Fashion College tests UAE waters
They're not setting up a campus just yet says Linda Roberts, London College of Fashion's Senior Business Manager, but pilot courses will show if there is a demand
Are you planning to set up a campus in the UAE? What are your plans?
At the moment London College of Fashion is just offering a programme of its short courses in Dubai. If we find that at a later stage there is demand for foundation, undergraduate and graduate courses we might then consider that as an option after much research and consultation but at this stage there is no plan to set up a campus.
Why are you offering courses in Dubai? Are short courses becoming popular worldwide?
We visited Dubai at the end of last year as part of an exploratory trip to see new markets and research potential. We found a great love of the industry and a desire for fashion education in style-savvy Dubai and are therefore offering up this series of courses as a result of that initial trip and its subsequent reports.
Short courses are very popular with our delegates as they offer potential students a taste of the industry without committing to a full degree programme. It is also an opportunity for professionals already in the industry to hone certain skills or gain knowledge in an area that they have not been trained in or had any experience in and it gives complete novices a taste of the fashion industry. The courses thus appeal to a wide audience, depending on their particular subject, time-line and prior knowledge requirements.
Are courses enough or do students and school- leavers still need a good foundation in design?
That completely depends on what the student wants to do with their knowledge, what field they want to go into and what skills are required for that particular job. There are many roles within the fashion industry where design skills are not essential. At LCF we offer a unique range of courses that reflect the breadth of opportunities available in design and technology, management and retail, marketing and communications. You cannot compare getting a degree with doing a short course; they fulfil completely different requirements and although a student might do both, he or she will be gaining very different sets of skills and qualifications.
Do you think that Dubai is becoming a fashion hub?
The fashion industry in the region is a vibrant, thriving sector of the economy. It is great to see not only the big brands giving appropriate importance to this key market and catering to it, but to see the local, home-grown talent emerging.
Short courses on offer
Starting on May 22 and running until May 26 LCF is offering nine different short courses:
- Introduction to Fashion Journalism: A three-day course run by freelance journalist Paul Tierney who is a visiting lecturer at LCF.
- Fashion Buying and Merchandising: A five-day course run by Malcolm Newbery, an independent specialist consultant specialising in retailing and fashion industry marketing and supply.
- Principles of Personal Fashion Styling: a five-day course run by Polly Holman who has been a practising Image Consultant for more than 20 years and has lectured at the LCF for eight years.
- Luxury Brand Management and Product Design: A five-day course run by Dr Pascal Portanier, a professor in Design Management with more than 20 years experience in marketing and design for luxury brands, such as Lagerfeld, Lancôme, L'Oréal, Clarins, Biotherm, Rodier, Guinot and Dior.
- On-Line Fashion Marketing: A one-day course run by Dr Julia Wolny who is a principal lecturer in Fashion Marketing at the London College of Fashion. Her research spans the fields of internet fashion marketing, consumer behaviour and mass customisation.
- Introduction to Fashion Marketing: A three-day course run by Dr Julia Wolny.
- The Power of Visual Merchandising: A one-day course run by Tony Morgan, a creative retail consultant and lecturer on visual merchandising and space management.
- The Business of Fashion, An Industry Overview: A one-day course run by Toby Meadows who is a founder and director of womenswear label ‘Belle & Bunty', a visiting lecturer at London College of Fashion and author of How to set up & run a fashion label.
- Starting your Own Fashion Label: A three-day course run by Toby Meadows.
To find detailed descriptions of each course and how to enrol visit www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/courses/shortcourses.htm
