Feed your curiosity in fashion with a short course

Short course student Ingrid Jensen believes curiosity is key. According to her, “you have to learn to ask questions, probe deeper and approach matters from different perspectives.”

Currently studying Creative Writing and Journalism at Louisiana State University, it was Ingrid’s curiosity that led her to take the Fashion Journalism Online Short Course and the Fashion Illustration Online Short Course at London College of Fashion.

Ingrid grew up in and around the film industry – her father is an actor – which is how she developed a fascination with the nuts and bolts of storytelling through different mediums.

Yet seeing her name up in lights and walking red carpets across the globe does not interest Ingrid. Instead, it's how fashion, art and writing all intersect. So much so, she studied fashion design and costume history for 5 years before her current endeavour at Louisiana State University.

“Film, fashion and writing all have incredibly close ties in that they are different forms of visual expression that combine to tell and explore stories,” Ingrid tells me.

Navigating the world of fashion journalism

Fashion journalism is all about bringing clothes to life and inspiring readers. Our Fashion Journalism Online Short Course is designed to help students develop their writing skills for the fashion industry.

During the course students learn practical skills such as PR and pitching and explore the mediums of online and print. Students gain an insight into the history of fashion media and work on practical assignments to develop their own journalistic voice.

“The Fashion Journalism course taught me a great deal about the structure of journalistic articles and the planning stages of writing a piece," says Ingrid. "This knowledge of formatting and outlining has been quite helpful to me in my English and writing classes.

"I enjoyed working with other students to critique and comment on each other's work. It's really a tremendous relief when someone tells you the truth about your work; whether a sentence works or not, or whether a description is comprehensive or just absolute garbage. The constructive criticism was extremely helpful for me."

Creativity through fashion illustration

Our Fashion Illustration Online Short Course helps students develop essential skills in fashion illustration. Students work with a professional illustrator to find their own visual language and unlock their creativity through drawing, from concept to completion.

During the course, students work with a range of mediums including ink, markers and watercolours to learn new techniques and complete practical assignments. Works produced may be added to a creative portfolio.

Looking back at her experience and time on the courses, which she described as “enlightening, intriguing and formative”, Ingrid would not hesitate to recommend others to do a short course. Especially when the courses are so focused on a particular discipline or practice.

“So many of the UAL short courses offered teach specific, highly valuable skill sets in the arts that are also a bit niche, so it's nice to have the focus on one skill set at a time instead of someone trying to teach you to navigate an entire field at once, which is overwhelming and never works!”

Ingrid concludes: “The online short courses are also wonderful to meet people from around the world while taking the classes. It’s a fun way to network.”