What You Will Learn in a Fashion Merchandising Class

An exciting career in fashion merchandising can be obtained in as little as 16 months through distance learning online. There are many opportunities for a degreed fashion merchandiser either working for a particular company, working as a consultant, or starting a business.

A person enrolled in a fashion merchandising degree program will begin by taking general education classes that include:

• Business Math – basics of business math and statistics that can be applied in the real world
• Business Fundamentals – an overview of the business world, careers, incomes
• Business Communications – effective writing, creating documents and reports
• Accounting – basic accounting techniques of bookkeeping, accounting theory
• Computer Applications – fundamentals of computers, hardware and software concepts
• Workplace Psychology – social, health, stress, and psychological traits of human behavior

Next a concentration on the core classes of fashion merchandising will be studied. Coursework will include:

• Fashion History – the history of fashion, influences, media, literature, psychology, and culture of the fashion world
• Apparel Product Development – initial forecasting, consumer analysis, marketing plans, designing, sourcing, and presenting a finished product to the consumer.
• Consumer Behavior – discover how products and marketing influence people, including consumer behavior, economic and political influences, social behaviors affecting buying
• Design Development – how to develop design through concept, sketching fashion figures, design sketches
• Fashion Design – principles of draping, pattern making, basic sewing techniques
• Brand Management – how brands get and sustain value, responsibilities of a brand manager, methods and strategies for creating successful brand, responding to brands in trouble
• Advertising and Promotion – analyze marketing objectives and strategies, how to influence advertisers, developing successful promotions
• Fashion Buying – how buyers make decisions on purchasing, negotiation techniques, pricing strategies, creating purchase orders
• Textiles – quality standards, mass-production process, design development, sizing, stitching, garment assembly, buying and merchandising decisions
• Brand Development – includes process of creating and supporting clothing brand, using software applications
• Dynamics of Fashion – overview of industry levels and categories, retail operations, children’s apparel, women’s apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home fashions

An exciting career awaits the person completing a fashion merchandising degree online.