VOGUE Summer School: Fashion Business

Each week is structured around a key theme related to the world of fashion and business. Learning will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and practical workshops led by academics and industry professionals. Students will hear from industry experts who work for Condé Nast, as well as fashion entrepreneurs and business owners.  As part of the course, a team project will involve conceiving and pitching a business idea suitable for one of the Condé Nast tiles or businesses, which will be presented at the end of the course to industry experts. 

London provides the backdrop to this four-week course, with visits to galleries and exhibitions as well as the Vogue House experience. Each week students will also have the opportunity to attend our VOGUE Education Presents industry expert event series attended by all of our other students.

Week 1: Introduction & Context of Fashion

During the first week, we will induct students to the College and introduce the course content and team project that will be completed during the course. Other key topics include:

• Introduction to the world of fashion & fashion business
• The world of Condé Nast, it’s titles and its business channels 
• The fashion system
• Key skills for business & entrepreneurship

Week 2: Marketing Strategies for Fashion Brands & Businesses

This week provides an overall insight into the key practices of marketing, branding and promotion functions within the fashion industry, considering how they interconnect with business direction and strategy. Students will consider the key influences on fashion and identify wider macro-environmental trends that shape the industry. 

Other key topics include:

• Business & marketing research & trend analysis
• Understanding customers – knowing your target audience
• Developing a business concept
• Creating concept boards

Week 3: The Future of Fashion Brands & Businesses

During week 3, the focus is on learning about the future of fashion and considering how new businesses are, or could, disrupt the system. During this week, students will work to develop final pitches and work on creating a pitch video. Other key topics include:

• Digital strategies for fashion business
• Fashion & the metaverse
• Fashion, circularity & new business models
• Crowdfunding campaigns

Week 4: Fashion Business & Disruption

The final week will focus on completing and presenting the team course assignment Other key topics include:

• Career opportunities in the fashion industry
• Entrepreneurship / running a fashion business
• Fashion networking

This is an intensive study programme with classes and activities Monday to Thursday, from 10am to 5pm. Any activities taking place beyond this time are optional. Students will receive a full course timetable on the first day of the course.

Lectures delivered by fashion academics, industry experts and Condé Nast staff.  

Independent and group work to complete the assessed elements of the course will take place on the first three Fridays, with project submission and assessed presentations taking place on the final day of the course. On the final Friday, there will be an end-of-course celebration.

There are no specific books to buy for the course. Students will have access to the College reference library and recommendations for further reading will be made throughout the course.

Entry Requirements

Students must be aged at least 18 years old on 1st September at the start of the academic year in which they intend to join this course. An academic year runs 1st September-31st August annually. For the duration of the academic year, a student is considered to be their academic age for admissions purposes, regardless of when their birthday falls within that academic year.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate a good level of English.

English Language

There are no formal English language requirements for this course, however it is delivered and assessed in English. For non-UK students or those where English is not their first language, we recommend they have an Academic IELTS score of 5.5 or be able to use English at this level if they do not hold an English language qualification, before you start. It is a student’s responsibility to ensure that they will be able to participate fully.

How to Apply for the VOGUE Summer School: Fashion Business

Bookings can be made directly via our online booking form on the course page by clicking on Book Now button.

Course booking deadline:

Applicants are required to apply no later than two week before the course starts.

For further information or any queries regarding entry requirements or admissions, please contact the Admissions Office.

Paying the Course Fee

This course is “Book & Pay”; in order to confirm and secure a place on the course, a booking form and full payment will need to be submitted using the online booking form. 

More information – including visa requirements – can be found on our International Students webpage.

There are no funding options available for this course.

Alumni Discount

Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design offers course fee reduction to our alumni.

For more information visit Terms and Conditions

Studying & Living in London

For more information on the costs of living in London – including accommodation advice – please see our Accommodation and Living Costs page.

Students will study this course with a UK fashion education provider that operates from within the fashion industry. This exceptional environment provides a unique perspective on learning how to set up a business and how the fashion and the creative industries operate, as well as providing access to numerous unrivalled experts.

With weekly guest speakers from a broad range of professions within the fashion and creative sectors, Students will learn directly from the best in the industry.

The Campus

Condé Nast College is situated in a historic building at Bedford Square, in Central London.

The area was built between 1775 and 1783 and is one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London.

The square has had many illustrious residents including Lord Eldon, one of Britain’s longest-serving and most celebrated Lord Chancellors, who lived in the largest house in the square for many years. Other famous residents include the second Duke of Devonshire; William Butterfield, an architect; and H H Asquith, a former Prime Minister.

The square takes its name from the main title of the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford, who owned much of the land in what is now Bloomsbury.

Bedford Square is in the heart of Bloomsbury, an exciting area for academia and the arts; originally made famous by Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Set.

The College is a short walk from the headquarters of Condé Nast, which our students visit as part of their exposure to the professional world.

Who Teaches at the Condé Nast College?

The academic team at the College offer an unrivalled knowledge of the fashion sector; they are kept constantly up to date through their unique industry links. Staff encourage students to think independently and critically, and individual students’ skill sets and strengths are nurtured and supported throughout the course.

During the course, students will also be taught by a range of our academic staff as well as industry guests and visiting lecturers.

Visiting Lecturers & Guest Speakers 

• Osman Ahmed, senior editorial associate at The Business of Fashion
• Georgia Murray, fashion editor at Refinery29
• Nova Dando, creative director
• Aled John, head of business development at Condé Nast International 
• Paul Nesbitt, head of audience research at Condé Nast International 
• Dr Kate Nelson Best, fashion and media scholar

Students on the course also have access to the College-wide industry lecture programme that takes place once a week. Previous speakers have included: Anna Wintour, Adwoa Aboah, Miles Aldridge, Victoria Beckham, Nicholas Coleridge, Anna Dello Russo, Edward Enninful, Bella Freud, Sarah Harris, Tommy Hilfiger, Anya Hindmarch, Henry Holland, Caroline Issa, Lulu Kennedy, Yasmin Le Bon, Natalie Massenet, Tamara Mellon, Suzy Menkes, Roland Mouret, Kate Phelan and Matthew Williamson.