Course information
Learning outcomes
Fashion is a hard industry to thrive in. It is fast-paced, requires a keen eye for cultural trends, and requires mastery of both supply chain and talent management. But if you can master marketing in fashion, you are well-equipped to do marketing in any fast-moving consumer industry.
The course is primarily designed for those pursuing a career in the fashion industry. We dive deep into theory as well as empirics of fashion marketing and emphasize its key characteristics and success factors. The key points of emphasis relate to practices in branding, supply chain management, sustainability and circular economy, retailing, and understanding of business models. As such, the course will also be of high value to aspiring B2C marketing managers working in other fields.
Students will gain...
1. an understanding of the core business and marketing functions within fashion
2. an ability to plan brand positions, retail strategies, and supply chains in fast-moving business contexts
3. valuable insights into management practices in culturally sensitive business areas
4. new perspectives on the culture and production of fashion
5. appreciation for sustainability as a business advantage
Content
The course integrates and utilizes a broad range of theoretical concepts, frameworks and topics on a practical level. Key areas include strategic marketing and branding, value propositions and business models, supply chain management, retail and distribution management as well as business case development.
Teacher
Anastasia Nanni
Study material
A collection of readings as assigned by the lecturers.
Workload
6 credits, 160 hours:
The course includes lectures, readings, case work, individual assignments, and group work conducted both in class as well as outside of it.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites.
Evaluation
During the course, students are divided into multidisciplinary teams to work on various business cases and challenges. The outcomes are presented for sparring, comments and critique from the audience.
Grading:
The course grade will consist of the following components:
Written assignments
Presentations
Active class participation and class preparation
The final breakdown and balance between these elements will be announced at the beginning of the course.
Teaching time and location
The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system
- The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
- From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected
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From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
Exam instructions at the Open University
The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.
Online learning environment for the course
MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.
Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses
More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.
Registration and course fee
Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below:
Course registration
Registration for this course starts on 26.1.2026 at 9.00
Registration for this course ends on 16.2.2026 at 23.59
It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.
The number of participants is limited to 3.
This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.
The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules
Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication
You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID
Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.
Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication