Fashion Buying & Merchandising – Full Time Year 1

This full-time Fashion Buying and Merchandising programme encompasses the foundations that are necessary to succeed as a fashion buyer in today’s competitive environment. While fashion trends change from season to season the fundamental role of the fashion buyer and fashion merchandiser remains the same. As a fashion buyer, or fashion buyer assistant, you will play an integral role within the infrastructure of the retail team, tracking and analysing seasonal trends, ensuring production costs are kept within budget and most importantly, ensuring profit and growth for the company. You must have a good eye for style and trends together with a great sense of design and creativity, but foremost you must have good business acumen to achieve sales targets. Salaries for buyers start at €26,000 whilst Merchandiser salaries start at €32,000 per annum.

Putting into practice the skills learned in class is key to gaining employment in the fashion industry. Portobello Institute has established a strong network of connections with many of the main fashion buying and merchandising departments within some of Ireland’s largest retailers. We have developed a work experience placement programme for our students to apply to participate on with some of the leading fashion brands in Ireland. These include brands operating in the luxury fashion arena such as  Brown Thomas and Harvey Nichols to brands operating in fast-moving high fashion such as Primark and Vero Moda. Companies participating on our work experience placement programme invest considerable time in our students and recruit directly from the placement programme.

This Fashion Buying and Merchandising course introduces you to the busy but exciting world of fashion. The relevant field trips, events and guest lecturers all enhance your opportunity to gain further relevant and practical experience.  You will learn to prepare mood boards, retail display and analyse fashion trends in line with customer needs. This course is designed to prepare our graduates to undertake a variety of roles within the fashion industry by introducing subjects from the worlds of fashion, business and retailing which are customised to the needs of the fashion industry.