Fashion Communication and Publishing

3 semester credits. In this course students learn the steps involved in managing and producing fashion shows featuring designer collections and seasonal trends. Topics cover logistics, budget management, fashion show categories, creativity and art direction, broadcasting and promoting shows, and the role of the show within the business aspects of the fashion industry. Prerequisite: Fashion majors (Junior standing) or an event management course (or equivalent).

3 semester credits. This course aims to discuss the complex art of operating fashion businesses in Italy. Topics addresses the dynamics of interacting with designers, buyers, and retail managers, and identify effective ways of conducting negotiations, solving issues, and closing a deal. Coursework will give students a significant exposure to the world of fashion in Italy by analyzing both its rich panorama made up of traditions, humble origins, and the current multinational brands dominating the international market.

3 semester credits. The object of this course is the encounter between fashion – one of the oldest but ever-changing mode of communication – and contemporary tools for influencing other people’s decisions – digital social networks. The two are strictly intertwined: fashion needs social media influencers as much as social media influencers need fashion. Digital media has completely reconfigured the fashion world: bloggers have usurped famous magazine editors at fashion shows, the retail industry is shifting to online shopping, platforms such as Instagram create new forms of social status and power. Yet, while digital media creates new jobs, it brings forth also unexpected negative consequences and issues. This course examines how interconnected fashion and influencers are, and guides students to master the potential of social networks regarding the fashion world. Topics will range from an overview of the evolution of fashion trends to the digital tools needed to succeed as a social media influencer. Students will be able to understand the evolution of fashion, its intrinsic relation with the notion of influence, as well as new trends of digital marketing through social networks. To provide students with a hands-on approach, there will be visits to local museums and/or shops as well as an encounter with a Florentine-based influencer. This course encourages independent explorations in Florence, including those for research and content collection for course projects (i.e. Blending Magazine assignment). Students will also analyze high-impact Case Studies related to the course topic. Successful completion of the course requires regular visits and interaction with the FLY CEMI: students will interact with an Instagram Fashion Account for applying concepts related to merchandising and promotion.

3 semester credits. This course features a sociological journey in recent history as seen through the lives and styles of the most influential people of the twentieth century from Jacqueline Kennedy to Lada Gaga, from celebrity fashion designers to recent stylists and influencers. Fashion icons from varying backgrounds and occupations, such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Queen Elisabeth II, Madonna, as well as their Italian counterparts, will be analyzed. The aim of the course is to identify the roles and identities represented by female fashion icons and how they are perceived today in terms of current fashion ideologies, lifestyle, and social changes.

3 semester credits. This course examines the context in which the Italian fashion system was born. Topics begin from the evolution of fashion from the post-WWII period to the present and address the role and influence of media and culture on factors such as economic and social status, the arts, and other issues that influenced fashion. Students explore fashion's connection to identity, body, politics, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class, and how fashion and media are interrelated with these aspects of culture.

3 semester credits. This course addresses significant moments in the timeline of Italian fashion from its historic origins to the present day. While exploring the art and business of Italian fashion design, students will encounter influential individuals, style and industry-changing happenings, and the places that hosted them. Designers and creative figures, industry players and companies, hallmark fashion shows, and significant Italian locations are amongst the case studies covered. Field visits and guest lectures are an essential component of this course.

3 semester credits. Through a series of walks and visits through art and design this course intends to show famous and hidden fashion paths in Florence. A journey through time and space to discover the place that marked the birth of Italian fashion and opened the doors to Made in Italy. Back in 1954 Florence was the star of the fashion system, anticipating trends and steeling the exclusive scene from Paris. Italy embraced the “new” in fashion through the talent and genius of Giovanni Battista Giorgini, who staged the first ever Italian fashion shows in Florence. Students will discover a city of exquisite taste, tradition and artistic craftsmanship. Starting from the location of the first Italian cat walk held in the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti, they will learn how to map the fashion environment of the city. From Renaissance to modern day inspiration, fashion is kept alive in the products that were designed here and that grace the beautiful city today. Designers, such as Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Emilio Pucci, Stefano Ricci, Ermanno Scervino, and Roberto Cavalli, have all developed and changed through the years and they have all surely blossomed here in Florence. The course is intended to provide academic knowledge through guided field learning activities that include research, on-site involvement, and topic assessment for each fashion themed walk in Florence. The classroom approach of this course is based on experiencing the city of Florence as the academic space for learning and engagement. Classes are not held in a traditional, frontal-style setting; each lesson is carefully mapped for curricular content and featured locations: lectures, observations, exercises, analysis, and reflections on presented topics are held in relevant sites that are accounted for in the academic planning, syllabus, and related course material. Coursework and submissions will be regularly assessed on the MyFUA platform through daily assignments in addition to exams, papers, and projects. Learning through the on-site classroom approach fosters a deeper understanding of the cultural environment of Florence and how it is related to the subject of study represented by the course, and allows the overall experience to contribute to the students' academic and personal enrichment.

3 semester credits. This course introduces writing techniques in the fashion industry. Topics bridge the gap between core writing classes and higher-level fashion courses concentrating on merchandising and promotion by presenting writing strategies intended for the different writing styles required in the industry. Students will learn the methods of effective writing for fashion reports and forecasts, fashion show scripts, public relations, catalog, direct mail, trade and consumer magazines, and online channels. Case studies illustrate examples of effective and ineffective writing. Course projects and activities will interact with journalism activities of Blending, the magazine and newsletter of FUA’s campus press Ingorda. Prerequisites: Foundational writing skills are not covered. Students are expected to apply a strong command of syntax, structure, and style according to the course topic.

3 semester credits. This course analyzes fashion-based image consultancy for individual clients as a profession of growing importance in both the fashion and tourism industries. Key course topics include the resources necessary to build a career in consultancy, portfolio building, self-marketing, and client consultation. The course also provides important contextual information related to the dynamics of the fashion industry. Field visits and activities are significant components of the coursework, allowing students to not only familiarize themselves with real working environments but also interact with professionals in order to build competency in networking with future intermediaries and clients.