Award-Winning Brand Experience Comes to ICMS with Allison Ford 

Fashion and marketing students at the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS) are learning from someone who has lived the industry from the shop floor to head office.  

Allison Ford, the college’s Program Manager for Marketing, Fashion and Global Brand Management, brings more than 20 years of experience in fashion styling, marketing activations and brand strategy straight into the classroom. 

Allison knows ICMS from both sides of the lectern.  

She is an alumna who completed her Graduate Certificate and Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the college, and she has made the Dean’s List three times.  

Since early 2025, Allison has also served as an Associate Lecturer in Fashion and Global Brand Management at ICMS, a role that grew into her current position leading the academic strategy for the scheduled redeveloped Fashion & Global Brand Management and Marketing programs.  

She works with faculty and industry partners to keep the courses practical and current. 

A career built across some of retail’s biggest names

Allison started out as a visual merchandiser at General Pants Co. before moving through roles at some of the most recognised brands in fashion.  

She managed end-to-end campaigns for Boardriders, which includes Quiksilver and Billabong, and at PVH, the group behind Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, combining in-store experiences with creative content development and analysis to drive commercial results.  

She also managed wholesale accounts with David Jones and Myer, before joining Scentre Group, the owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand, where she led integrated campaigns as a Senior Marketing Executive. 

That mix of visual merchandising, wholesale and marketing gives her a rare, well-rounded view of how brands actually work.  

At Westfield, her campaigns delivered record engagement and follower growth across owned channels, built on award-winning activations and first-to-market concepts, with performance analysis shaping each next step.  

It is a perspective she now brings directly to students every week. 

What a typical student week looks like

Students can study at the Northern Beaches Campus or the City Campus, and no two weeks look the same.  

They attend masterclasses with industry names such as Natalie Khoei from Meshki, hear from guest speakers in class, and visit major events like Australian Fashion Week and the Global Sourcing Expo at the ICC. 

“My favourite fashion moment this year was Australian Fashion Week, where we took students and saw brands like Hansen & Gretel show internationally,” Ford said.  

“I love seeing these things happen and then bringing them straight back into the classroom.” 

The programs are also flexible.  

Marketing students can take fashion electives, fashion students can take marketing electives, and there is the option to study a second degree. It is all designed to help students build the exact skill set they want. 

Real placements with global brands

Through ICMS’ Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program, students complete up to 600 hours of professional placement as part of their degree. With more than 1,000 industry partners, they get real experience before they graduate. 

Allison’s students have landed placements at LVMH, home to Louis Vuitton, and the Richemont Group, which owns Cartier.  

Others have worked with local favourites like Bassike. Their roles have spanned CRM, marketing, social media, finance, e-commerce, operations and HR. 

Teaching what industry needs

Ask Allison about her favourite subjects and her career shines through.  

As a former visual merchandiser, she loves the visual merchandising and design subject.  

As a marketer, she points to marketing strategy. 

“Marketing strategy really embeds the skills graduates need for industry,” she said.  

“The best part about studying here is that it’s a business-minded degree, and it’s also industry connected.” 

Allison’s own return to study was not part of the plan.  

As a formally trained visual merchandiser with more than ten years of experience, she found herself at a crossroads when the pandemic reshaped her industry. 

“What started as a challenge became an opportunity,” she said at the recent Dean’s List Ceremony.  

“What began as uncertainty became confidence. And what felt like returning to the classroom became the discovery of a new capability I didn’t know I had.” 

She sees that same resilience in her students.  

“Dean’s List recognition isn’t simply about achieving strong grades. It represents consistency. It represents discipline. It represents the decision to keep showing up, even when motivation is low and the workload is high.” 

What she tells her students

Allison’s message to anyone thinking about fashion or marketing is simple: back yourself and stay open. 

“Say yes to all the opportunities. Stay open-minded,” she said.  

“ICMS is student-centred, and we have the ability to take you internationally.” 

For students who want a business-minded degree, real industry connections and a mentor who has done the work herself, Allison Ford and the ICMS Fashion, Marketing and Global Brand Management programs are ready to help you make the leap. 

Disclaimer: Career history, student experiences, guest speakers, industry placements, employer names and program features mentioned in this article are accurate at the time of publication but may change. ICMS does not guarantee internship placements, specific roles, employment outcomes, salary outcomes or career progression. Work Integrated Learning opportunities, industry partnerships, electives, campus experiences and international opportunities are subject to availability, eligibility requirements and course structure at the time of enrolment.