This four-course curriculum provides UNC Hussman undergraduate majors and minors with subject matter expertise for brands and agencies based in the fashion and lifestyle industry. Based in UNC Hussman’s Workroom FashionMash program, students work to develop a robust fashion portfolio and network with industry representatives on professional projects. The program provides a competitive advantage when entering the job market upon graduation.
Overview
Building on the foundation of UNC Hussman’s curriculum, the focus program in fashion communication and marketing builds a core understanding of the fashion industry and allows students to produce a robust portfolio of professional work. Program participants become part of a wide network of alums working with major fashion and lifestyle brands across the globe.
Art directors play a key role in positioning brands in a compelling and memorable way in the minds of consumers and are essential in the fashion and lifestyle industry. The fashion marketing and communication program provides students an opportunity to work with other talented visual artists to create a common brand.
Experience the full breadth of the creative industry by merging the elements of advertising, culture, design and entrepreneurship to develop a new product for the fashion or lifestyle industry. Students will delve into customer relationships and sales and will be challenged to align their new product ideas with consumer trends.
Each year, the Workroom FashionMash program brings in talented professionals from across the industry to conduct immersive workshops. Many scheduled sessions take advantage of the Workroom space and the UNC BeAM makerspaces to expand the capabilities of materials. The program also hosts special classes and topics panels each year with a focus on working in the industry.
Courses Offered
Fashion marketing and communication courses emphasize content creation, brand development, public relations and influencer marketing, art direction and experiential marketing. Students must complete the following three of the four program courses:
This course provides students with finished advertising for their portfolios through visual theory instruction, creative exercises and strategy application.
This course is a hands-on learning environment where students develop consumer interactions and engagements that build on the brand voice. Experiential marketing unites a brand’s core marketing principles, creative advertising messages, design and production needs into an experience that will surprise and delight. The Workroom FashionMash: Experiential Design course allows creative advertising students to work directly with the leadership of a national client and fully concept and produce their work.
This course allows students to experience the full breadth of the creative industry. Students will merge the influences of advertising, culture, design and entrepreneurship to bring a new product to life for the fashion/lifestyle industry. Delving into customer relationships and sales, students are also challenged to align their new product ideas with consumer trends. This course is ideal for those interested in adding industry-specific content to their portfolios, as it demonstrates the powerful influence lifestyle brands wield in other product categories.
What does it mean to develop an editorial look? Visual editorial is a genre of photography and video focused on telling a story without words. The concepts are often outlandish and use clothing to focus on the narrative rather than wearability. Fashion curation, casting, makeup/hair, artmaking, set building and unusual film techniques all work in concert in these powerful visual collaborations. In this class, you will explore what it takes to bring these conceptual moments to life.
Meet the Faculty
Hear From an Alumna
Arianna Darden ’24 has been a fashionista for as long as she can remember. But it wasn’t until her experiences with the FashionMash Workroom program — and now, the fashion marketing and communication program — that she realized she could combine that passion with her career goals in the advertising, public relations and the social media space.
“I finally have had the permission to be creative and just be myself and to fall in love with art,” Darden, who’s studying advertising and public relations, said. “And just hone into those crazy ideas and just seeing where they could go.”
Combining the real brand collaborations of the fashion classes with Darden’s experience running similar campaigns as president of Xpressions has given her the skillset to stand out in the highly competitive fashion and beauty industry.
And that unique skillset and fashion awareness has already landed Darden a full-time job as a social media content creator with Durham-based beauty brand Burt’s Bees, where she interned over the summer.
“It’s important for us to have these certifications and to have these experiences to speak to, because as long as you have the experience, you can speak to the experience,” Darden said. “It doesn’t necessarily matter if you went to college for it, or you majored in it — if you know what to do, you know what to do.”
Fashion Magazines
Coulture Magazine and Xpressions are vibrant platforms showcasing the creativity and style of the campus community. These student-run magazines highlight emerging trends and feature original content ranging from editorial shoots to fashion-forward articles. They serve as a space for students to express their passion for fashion, collaborate on creative projects and gain hands-on experience in the fashion industry.
