Course Overview
Course summary
This course will equip you with the strategic decision-making, leadership and problem-solving skills you'll need to become an entrepreneurial and visionary fashion business leader of the future. It continues the University’s fashion tradition of a commitment to excellence in developing highly effective, talented and committed professional fashion graduates.
Working closely with fashion industry professionals, role models and mentors, you'll receive a relevant, well-grounded, high-quality education and skill base that will enable you to have a wider, clearer understanding of the business you are already involved in. The course offers inside knowledge of industry strategies and cultures on a global basis, combined with key business skills and essential fashion industry management knowledge.
This course equips you for a business management career in the domestic or international fashion industry. Delivered by a teaching team with a wide range of experience both in industry and academia, the course offers an innovative and relevant fashion business curriculum that focuses on preparing your entry into senior roles in business and management within the industry.
Top reasons to study with us
- Live project work – You'll work on a live project with niche and exclusive fashion brands. These projects are often with new up and coming brands and entrepreneurs, which have previously included AOC-Absence of Colour, LSAHA, MAES London, SIRPLUS
- Circularity and sustainability in the fashion business – Sustainability and the circular economy are embedded into many aspects of this course, such as specific activities in the Fashion Supply Chain module and lectures from international guest speakers
- Visit top fashion brands – You’ll have the opportunity to go on fashion retail visits to top UK based brands which have in the past included Adidas and Fortnum & Mason for behind-the-scenes guest lectures, as well as field visits to London-based fashion manufacturers
- Annual Retail & Luxury Conference – You’ll have the option to attend the Annual Retail & Luxury Conference at Columbia University in New York, which brings together students and industry professionals in the luxury retail industry
Course structure
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
The fashion business dynamics and its fast-shifting product sourcing require an adaptable attitude to spot business opportunities emerging around the world. Building profitable relationships with partners and suppliers and balancing costs and risks are key challenges. To transform an idea into a commercial product involves a complex route: this module is designed to provide you with an overall understanding of how to manage a fashion business from concept to customer. It will explore a variety of perspectives on global product sourcing and global supply chain issues with the aim of preparing you for the challenges of developing and maximising a strategy whilst still responding efficiently and effectively to constant changes in consumer demand.
This module will provide students with an insider view on the key roles of a Fashion Buyer and Fashion merchandiser. The digital transformation of fashion retail has created intense competition and fashion retailers need to devise the perfect cross-channel experience for their customer that takes advantage of digitalisation to provide targeted, commercial fashion product applying relevant trends to retail strategy maximising sales and KPIs and minimising risk.
The module covers the theories, models, tools and methodologies used in the field of strategic management specifically within the fashion business. It aims to enhance your ability to play an effective role in developing, implementing and monitoring strategy within a business in the fashion or fashion-related industries. The module especially aims to help you develop a critical awareness of the management of creativity and design within a global context. Fashion enterprises at every level inherently enjoy advantages as well as face the vulnerabilities of the market conditions. This unit opens windows into strategic and creative thinking, analytical evaluation, and business strategy development as well as the decision-making process. The business environment is constantly changing and this affects the market condition, business structure, strategy and style.
With the competition in the fashion business at its fiercest, it is imperative that companies understand and develop successful and effective marketing strategies for product development and brands for the mass market as well as the luxury goods market. This module will stimulate critical and intellectual skills and allow you to explore the challenges of developing fashion marketing strategy, to include an understanding of the fashion market, the marketing mix, the consumer, how to make appropriate product adaptations to meet consumer demands, developing strategy to protect and ensure effective intellectual property protection for a brand. The module also aims to help you effectively develop and overcome challenges in the marketing environment in order to successfully understand how to penetrate new markets and manage brands in order to balance a competitive advantage with profitability in the fashion business.
