A person’s personality or attributes can be understood by his or her choice of clothing. As world renowned Head Designer Miuccia Prada puts it: “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.”

Chances are you are willing to spend a good portion of your hard-earned money for clothing and accessories just to impress others at your social gatherings or at your workplace. It can be said that a good number of Malaysians are particular about which brands they choose to purchase.

Meanwhile, the prospect of working within the Fashion Industry is steadily gaining an appeal among Malaysians even as fashion designers such as Jimmy Choo, Melinda Looi, Farah Khan, Bernard Chandran and Zang Toi are constantly celebrated for their successes on the international stage.

Seizing on the current interest of the public towards all things fashion related, First City University College (formerly known as KBU International College) is offering fashion enthusiasts a way into the industry via the BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing programme through the Faculty of Design & Built Environment (FDBE).

Fashion Marketing’s Objectives, Structure & Career Prospects

The three-year academic programme was founded with the objective of empowering fashion enthusiasts to market and brand their own fashion products. Throughout the duration of the programme, students will be given the opportunity to explore all aspects of fashion marketing and branding by applying their own ideas across a range of marketing and branding contexts and disciplines.

Some of the modules include Design oriented ones such as Fashion Communication and Computer Aided Design as well as Business related ones such as Fashion Coordination and Branding and also Visual Merchandising. In order to increase the industry-readiness of the students, they will be required to undergo a mandatory Industrial Training module.

During their Final Year, students will also be required to submit and present a Final Year Project of their own as an evaluation of their knowledge concerning Fashion and other related fields.

“When students graduate with a Fashion Marketing degree from First City UC, they are fully equipped with a strong portfolio that showcases their strengths, skills and talents. It will determine their ability to launch and sustain their own brand, or land a successful career in the fashion industry”, explained Fashion Marketing Programme Coordinator Eleen Tan, who is also an active fashion illustrator with a portfolio of international fashion brands.

Positions that graduates can confidently apply for include Fashion Designer, Sales Designer, Brand Designer, Exhibition Designer, Clothing Designer, Retail Manager, Fashion Merchandiser, Visual Merchandiser, Stylist and many more.

Eleen added that Fashion Marketing students enjoyed the advantage of not having to travel far to visit designer studios, fabric and trimming stores, as well as the 1 Utama Shopping Centre, which contains over 700 fashion retail stores to explore and study from.

Student Testimonials

Recently, FDBE students, including those from Fashion Marketing had the privilege of listening to a talk by Bill Keith, an industry expert. The highlight of the talk was when students were given the chance to ask questions in order to know more about the industry.

First Year student Tara Danish Mohammad Irfan shared that the talk taught her about the importance of passion and perseverance in order to succeed in the industry. She added that the key to success depended much on one’s long term planning.

Second Year Student, Lang Chen Ling recalled the speaker advising students to be clear with their direction when creating a design, with the design being based on one’s identity and passion.

Chen Ling, who enrolled in the programme due to her avid interest in fashion, added that among her most cherished student moments was attending an exhibition held by a leading international fashion brand in Kuala Lumpur.

January 2020 Intake and Incentives

Aspiring students hoping to build a career in Fashion and Merchandising should register now to enjoy a 50% incentive off tuition fee.

To learn more about other programmes offered at Foundation, Diploma, Bachelor Degree and Postgraduate levels, drop by First City UC for a staff counselling session. The campus is open every day.

At First City UC, students stand to benefit from a wholesome and world-class education as the campus comes equipped with a wide array of state-of-the-art learning facilities. These include a library, IT Centre, Centre for Postgraduate Studies as well as Lecture and Seminar rooms. Besides that, the university college features a robust extra-curricular scene, providing students with many sports and student clubs to join.

The university college enjoys a proven track record of producing highly employable graduates over the last 30 years, which can be attributed to its industry-relevant and Malaysian Qualification Agency-accredited curricula.

The university college is located within the modern township of Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The eco-friendly urban campus is easily accessible via MRT as well as other forms of public transportation. Furthermore, Bandar Utama hosts many amenities, in particular one of the world’s largest shopping centre, 1 Utama. Students may spend their leisure time there catching a movie or having a meal.