Industry feedback revealed graduates could be better equipped for a real career in the fashion sector. The new course, available from March next year, is the first of its kind in Australia and will merge fashion design skills with formal business training over three years.
As part of the course, students will cover all aspects of the international fashion industry in subjects such as design foundations, product realisation, global business, fashion retail management, and marketing communications and promotion.
MSF academic coordinator Rachel Matthews said the decision to create the course followed feedback from leading industry figures and brands as well as graduates, which revealed a gap in student knowledge.
“Many graduates of purely design-focused courses find that upon entering the workforce, the commercial reality of the industry is often overwhelming and they feel unprepared for many business oriented tasks,” she said.
“In similar feedback, many brands find graduates have a gap in their commercial awareness which makes understanding of the business context of design challenging. The MSF Bachelor of Fashion and Business has been created expressly to address this feedback.”
Matthews said the school, recently acquired by the Holmes Group, is also looking to expand its presence in Australia and further boost its course selection.
“We are hoping to take the Bachelor of Fashion and Business to Sydney in 2012. The Holmes Group have a great campus in Sydney in York Street in the CBD and this seems logical for us as we approach fashion education from an international perspective.”
“We are also currently developing our retail management courses as there is clearly a need for fashion focused education in this area of the retail sector. It is important to produce fashion graduates who have a contemporary view of the field they aspire to work I, but in order to supply the fashion industry with creative well-informed individuals who can respond to these changes we need to start implementing new initiatives now.”
Daniela Aroche