Course content
This course introduces students to the fashion, lifestyle and beauty business(es) and provides them with the analytic concepts to understand and practical knowledge and skills to help establish, develop and understand enterprises in this field - as entrepreneurs, consultants, analysts, or strategists.
The course starts with a survey of fashion, lifestyle and beauty businesses exploring their commonalities, distinctions, and entanglements. It examines key issues and forces driving change in the field including those linked to digitalization, globalization, and sustainability.
Drawing on theory, company cases and presentations, the course will explore entrepreneurial processes and the opportunities and challenges of developing new ventures, innovative products, sustainable business models and strong brands in the fashion, lifestyle and beauty businesses.
The course provides students with conceptual tools and practical insights to understand and deal with issues entrepreneurs face in areas of finance, creative design and product development, sourcing and production, distribution, retailing and merchandising, sustainable management, communication and brand building
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During the course, the students should acquire the skills to competently formulate, develop or rethink business models of companies in fashion, lifestyle and beauty. The course also aims to advance students' understanding of strategic, ethical and cultural issues pertaining to fashion, lifestyle and beauty including diversity, equity and inclusion in fashion and beauty work, global sourcing and value chains, labor rights and socio-economic development in the Global South,
The course draws on different disciplines, including fashion and design theory, entrepreneurship studies, business model theory, business economics, strategic brand management, social theory, and CSR theory.
See course description in course catalogue