Why I Chose Fashion Communication at Kingston

Fashion promotion and communication is what I decided to study at Kingston after a conversation with my foundation year teacher who knew I was interested in fashion but the designing, fashion illustration and pattern cutting elements that fashion design courses usually involve wasn’t appealing to me and so suggested fashion communication. The course at Kingston incorporates everything I enjoy both the creative practices using photography, graphic design, and styling along with research into marketing and the business side of fashion. You can get an insight of some of the work students produce by following @kingston_fpc on Instagram.
The location of where I chose to study, Kingston, was also important in my decision as I wanted to be near central London where there are lots of opportunities when it comes to the fashion industry. On the course we go on field trips to exhibitions and events in London and lecturers keep us updated on other events and exhibitions that we can attend in our own time. The lecturers are helpful and have industry experience which is clear in their feedback, the tasks they set and the advice they can give. We also have guest speakers that do lectures and talks both in person and online that is again valuable because it’s helping us prepare for working in the industry. It’s a professional yet comfortable working environment where we are encouraged to treat the course like a job to really get the most out of it.
When it comes to where the course can take you career wise there is a wide range of opportunities some of which surprised me such as event planning and space design but also careers in journalism, photography, styling, graphic design, marketing, and brand management are just a few of the sectors you can go on to from this course. There's also an opportunity to apply for a placement year within the course which can help develop those professional skills. I finish my first year in the first week of April, so will have a couple of months left to stay in my accommodation and hopefully get an internship in central London.
I have just finished my first term and am happy with my decision in choosing this course, I have gained lots of confidence in both my work and communicating to others. I have also gained lots of knowledge about the industry and have had opportunities to further develop my creative skills.
Any questions feel free to ask 😊

Hi Grace, thank you so much for this information it is so useful.
I have been offered an unconditional place at Kingston to study Fine Art and have recently done the Offer Holder Day. I really liked the university, but just have a couple of questions about things that stood out to me as unanswered questions. One being - do you find that Kingston differs from universities such as Newcastle in the socialisation/campus scenario aspect? And do you still find that there is lots of opportunity to socialise with different students at the other Uni campuses or do you mostly stay around Knights Park/Penrhyn Road with the other art students? I’d quite like to be able to mix with a broad, diverse range of students and not just art students, if that makes sense.
Thank you so much and sorry for so many questions!
Best wishes,
Maisie

Hi @Maisiectaylor
Hope you enjoyed the offer holder day and congratulations on your offer! Firstly as Kingston is more of a city uni compared to a campus uni there will be potentially some differences. However, I feel as though there is a range of opportunities to socialise and meet a wide range of students. For me I have found that joining a sports society, cheerleading, has allowed me to meet and become friends with people from non art subjects studying on campus' like Kingston Hill. Also working as a student ambassador I have met students studying a range of different things. So I would say joining a society and getting some part time work are both great ways to have friendship groups separate from you flatmates and course mates.
I would suggest if you are keen to mix with a range of students living somewhere a bit further off campus like Seething Wells, as although Middle Mill is not 100% art students two of my flat mates there study non-art subjects, one of which then drives to Kingston Hill for lectures, I would say Seething Wells has much more a wide range of students from an array of subjects and is a much bigger accommodation site so there is potentially more opportunities to socialise, plus it has more common spaces. So your accommodation choice could be something to consider if you are keen to mix with a diverse range of students.
Also, if you are going to the Mill for student night on Wednesday or going to the club's in Kingston, students across all campus' go, again allowing you to meet different people. The only difference with nightlife would maybe be that there are two separate student union bars one at Knights Park and one at Kingston Hill, whereas on campus uni's there may be just one for the whole uni. However I do have friends from Kingston Hill who have been to the Knights Park SU bar, so that could be another opportunity to meet different people by going to Kingston Hill SU bar.
I hope this helps and answers your question. Feel free to ask any more questions you may have
-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Hi Grace
I wanted to know more about the fashion communication BA course and life in Kingston.Is it a lot of independent study or is there a lot of guidance and help from the tutors. I have got offers from Kingston , Manchester Met , NTU as well as an offer to do a foundation at Ual . I am an international applicant and will be unable to attend the offer holder days and am really having a hard time choosing . Also I wanted to know more about the refurbished accommodation in Seething Wells, I have not seen any pics of the refurbished en-suite rooms on the accommodation page.
Regards
T

Hi Grace
I wanted to know more about the fashion communication BA course and life in Kingston.Is it a lot of independent study or is there a lot of guidance and help from the tutors. I have got offers from Kingston , Manchester Met , NTU as well as an offer to do a foundation at Ual . I am an international applicant and will be unable to attend the offer holder days and am really having a hard time choosing . Also I wanted to know more about the refurbished accommodation in Seething Wells, I have not seen any pics of the refurbished en-suite rooms on the accommodation page.
Regards
T

Hi!
First of all- congratulations on your offer! We have a lot of international students here at the Kingston School of Art so you definitely won't be alone with not having visited the university first. Also, no problem at all for not attending an open days as any questions you have we will be happy to answer!
I can't find any new Seething Wells photos either, however, I did stay there in my first year (I am now in second year) and would really recommend it! It is very modern, new rooms, new washing machines, new common areas. There are a few varieties of rooms but I stayed in the budget en suite and found it perfect for me. It had the same sized desks, wardrobes and en suites as the other rooms. It is in Surbiton- a short 20 min walk from Kingston or a free uni 5 min bus journey away from the campus and town.
I will let Grace reply about more information on your course- but I hope this was useful and please let me know if you have any questions!
-Yasmin (Kingston Rep)

Fashion promotion and communication is what I decided to study at Kingston after a conversation with my foundation year teacher who knew I was interested in fashion but the designing, fashion illustration and pattern cutting elements that fashion design courses usually involve wasn’t appealing to me and so suggested fashion communication. The course at Kingston incorporates everything I enjoy both the creative practices using photography, graphic design, and styling along with research into marketing and the business side of fashion. You can get an insight of some of the work students produce by following @kingston_fpc on Instagram.
The location of where I chose to study, Kingston, was also important in my decision as I wanted to be near central London where there are lots of opportunities when it comes to the fashion industry. On the course we go on field trips to exhibitions and events in London and lecturers keep us updated on other events and exhibitions that we can attend in our own time. The lecturers are helpful and have industry experience which is clear in their feedback, the tasks they set and the advice they can give. We also have guest speakers that do lectures and talks both in person and online that is again valuable because it’s helping us prepare for working in the industry. It’s a professional yet comfortable working environment where we are encouraged to treat the course like a job to really get the most out of it.
When it comes to where the course can take you career wise there is a wide range of opportunities some of which surprised me such as event planning and space design but also careers in journalism, photography, styling, graphic design, marketing, and brand management are just a few of the sectors you can go on to from this course. There's also an opportunity to apply for a placement year within the course which can help develop those professional skills. I finish my first year in the first week of April, so will have a couple of months left to stay in my accommodation and hopefully get an internship in central London.
I have just finished my first term and am happy with my decision in choosing this course, I have gained lots of confidence in both my work and communicating to others. I have also gained lots of knowledge about the industry and have had opportunities to further develop my creative skills.
Any questions feel free to ask 😊

Hey! I was wondering what the course leaders are like? I got an unconditional to study this course!