What is FCP?

Within my first couple of lectures and seminars this week we discussed what Fashion Communication and Promotion actually is. To be honest, before getting here, whenever someone asked what i was studying I found it close to impossible to explain, so it's nice to know what I'm going to be doing for the next 3 years. And for those who read this blog, I think it'd be advantageous if you knew what it was too. This is not the most straight forward explanation, and all these answers have come from discussion, so it's not a simple answer to the question 'what is FCP?'

I like to think of it as the Why of fashion, instead of the What. The what would be the garment or product being sold, or the campaign it's being sold through. We are the reason behind the campaign, the idea makers who find the meaning for the campaign. Every brand/promoter creating a campaign has some sort of fuel, a reason, whether it be political, economic, environmental, social, technological, whether it's driven by consumer behaviour or culture. We are here creating the story and the ideas behind the product, instead of focusing and creating the actual product.

Another way we thought of explaining it was; we are the people who make consumers feel like they need something they don't necessarily need. We are all about lifestyle, but no specific lifestyle, everyones lifestyle, each individuals way of living, and persuading them to indulge. Fashion isn't just for the fashionable. Everyone has their own want, it just depends on the person, and so it's about making the individual consumer feel special, as if the campaign is bespoke to each consumer. It's pretty ingenious if you ask me.

I don't know if this has helped you understand what i'm studying, but these discussions sure as hell cleared up a lot of stuff for me and only made me more excited to knuckle down and get this degree.

Ta Ta for now, my lovelies.

Miss Blue