In the industrial fashion career, Communications and Marketing are paramount to determining the success of a brand. I know that many students are deeply fascinated about this area as they all possess an energetic and flexible quality as well as many lively experiences.
So, what knowledge might we gain from this area of fashion? This article will extend from the first part, so let’s find out together!
7. FASHION EVENT
On the topic of fashion communications and marketing, consideration of fashion events is imperative. First, you will be able to conduct research on different fashion events (fashion show, talkshow, workshop, clothes swap, online fashion week…) You will need to grasp the basics of planning the event themes, branding (graphic design, logos, color schemes, brand mantra, vision…) and advertise the event so you can step into the lively world of fashion. You will become acquainted with different job positions within the event planning process and witness the reality of working in a team. At the same time you will write an Event report that includes participants, development process and marketing strategies. Basically, event reports also follow the same fundamental steps of a brand report without going into depth the brand research.
Otherwise, fashion events also come in many forms (product launch, fashion shows, fashion weeks, virtual events, online exhibitions…). Depending on the objective, personality and traits of each brand’s fashion event, they will organize different projects. No matter the event, planning is all very crucial. I have mentioned the 5 steps and will go into further detail in the next few articles.
Personally, I am highly invested in the planning and participating aspects of fashion events. I love things that are energetic and multicolored. This is why I am fond of my journalism job at Vietnamnet, because I often get to participate in events ranging from fashion to entertainment. At LCDF, I also used to organize online fashion events. It was tedious and hard at times, but I gained many invaluable experiences.
8. ART DIRECTION
Perhaps we are all familiar with the words “Creative Director” - which applies to any artistic or creative field. A creative director, in fashion specifically, will be responsible for the conveying of artistic expression with their employees, partners and brand managers as well as individual consumers or clients. They need to give constructive criticism or manage the team members in a way that effectively communicates the director’s artistic vision to others. This job requires soft presentation skills, so working with a crowd is something worth practicing.
In this aspect, you will learn communication skills, come up with a marketing strategy (through fashion films, editorials, lookbooks,...) research consumer psychology and brand identity, work with partners and editors, fashion magazines, learn how to come up with a fashion campaign… This area is flexible in the sense that you can apply your experience to directing movies or music videos, beyond fashion creativity, as long as you have the knowledge and skills. The most important thing is that you need to understand the soul of a brand or designer or any client that you work with to come up with the best, most fitting creative idea.
9. FASHION STYLING
According to the fashion world, “style” is basically everything that the community cares about. From personal to celebrity styling, Fashion Stylist is a passion career that many youths care about and continually nourish. The fashion stylist works for individual clients or fashion brands. Their main job is to provide fashion counsel ; choosing and styling outfits for the photographed model or for an actor; and organizing materials and technology for photoshoots.
What can you therefore learn in this area? I won’t study fashion styling in university until next semester, but according to my personal research, stylists will learn in detail about styles and trends in fashion, as well as human body analysis that will serve the purpose of styling for customers.
Other than this, knowing how to work with photographers, fashion agencies and editorials is imperative to studying Fashion Styling. If you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to style famous people. At that point, you need to invest heavily in your personal branding and how it appears to your target customer for each event. You will also conduct research on trends and styles, making mood boards and some media design skills.
10. BRANDING
What is branding? Building a personal brand is the personification of products in order to maintain balance of their economic and artistic merits. In the fashion industry, branding is the competitive advantage of every successful company.
In order to successfully build and market an agenda, branding (logos, slogan, color scheme, packaging, mission & vision, USP - unique selling point…) needs to be especially outstanding from competitors.
Moreover, the personal identity of each brand needs to be unique, so that it can make a long lasting impression on the potential customer. Every brand’s main objective is unique. No matter what medium you use to display your brand (online shop, blog, website, event…) then the clarification of your vision, identity and direction of your products is paramount. This is not something that can be birthed immediately, it is something you must make use of your full cognition for.
When studying Fashion Marketing, branding appears in almost every subject. The professor will explain in detail the process of researching brands, trends or fashion websites. If we don’t have a solid marketing strategy, well, our brand will collapse from structural damage before it gets to flourish. If you find an attractive fashion brand that has a visually appealing website, from images to products, that is because their branding has been heavily invested in. Even the tiniest details and choices in graphic design are intentional as part of their branding strategy.
(Fun) fact: To build The Fashion Alley blog, it took me nearly 3 months to research and build a brand identity with a nearly hundred-page PDF file "Blog Setting up plan", including engagement predictions. I once started a blog on another web design platform and then switched to Wix because the previous interface was not suitable for my branding.
11. DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing, also known as marketing on digital platforms and social media. For the fashion sector, digital platforms are an indispensable element, especially in today's ever-evolving technology era. When social networks take the throne, many famous global fashion brands with countless interesting and attractive ways of making images are increasingly asserting their positions.
Digital marketing is not a subject in my Fashion Marcom syllabus at LCDF, but it is a section that appears in every semester. In actuality, Fashion Blogging is a major part of digital marketing, because we would need to build a visual advertising strategy and Blog content across multiple platforms. To be competent in this area, you need to research the unique features of each social media such as: Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Tik Tok, etc. Each of these social media have their own way of visually marketing on each platform. Besides, depending on the branding, there will be certain social media platforms that are suitable for it. How should we deliver fashion messages on each platform? When implementing a strategy for social media, I also do a lot of research about the competition and how they do the promotion on their accounts. You can study SEO, advertising, or refer to website management tools, social networks and media & design applications to become more proficient in this field. In my opinion, to do successful digital marketing, brands always need a good branding foundation because they are closely related to each other.
That concludes the aspects we will learn when studying Fashion Marketing & Communication. Do you feel that you are suitable for the major? Please share more with me! Thank you for reading, I hope the above information is useful to you!