occasion; especially if it’s a Fashion Show. How you do it is up to your creativity.
When the presentation of dress is as good as its design, people see that on the ramp and you would have done a great job of communicating your narrative of that design in a non-verbal but yet effective way for them to spend their money on the designs and the dresses.
Fashion Photography:
Let’s say, you have created this amazing design that is going to break the Fashion World, You have styled the model in the best way possible and presented your design in the biggest of events.
What Next?
Well, this is just the beginning of the whole Fashion Communication angle. Now what you would need or expected to do is put your designs out there, Advertise them so that people get information about it. For that to happen, Photography, especially Fashion Photography becomes an integral part of the whole process.
When you talk about Photography, there are various genres of it. Fashion Photography is one of those genres which deals with the display of clothes, fashion accessories, and anything or everything that is related to Fashion. It’s like Visual Merchandising but instead of creating merchandise, you click Pictures that can allure people to buy whatever you want to sell.
Fashion Photography is one tricky skill to hone – You need to know how to measure Light, shadows, highlights, colors, angles, etc.. But once done, it will come in handy on so many different occasions.
Fashion Journalism:
There is not much of a difference between Fashion Journalism and normal Journalism, In fact, Fashion Journalism is more of a niche under Journalism that is devoted just to the field of Fashion. In modern times, Journalism has evolved from Newspapers and News to Blogs & Online Videos. Fashion Journalism is one field where your written communication skills can be put to use or even maybe your charm as well if you are thinking of Online Videos like Vlogs (Video Logs), DIY(Do It Yourself), etc. than articles.
As a Fashion Journalist, you can write or talk about Trends, become a critique or even a reporter. Fashion Photography is another thing that comes to play in Fashion Journalism. It’s all about Fashion News, Reviews & Interviews in Fashion Journalism. Being a good writer or having a charming personality would take you a long way in this particular niche.
Fashion Psychology:
If you are anything like me, this is where it all gets interesting. I know, Fashion is an interesting field in itself. But, add Psychology to the mix and it becomes even more interesting & intriguing. In Fashion Psychology you learn about people’s behavior, the Psychology of Colors, and a lot more. You would be able to forecast trends based on past behavior.
Fashion Psychology mainly deals with People’s perceptions, social interactions, and some cognitive biases. There are enough pieces of evidence to show that people’s behavior, mood, confidence everything is affected by the type of clothes they wear. This is where your knowledge of Psychology comes to play. You can leverage your leanings to figure out what design and communications would work. What kind of strategies would help you or your brand achieve set goals.
If you are interested in knowing more about Fashion Psychology, Check out the post I have written earlier about How Psychology Plays A Role in Fashion Designing – Psychology Of Colors, Clothing & Fashion.
Now that we know what Fashion Communication is, Let’s have a look at other aspects of the Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism Course.
Duration & Eligibility to Pursue Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism Course:
Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism is spread across One Year with Two semesters in it.
The eligibility to pursue Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism course has been kept pretty liberal by IIFT so that more aspiring students could enroll and take advantage of this course.
The basic eligibility is that you should have passed SSLC.
Also, Since it’s “Fashion Communication& Journalism”, you are expected to have good communication skills as well. Though they will be honed to their best during the period of this one-year course.
Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism Syllabus – Course Structure:
The Syllabus of the Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism covers both Theoretical as well as Practical aspects of Fashion Communication so as to provide students a professional & all-encompassing vision of Fashion & Communication.
The teaching methodology also includes seminars, project exercises as well as collaboration with brands.
Following are the subjects that will be covered during the period of one year of Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism.
Semester I
- Fashion Psychology
- Fashion Illustration
- Fashion Communication
- Fashion Styling
- Project: Communication Project
Semester II
- Visual Merchandising
- Fashion Journalism
- Fashion Photography
- Fashion Forecasting
- Project: Editorial Project
Scope of Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism:
There was a time when Fashion was just for the rich and privileged, Times have now changed. Fashion is something that almost everybody can afford. Myriad of Fashion Houses, Brands, Boutiques exist today, but how as an individual does one choose which is the best. Also, How do you as a brand put across the message that your brand is the best? Well, that is what you learn in Fashion Communication & Journalism.
With the increase in the awareness of Fashion & Style, especially in India, There is an increased demand for Fashion Communication specialists. Of course, Fashion Houses need Fashion Communication specialists as much as they need dedicated Fashion Designers. That being said, the Good news is that Fashion Communication is one of those career fields that has not been tapped to its full potential yet. Which makes it relatively easier for students who are Pursuing Fashion Communication to establish a strong foothold in this verticle. When you get in early in a field, you increase your chances of success and gain so much advantage over people who comes in late.
Previously the competition was between the Fashion Houses within the country; That has changed now. Now the competition has gone international which in turn puts talented Fashion Communication specialists in demand so that they can help these Fashion Houses design a strategy to put across their product and communicate their message to the audience in the most effective way possible.
If you don’t know what kind of roles you can take up after completing your Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalist, Here is the list for you.
- Fashion Stylist
- Fashion Photographer
- Fashion Journalist
- Fashion Blogger
- Fashion Communication specialist
- Fashion Illustrator/Graphic Designer
- Fashion Designer
- Visual Merchandiser
- Fashion Event Designer
- Fashion Event Manager
- Fashion Board Specialist
- Image Consultant
- Visual Communication Expert
- Media Consultant (Prints &Video)
- Layout Designer
- Content Developer
- Shoot Coordinator
- Fashion Researcher
- Font Designer
- Trend Analyst
The list kind of goes on from here, but these are the major job roles you can get into after the completion of your course in Fashion Communication & Journalism.
If you want to study further after the completion of this course, I have got you covered. Read on to find out which course you can opt for.
Further Studies:
Once you have completed the course, you would have a basic grasp of Fashion Designing and all the major aspects of the field which would make it easier for you to get a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Designing. Following are some of the courses you can opt for after your completion of the Fashion Communication & Journalism course.
- PG Diploma in Fashion Design & Boutique Management
- BSc in Fashion & Apparel Design (If you are thinking of gong for this one, I would suggest you skip the Diploma and directly opt in for BSc courses since IIFT is providing Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism as an add on course with BSc at no extra cost)
- Masters in Fashion Management (You would need to have a Bachelor’s degree first for this one)
If you are too busy to pursue a full-time course, there are some certification courses as well that you can enroll into.
- Certification in Pattern Making & Draping
- Advance Fashion Designing & Illustration
- Weekend Diploma in Fashion Designing
Now that you have all the information you need about Diploma in Fashion Communication & Journalism, Why not go ahead and apply for the course. You can visit this page to apply for the course. If you still have any doubts regarding the course, get in touch with us ( Social Media, Email, Call or you can also just comment here) and we will help you figure out everything.