Anyone who studies a subject that has an undeserving stigma around it may find this post relatable.
1. What is FCP?
Fashion Communication and Promotion
2. So I might be wearing your designs one day?
I'm afraid not, no. There is more to fashion than designing clothes...
3. What is it then?
Honestly, it's a broad course. But essentially it's about taking the clothing that designers have made, and making our consumers want to buy it.
4. So you read Vogue a lot?
Not quite. AnOther, Protein and Kinfolk are more along the right lines.
5. But you do have to read magazines?
They do make quality publications, you know. I'd be surprised if any student - whether they were studying Architecture, Biology, Graphic Design or English Literature - wasn't expected to keep up to date with what's happening in their field/industry and develop a wider cultural viewpoint.
6. Isn't fashion just a hobby?
Fashion is an industry. A rather large one may I add. The industry needs marketers, seamstresses, graphic designers, web developers, photographers, accountants, trend forecasters, journalists, copywriters, buyers, PR specialists. The list goes on.
7. Isn't it just young people that care about fashion?
The fashion industry isn't just about what is 'in fashion', it involves anything that you wear. And unless you're a nudist, we all wear clothes.
8. So you must love shopping?
Erm, just as much as the next person, I guess. That doesn't really have anything to do with my course...
9. Wait, you don't do exams?
On this course, no. It's 100% coursework - which is not any easier. While you're up till 4am every night studying for an exam, we'll be right there alongside you; spending our nights crying in to our keyboards as we write up our reports and get our heads around InDesign, and our days catching trains around the country to visit exhibitions and collecting first hand research.
10. Are you going to be able to get a job out of this?
The fashion industry contributes £26bn to the UK economy, and is the largest employer of all the creative industries. There's no denying it's competitive, but it's not an unrealistic option either.
In all seriousness though, for anyone considering studying FCP (or a related course), don't let close minded people put you off. Fashion is a huge industry that brings so much to the British economy, and the variety of job roles within fashion is endless - don't think it's just limited to design. I don't get on with sewing machines, but I do love graphic design, and FCP allows me to combine my love for visual communication and fashion. I've only just started my course, but from speaking to third years, the workload sounds insane.
At the end of the day, I want to love whatever job I find myself at in 10 years time. So if that means studying a degree that some people don't deem 'real', then that's their problem. After three years, I'll know how much hard work I've put in to my degree, and as long as my employers can see that too, nothing else really matters.
Aderyn x
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