This course appeared for the first time in the curriculum of International Management (IM) master program in the academic year 2019-2020 as a result of the research launched within Erasmus+ project “Re-Frame Fashion”. The aim of the project was to renew the teaching methods and content and to provide students in partner’s institutions (Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Université Paris Dauphine, Gdańsk University of Technology- GUT) with three courses focused on heritage, sustainability and entrepreneurship in fashion.
The course “Entrepreneurship and Creativity in Fashion” was delivered in the last semester of the IM program. The aim of the course was to acquaint students with entrepreneurship as a phenomenon, increase their pro-entrepreneurial attitudes and develop skills necessary in entrepreneurship process. Special emphasis has been placed on fashion business as representing creative industry. This course was also aiming at sensitizing students to sustainability issues and cultural aspects of fashion and make the discover the backstage of the fashion industry.
The idea and ambition was to equip students and nearby graduates, with some tools enhancing the probability of success in all kind of ventures, including fashion project. Therefore, we tried to familiarize students with very practical knowledge on how to create a strong, compelling company image, how to financing the new business ventures in fashion industry, how to build the retail system and create a pricing strategy, use social media to engage with customers and how to make an interesting business plan.
All these components were used in the business model canvas or lean canvas (Osterwalder & Pigneur 2010; Maurya, 2011), which is an engineering approach to build a successful business. The business model canvas was prepared by students which were divided into seven project groups. All students started with a session on creativity by making Mind Maps and ended with a presentation of the business models for invented fashion brands.
The course has been created in cooperation with You’ll marketing agency, represented by its founder Joanna Staniszewska, and involved the real case from Polish fashion brand, BOHOBOCO. With assistance of students, interviews were conducted with one of the brand creators, Michał Guilbert Lach. Students really enjoyed these real cases and they created the slogan and buyer persona for this brand. Volunteers could also prepare a media release for BOHOBOCO. A few of the students used this possibility. The financial aspects of business ventures in the fashion industry were introduced by Błażej Kochański, a colleague from GUT and also by Polish fashion brand, Marie Zélie.
Eventually, students came up with a few new brands projects, including TRAVELOT (clothes for travellers), VEGFASHION (clothes for vegetarians), WEAR IT! (functional clothes), McTYRON (plus size women and men), FEELING GOOD (clothes for minimalists) and two applications SIZING (helping customers to select the right size) and STYLE ADVISOR (helping to create an individual style).
Students enjoyed working together despite the fact that, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, they could attend only one-third of the course in class and the two-third was provided online. Therefore, also the most of the group work has been done in this way.