Fashion Business & Retail

Learn how fashion brands build identity to engage consumers and promote brand awareness to stand out from the competition.

Build an understanding of how fashion works behind the scenes to acquire knowledge of key processes in the product’s journey from concept to consumer.

Develop compelling marketing campaigns - both online and offline - to stand out and get noticed for all the right reasons.

Dive into the intersection of physical and digital to explore ‘phygital’ retail spaces to explore creative visual merchandising strategies.

Understanding the importance of fashion activism and future trends through an ethical to present ideas and solutions with an appreciation of industry challenges.

Build confidence using Adobe Creative Cloud software (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) to produce professional standard outcomes.

Polish your professional skills in a collaborative and supportive space, key business skills, for example, learning how to pitch and justify your ideas effectively, will be embedded in each unit.

Engage in an extended activity related to your personal area of interest to allow the consolidation of all your skills and knowledge, presenting the opportunity to research and propose a fashion business outcome of your choice.

You’ll learn in a studio-based environment, working on live briefs, brand-led campaigns, and collaborative creative challenges. These could include:

• Producing a digital lookbook
• Planning a launch campaign for a sustainable brand
• Designing a retail window or visual merchandising plan
• Styling and directing a concept photo shoot
• Creating a promotional social media strategy

Expect to step into professional roles — you might act as art director, buyer, brand strategist, or content creator, depending on the brief.

In Year 2, you’ll take more control over your work through an Extended Final Major Project — your chance to specialise, experiment, and showcase your voice as an emerging fashion professional.

On this course, you will build your confidence and skills using a wide range of specialist tools, software and facilities that used in the creative industries.

those may include:

• Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
  The backbone of digital fashion communication—used for everything from flat sketches to layout design and social content production.
• Professional Media Suites & Mac Labs
  Access to high-spec CPUs with creative software, plus drawing tablets and digital editing stations, supports visual storytelling, portfolio creation, and campaign mock-ups.
• Wide-Format & Digital Printing Equipment
  Print banners, fabric prototypes, or large-scale campaign visuals at exhibition quality to bring your creative concepts into physical space.
• Photography Studios & Darkrooms
  Shoot styled fashion content on-campus—crucial for editorial styling, visual merchandising, and content production.
• Live-Project Workshop Spaces
  Studio-based environments for shooting, styling, and creative experimentation that replicate industry workflows (analogue and digital).
• Adobe Premiere Pro / After Effects / Motion Editing Tools
  For producing fashion video content, campaigns, animations, and motion graphics—key for modern digital storytelling.
• 3D Fashion Design Tools (e.g., CLO 3D, Optitex)
  Emerging tech for visualising garments digitally, reducing reliance on physical samples and enabling virtual prototyping.
• Retail Analytics & Trend Intelligence Platforms (e.g., EDITED, Stylumia)
  Advanced tools for market insight, trend tracking, and competitive analysis—essential for buyers, merchandisers, and brand strategists.
• CAD Pattern Making Systems (e.g., Lectra, StyleCAD)
  Precision software for pattern development, grading, and production planning—used across design, buying, and production roles.
• Digital Fashion & Virtual Sample Tools (e.g., Digital Textile Printing)
  Design and test prints or garments digitally—an increasingly important skill aligned with sustainability and innovation.

There are no written exams on this course. Instead, you’ll be assessed through:

• Practical creative outcomes (e.g. campaigns, lookbooks, displays)
• Reflective journals and research portfolios
• Professional presentations and critiques
• Final portfolio submission

Your work will be reviewed using industry-informed standards - focusing on how effectively you communicate ideas, present your process, and deliver outcomes fit for a commercial or creative environment.

Our post-16 courses offer an outstanding foundation to pursue a career in the creative industries and beyond. 

Every year students progress onto degree courses at some of the top arts and stage schools in the UK, or go on to study other subjects from Medicine to Marketing.

You can apply at any point during the year directly to HCA. We receive a high number of application across our four subject areas so we recommend that you make your application as early as possible.

Find out more here. 

Once you have completed the online application form we will write to you and invite you to attend a face-to-face interview or audition. 

We will also send you some guidance to help you prepare - but the main aim of your interview is to give us the chance to get to know you, and for you to get a feel for the course team.

We schedule interview/audition in blocks to give you a chance to meet some of the other students who will be starting the course with you.

At HCA we want you to apply happy. The application process doesn't need to be scary. Remember, we are looking for your passion and potential - not perfection. And we are here to help every step of the way so you feel comfortable through the process.

Level 3 Extended Diploma (2 years)

• Minimum 5 GCSEs at Grade 9 – 4 (A*- C), or a Level 2 Diploma Merit grade in your subject. To ensure that you qualify, it is desirable that you achieve at least a Grade 4/C or above in English and Maths.
• Interview and portfolio or audition.
• Minimum age: 16 years old.

For Fashion Business and Retail, applicants will also need GCSE English Grade 4/C or above.

Level 2 Diploma (1 year)

We run Level 2 transition course for four of our Post-16 subjects (Art, Design and Communication; Creative media Production adn Technology; Performing and Production Arts; Music Performance and Production)

• Minimum 4 GCSEs Grade 9 – 2 (previously A* – F)

  To ensure that you qualify, it is also desirable that you achieve at least a grade 4 / C or above in English or Maths.

• Interview and portfolio or audition.
• Minimum age: 16 years.

We are passionate about access to outstanding education. Every student comes to us at a different point in their journey. Students have a broad range of subject area experience, academic qualifications and personal circumstances.

One way to ensure you get the most out of the course is by making sure you start in the right place.

All our curriculum areas offer a Level 2 entry, which will provide you with an outstanding foundation in the subject before moving on to the two-year Level 3 course. 

You can start at Level 2 with lower GCSE grades (outlined above), or limited experience in the arts. 

The fees for the additional Level 2 year is funded by the Government in the same way, so you won’t have to pay additional course fees at any point in your diploma studies.

Course leads will make a recommendation based on results - as well as meeting you and talking to you - if they think you would benefit from starting your studies at Level 2.

There is always some movement between groups early on in the first term, as you find your own level within the college. 

Almost all of our students progress from Level 2 onto our Level 3 courses - with many going on to thrive, and go on to study a degree after their diploma.