This module will include:
- an understanding of the global fashion market
- the global marketing mix
- the consumer
- how to make appropriate product adaptations to meet consumer demands
- developing the strategies to protect and ensure effective intellectual property protection for a brand
- ensuring and effectively developing and overcoming the challenges to successfully understand how to penetrate the market in order to balance a competitive advantage with profitability in the global fashion market
The module combines theory and practical knowledge of finance in the fashion industry. It also provides a practical, real-world approach that presents the common financial problems (and solutions) entrepreneurs often face especially in the fashion world. With the increasingly critical role played by finance and financial management in the success of global business, a solid grounding in the principles and techniques of finance is essential for a successful business venture. The module is designed to develop your understanding of the core financial aspects of business as well as entrepreneurship through the preparation, interpretation, use and analysis of strategic financial information in the context of an understanding of the strategic need for the survival of global business. This module represents a mixture of financial and management accounting, corporate finance and risk management. The principles and concepts underlying each of these subject areas are examined with particular emphasis being placed upon their practical application in the international fashion industry.
This module blends two important and connected areas of creative teams working in the fashion business, managing creativity via innovation and trend forecasting. This is blended to demonstrate how creative teams working effectively can create commercially viable opportunities in the fashion business. It will provide students with a grounding in the theory and practice of the management of creative people, and trends at both strategic and operational levels.
The Fashion Business Project builds on the skills and experience derived from the previous modules. You will be provided with the opportunity to apply all of the knowledge gained during the programme into a major project to address fashion business issues and challenges while adding to the body of professional practice and theoretical literature. Supervised by a faculty member in collaboration with yourself and a potential fashion industry representative, the Fashion Business Management Project is recognised by graduates as one of the most rewarding and empowering experiences of the entire programme.
For more details on course structure, modules, teaching and assessment Download the programme specification (PDF).
To request an accessible version please email [email protected]
Get your copy of the University of Westminster prospectus and browse the range of courses on offer.
Contact us for general course enquiries:
+44 (0)20 7911 5000 EXT 65511
(Mon–Fri, 10am–4pm GMT)
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Careers
This course will equip you for a business management career in the domestic or international fashion industry. It offers an innovative and relevant fashion business curriculum that focuses on preparing you for senior roles in business and management within the industry.
Our graduates have gone on to work in senior positions all over the world in many fashion roles, including well-known brands such as Burberry, Jimmy Choo, Perry Ellis, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Many of our graduates have also gone on to study at PhD level and to further academic research, while others have set up their own businesses such as LSAHA and AOC.
Industry knowledge
You’ll be taught by a teaching team with a wide range of experience both in industry and academia, as well as working closely with fashion industry professionals, role models and mentors.
Live project work
You'll work on a live project with exclusive fashion brands. These projects are often with new up-and-coming brands and entrepreneurs.
Employers around the world
The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
Industry links
We maintain important links with the fashion industry to ensure that our Fashion Business Management MA stays at the forefront of education for the future leaders in the fashion industry. We work closely with the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT), the largest network for fashion and textile companies in the UK.
We invite guest speakers from the industry to participate in the modules, ensuring that the course remains relevant, informed, and up-to-date with current industry practice.
Guest speakers have previously included:
- Angela Farrugia, Founder Brand X Society
- ASOS
- BFC
- EDITED
- MAES London
- Marie Oakes, Founder at Trend Academy
- Natalie Binns, Buying and Fashion Retail Consultant
- Sacha Milazzo Mercier, Founder of G&M and an international careers consultant
- Stylus
- WGSN
- V&A
- Zedonk
Job roles
This course will prepare you for roles such as:
- Creative director
- E-commerce manager
- Fashion retail manager
- Marketing manager
- Merchandising manager
- Product development manager
- Senior allocator
- Senior luxury fashion analyst
- Senior project manager
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
- Burberry
- Common Objective (NGO)
- Fenwick
- Jimmy Choo
- Li& Fung
- Perry Ellis
- Saks Fifth Avenue
Westminster Employability Award
Employers value graduates who have invested in their personal and professional development – and our Westminster Employability Award gives you the chance to formally document and demonstrate these activities and achievements.
The award is flexible and can be completed in your own time, allowing you to choose from a set of extracurricular activities.
Activities might include gaining experience through a part-time job or placement, signing up to a University-run scheme – such as mentoring or teaching in a school – or completing online exercises.
