VET students with an eye for design have organised their own fashion parade at Charles Darwin University on Friday evening (17 November).
Clothing and textiles course coordinator Armida Monteith says the parade will literally be a showcase of the work this year by students from early certificate courses through to diploma level.
Students and their friends will model the fashions designed and created in their courses at the CDU theatre on the Casuarina campus from 7pm.
Typical of the fashion course students is Daisy Evans, who graduates with her diploma in clothing and textiles this year.
Daisy started her course as a VET student at high school in 2001 and became so keen on dressmaking and design that she continued through to diploma level.
She is now deciding whether to open her own dressmaking shop or to work from home on dressmaking commissions.
For young designer Nick Louloudias, however, the future lies in moving to Sydney after completing his diploma and opening his own fashion shop.
He has already decided on the name for his company – Bow Down – which he hopes can someday become a household word.
‘I also want to set up my own website to market my designs and open up shops around Australia,’ he says.
Nick initially became interested in fashion design when he was dissatisfied with the men’s clothing on offer in the stores. He decided to enrol in the VET course to learn more about making clothes, and then discovered the world of female fashion.
Armida Montieth offers a word of caution, however, for students who have their eyes too firmly fixed on breaking into the world of haute couture with its glamorous models, slinky gowns and sky-high prices.
She says the world of haute couture is underpinned by the bread-and-butter fashions of corporate uniforms, made-to-wear fashions and dressmaking repairs and remodelling.
‘The gowns are the glamorous part of the fashion industry, but it’s the more mundane areas that help make ends meet for most people,’ she says. ‘Besides, not everyone can afford an expensive gown – or no more than one of them.’
The fashion evening begins on Friday at 6pm, with drinks and nibbles before the parade.