L3 FASHION RETAIL  L3 FASHION RETAIL Fashion Retail Academy ../webroot/files/QualificationSubSubjectAreas/cover_photo/1546416316Fashion-Design.jpg

Our L3 Fashion Retail course runs over two days per week and teaches a broad spectrum of topics within fashion retail. This general nature makes it an ideal option for those who know they want to work in the fashion industry, but aren’t quite sure in what capacity.

During your time at the FRA, you’ll gain a comprehensive foundation of knowledge, allowing you to pinpoint the specific area you’d like to pursue. This focus on career development is a key part of the L3 Fashion Retail course, particularly in your second year.

You’ll learn about the fashion retail environment as a whole – from what happens on the shop floor, to the importance of a brand’s digital presence. This is essential for understanding the structure of a fashion business, and also how the various roles all function and intersect. You’ll examine fashion futures, and key concerns impacting the industry, such as globalisation and sustainability.

Some of the topics covered during the course include:

• Fashion marketing – Marketing is all about selling a product. You’ll be introduced to marketing best practice, from brand identity to social media.
• Buying – Buyers are responsible for deciding which products make it onto the shop floor, using their knowledge of consumer behaviour and current trends to inform their decisions. You'll be introduced to important aspects of buying, such as range planning and customer profiling.
• Visual merchandising – Visual merchandisers decide how stock will be displayed and presented, with the aim of maximising profits. You’ll learn how to create a visual display and come up with solutions to common merchandising obstacles.
• The supply chain – The supply chain encompasses the sourcing of raw materials as well as the distribution of garments to retailers. Learn about how each process fits together, and at which point each fashion job role becomes most crucial.
• Retail management – Learn all about the structure of retail environments, and how some key management principles can help solve common problems

Using a combination of hands-on and theoretical learning, you’ll gain practical, technical and creative skills on the L3 Fashion Retail course. You’ll have the opportunity to work on unique and exciting projects designed to expand and test your knowledge of the industry and market. These projects might include creating a digital look book, experiencing the behind-the-scenes of a photoshoot, or helping to create a pop-up shop for an existing brand. Past projects have included creating a marketing campaign for Converse, and working on a collection with Topman. These career-enhancing opportunities are unique to the FRA and help to provide you with essential experience and contacts before you even step into your first fashion retail role.

Your learning will be supplemented and enhanced by a three-week placement, as well as masterclasses from well-known names in the industry, such as Zalando, New Look, and TK Maxx. What's more, the tutors on the L3 Fashion Retail course have all worked in the industry, and have masses of knowledge and experience to share with students.

At the FRA, we'll help prepare you for working life. If you choose to pursue employment when you graduate with us, you'll be ideally placed to go after roles such as: Stylist Assistant, Junior Merchandiser, Marketing Assistant, PR or Shop Floor Assistant. Or, you might choose to continue your education with us, once you've identified the specific area you're interested in. A specialist L4 course is a great next step, as is a degree at a university. With the L3 Fashion Retail course you can keep your options open and flexible, it will also equip you with all the skills you'll need to succeed in a fashion retail career.

Or, you might choose to continue your education with us, once you've identified the specific area you're interested in. As long as you successfully complete and pass your L3 FRA  diploma, you will be guaranteed a place on one of our degree courses, providing you with a seamless experience from education to employment with all the skills you'll need to succeed in a fashion retail career.

 1 A-level (or the equivalent Level 3 qualification) and 5 GCSEs grade C/4 or above, including Maths and English. If you have any non-UK qualifications, please provide us with a NARIC Statement of Comparability, as well as, the IELTS test for English language (our entry requirement is 5.5 overall and in all sections) if you have not studied in the UK or English speaking country.