Read more about our Westminster Employability Award.
Course Leader
Rayne Mickele Reed
Lecturer
Rayne Reed brings over 25 years of industry experience to the MA program, having worked in major fashion capitals across North America, Europe, and Asia. Her portfolio includes global brands like Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy, as well as high-growth e-commerce platforms such as Zalora and Modanisa. Rayne specializes in corporate strategy, organisational design, merchandise development, and business model innovation. She joined Westminster in 2016, holds a BSc in Business Finance, MA in Cultural Leadership, and is an HEA fellow with research interests in cultural representation and inclusivity in fashion education. Rayne also volunteers for fashion non-profits and serves on the Board of Trustees for Little Hands Design, an educational charity promoting sustainable fashion to children.
Our course offers an inclusive, innovative fashion business curriculum that equips students with a strong understanding of the global industry, preparing them to succeed in both entrepreneurial ventures and multinational corporations.
Course Team
Why study this course?
Visit top fashion brands
You’ll have the opportunity to go on fashion retail visits to top UK-based brands for behind-the-scenes guest lectures, as well as field visits to London-based fashion manufacturers.
Fantastic location
With central London only a 20-minute tube ride away, you’ll enjoy the benefits of studying in a major fashion capital.
International perspective
This course offers inside knowledge of industry strategies and cultures on a global basis, combined with key business skills and essential fashion industry management knowledge.
Entry Requirements
A minimum of a lower second class honours degree (2:2) and a minimum of two years of full-time working experience in the fashion business is required. Applicants will be expected to include a CV with their application. Non-standard applicants may be considered if with extensive work experience. Applicants will be interviewed.
If your first language is not English, you should have an IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in writing and no element below 5.5.
Applicants are required to submit one reference, particularly if the application is based on assessing work experience.
Recognition of prior learning and experience
If you have previously studied at university level, or have equivalent work experience, academic credit may be awarded towards your course at Westminster. For more information, visit our Recognition of Prior Learning page.
Application process
Visit our How to apply page for more information on:
- the application process
- what you need to apply
- deadlines for applications
A minimum of a lower second class honours degree (2:2) and a minimum of two years of full-time working experience in the fashion business is required. Applicants will be expected to include a CV with their application. Non-standard applicants may be considered if with extensive work experience. Applicants will be interviewed.
If your first language is not English, you should have an IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in writing and no element below 5.5.
Applicants are required to submit one reference, particularly if the application is based on assessing work experience.
Recognition of prior learning and experience
If you have previously studied at university level, or have equivalent work experience, academic credit may be awarded towards your course at Westminster. For more information, visit our Recognition of Prior Learning page.
Application process
Visit our How to apply page for more information on:
- the application process
- what you need to apply
- deadlines for applications
More information
University preparation courses
Our partner college, Kaplan International College London, offers Pre-Master’s courses that may help you gain a place on a postgraduate degree at Westminster.
To find out more, visit University preparation courses.
Live project work
Students on this course have benefited from developing projects to a live brief in their Marketing and Innovation modules.
Students are briefed by a brand owner or founder and they develop original research for them, which has in some cases resulted in work placements and prizes for the best students.
Brands involved have ranged from sportswear to children’s wear and accessories as well as men’s and women’s apparel.
- Henri Lloyd – sailing and leisure & casual wear
- Tatty Devine – bespoke jewellery
- Kovert Designs – tech jewellery
- Exo – Fitness sportswear
- Blacks – luxury accessories
- Belinda Robertson – cashmere
- Simon Carter – menswear
Student involvement in these live projects provides an extra dimension and insight for them to realise the challenges and opportunities of owning a fashion brand. How to maximise this and turn their ideas into realistic strategies and a potentially successful direction for a brand.
Learn new skills
Volunteer and gain new skills
We offer a number of different volunteering opportunities for you to learn new skills, create connections, and make a difference in the community.
Develop your entrepreneurial skills
Our award-winning Westminster Enterprise Network offers industry networking events, workshops, one-to-one business advice and support for your start-up projects.
