The contemporary fashion business module aims to allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the business requirements needed to progress into a career within the fashion industry. As well as being an industry which is built on design, creativity and inspiration, marketing and business are also hugely integral aspects of it too, because this is what will help to sell the initial creative designs and concepts in the competitive realms of fashion communication. Contemporary fashion business is integrated as a way to gain knowledge on the key principles of business and production management, presentation, client handling and design practice within the Fashion industry. During this module, a number of essential skills will be refined including, event planning skills, team-work skills, negotiation skills, pitching skills and business professionalism skills; all of which come together to offer a strong entrepreneurial development for each individual involved.

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By working in teams and demonstrating each of these entrepreneurial skills, the Fashion Marketing and Communications students have been given the task of curating a marketing business plan to promote the graduating Class of 2020 end of year launch night to industry, press and peers. In order to do this, the group has been separated into two teams; the creative management team who will be responsible of creating invites and save the dates, designing press releases, capturing promotional social media content and planning the exhibition installations, and the project management team who are responsible for finding the venue, negotiating sponsorship deals, sending out industry invites, collating RSVPs, and handling the finances of everything that is required for the launch night exhibition. Even though the two teams are separate, it is essential for them to work together and keep in constant communication with one another to not only ensure that a fully successful business plan is created, but to also be certain that each task is being carried out by the person responsible for it. No task is individual; each task aids another, and if one does not get done properly, then it will have a domino effect. If there is a lack of communication and negotiation between the creative management team and the project management team, it will reflect in the standard of organisation. The end goal for both teams is to plan and execute a memorable launch night exhibition which will support the fledgling careers of the soon-to-be, Class of 2020, graduates from the Fashion Marketing and Communication course at The University of Chester.

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- Alicia Jones

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