With graduation season looming, your friends may be preparing for further academic training and embarking on Masters degrees. Are you wondering whether a fashion short course is a creative alternative?

 

Fashion short courses are an increasingly popular choice for those who dream of a career in the industry. These courses aim to enhance your knowledge of the sector and advance your skills sets to prepare you for internship and entry-level jobs. All in under six weeks of intensive training! Complete with glossy prospectuses and big fashion names attached, these courses offer a formal doorway into this exclusive industry.

Yet you may be questioning whether the benefits are equivalent to the costly fees, reaching up to £840 per week? PYT has done the research for you, speaking to former students of various fashion short courses. They share all and give their honest opinion on to see what really counts when you are completing your 150th application to become a Buyer’s Admin Assistant.

 

London Fashion College offers the most varied options with over 150 different courses.

Courses ranging from Millinery to Online Retailing workshops, boasting support from its outstanding reputation amongst industry professionals (your future employers!)

Tanya Krotovskaya, an Art History student, enrolled on a five-day Buying and Merchandising course at London Fashion College in order to improve her numerical skills and show her eagerness to develop a fashion career.

Tanya credits her lead tutor Malcolm Newbery, of Malcolm Newbery Consulting, as the main benefit of the course. The fashion and retail specialist offered a wealth of experiences and even looked over their CVs to give recommendations.

Tanya’s verdict: “I would definitely take this course again!”

 

Conde Nast College, an emerging institution only founded in 2013

Susie Forbes, former deputy Vogue Editor, is the principal of the college. Whilst the wider CNC team boasts highly accredited names such as British Vogue Fashion Editors. 

The school is ideally placed to prepare rising fashion stars and brag of reviews from former editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman,

“An exciting and fresh addition to fashion education in this country. Closely connected to Vogue, the College is uniquely placed to give students a better understanding of the fashion industry. Both in its creative and business aspects”

One such rising star is English student Rachael Miller, who attended the Conde Nast College in the summer of 2016 and enrolling on their Fashion Journalism and Business four-week course. Although acknowledging the steep cost of the course, she felt that overall it was a helpful experience that she would repeat.

Rachael credited the exceptional tutors that Conde Nast employs and believes the course offered her a better understanding of, the often confusing, fashion industry.

If you need more convincing, the course directly helped Rachel secure a killer internship at Vogue Magazine!

 

If the price tags are more than you can afford, don’t be alarmed…

We spoke to Vienna Kim, student and one of BOF’s exclusively selected Young Voices of 2016. Vienna enrolled on a free management of fashion and luxury course through coursera.org. She credits this course with creating a firm foundation and knowledge of the luxury fashion interview. Vienna also noted that her confidence has increased and she’s since secured a graduate job in the sector.  

But, she was keen to point out that a fashion short course is in “no way a substitute for a full education” and should be only be considered as a supplement.

Short courses are great for enhancing your knowledge, boosting your skill set and building your confidence. Pop into the open days and make sure short courses are the best choice for your aims. Tutors are always happy to share their email contact should you have any further questions.

Remember, if you don’t have the money at the moment, save and come back, the course can be taken at any point!