Get extra qualifications
We provide access to free online courses in Adobe and Microsoft Office applications, as well as thousands of specialist courses on LinkedIn Learning.
Fees and Funding
UK tuition fee: £11,700 (Price per academic year)
When you have enrolled with us, your annual tuition fees will remain the same throughout your studies with us. We do not increase your tuition fees each year.
Find out how we set our tuition fees.
Paying your fees
If you don't wish to pay the whole amount of your fees at once, you may be able to pay by instalments. This opportunity is available if you have a personal tuition fee liability of £2,000 or more and if you are self-funded or funded by the Student Loans Company.
Find out more about paying your fees.
Alumni discount
This course is eligible for an alumni discount. Find out if you are eligible and how to apply by visiting our Alumni discounts page.
Funding
There is a range of funding available that may help you fund your studies, including Student Finance England (SFE).
Find out more about postgraduate student funding options.
Scholarships
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible postgraduate students.
Find out if you qualify for one of our scholarships.
Additional costs
There is an optional visit to the Annual Retail & Luxury Conference at Columbia University in New York. If you wish to attend you'll need to pay for the full cost of this visit.
See more information on what you may need to pay for separately and what your tuition fees cover.
International tuition fee: £15,500 (Price per academic year)
When you have enrolled with us, your annual tuition fees will remain the same throughout your studies with us. We do not increase your tuition fees each year.
Find out how we set our tuition fees.
Paying your fees
If you don't wish to pay the whole amount of your fees at once, you may be able to pay by instalments. This opportunity is available if you have a personal tuition fee liability of £2,000 or more and if you are self-funded or funded by the Student Loans Company.
Find out more about paying your fees.
Alumni discount
This course is eligible for an alumni discount. Find out if you are eligible and how to apply by visiting our Alumni discounts page.
Funding
There are a number of funding schemes available to help you fund your studies with us.
Find out more about funding for international students.
Scholarships
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible postgraduate students.
Find out if you qualify for one of our scholarships.
Additional costs
See what you may need to pay for separately and what your tuition fees cover.
Facilities
Teaching and Assessment
Below you will find how learning time and assessment types are distributed on this course. The graphs below give an indication of what you can expect through approximate percentages, taken either from the experience of previous cohorts, or based on the standard module diet where historic course data is unavailable. Changes to the division of learning time and assessment may be made in response to feedback and in accordance with our terms and conditions.
How you’ll be taught
Teaching methods across all our postgraduate courses focus on active student learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, and where appropriate practical application. Learning typically falls into two broad categories:
- Scheduled hours: examples include lectures, seminars, practical classes, workshops, supervised time in a studio
- Independent study: non-scheduled time in which students are expected to study independently. This may include preparation for scheduled sessions, dissertation/final project research, follow-up work, wider reading or practice, completion of assessment tasks, or revision
How you’ll be assessed
Our postgraduate courses include a variety of assessments, which typically fall into two broad categories:
- Practical: examples include presentations, podcasts, blogs
- Coursework: examples include essays, in-class tests, portfolios, dissertation
Data from the academic year 2022/23
Supporting you
Our Student Hub is where you’ll find out about the services and support we offer, helping you get the best out of your time with us.
- Study support — workshops, 1-2-1 support and online resources to help improve your academic and research skills
- Personal tutors — support you in fulfilling your academic and personal potential
- Student advice team — provide specialist advice on a range of issues including funding, benefits and visas
- Extra-curricular activities — volunteering opportunities, sports and fitness activities, student events and more
Course location
Harrow is our creative and cultural hub, home to most of our arts, media and digital courses. It houses state-of-the-art facilities for every discipline, including project and gallery spaces, film studios, creative labs, collaborative learning spaces, and the Westminster Enterprise Network.
Harrow Campus is based in north-west London, just 20 minutes from the city centre by train.
For more details, visit our Harrow Campus page.
Contact us
Call our dedicated team on:
+44 (0)20 7911 5000 ext 65511
Opening hours (GMT): 10am–4pm Monday to Friday
Opening hours (GMT): 10am–4pm Monday to Friday
More information
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