Stepping out
Assia Benmedjdoub speaks to a former and current fashion design student from Wollongbar TAFE about the importance of a good challenge and a little seachange.
Make one garment each week, every week, for two semesters. Most students would baulk at the idea, but not Jacinta Goltz. Currently in the final year of a Diploma in Textiles, Clothing and Footwear at Wollongbar TAFE, Goltz admits she's one of those students who thrives on challenges.
"The whole process can be a bit, I don't know, daunting but I'm really enjoying it," she says. "We go through the whole process of designing, to pattern making and then making the actual garment so you get a sense of every part of it."
Learning to admire the finer details of fabric construction, Goltz hopes to use these skills to break into the corporate apparel market.
"I really enjoy the whole tailoring and corporate suit making part of the business. I think it's something that's really gotten lost in fashion these days. There's a lot of loose designs but I think tailored garments are starting to make a come back."
Fresh from a week of work experience at Regents Tailors, Goltz is even planning to create a range of tailored jackets for her final project. Aiming to use natural fibres and a broad colour palette - including deep wine and beige - her project will include fitted blazers, one loose fitting jacket and delicate crocheting features.
"I also want to make them quite light," she adds. "The climate on the Northern Coast is quite warm and so I think it'll be really great to have something that suits the people up here. I also think that adding some crochet to the jackets is a little different too."
Before pursuing a dream to create her own corporatewear label, Goltz hopes to fulfil one last, "very special" commission.
"Someone heard about me and the course I was doing and asked me to make a wedding dress!," she enthuses. "I've started from scratch; making the patterns, sourcing the fabric and cutting, fitting. I'm really enjoying seeing it come to life. We had a fitting and I was amazed to see how well the dress fit her. It gives you perspective."
It's an old-age cliché but seachanges can really pay off. Just ask Caryn Gillespie. After living and working in Sydney for several years, the designer moved to Wollongbar in the early 1990s and rediscovered her passion for fashion design. Eventually graduating with a diploma in Textiles, Clothing and Footwear in 1994, Gillespie now boasts her own intimate apparel label and an enviable work portfolio.
"I worked in graphic design for 10 years and steered away from fashion design all together," she remembers. "Everyone said it was not a very nice industry, very competitive and hard to make it. But then, when I moved back to the coast, I wasn't sure if I'd get enough graphic design work so it was a good opportunity to go back and study."
Gaining work experience with fashion giants Colette Dinnigan and Easton Pearson during her two year diploma, Gillespie eventually walked out with enough knowledge to launch her own label in 1994. And last year, Gillespie even won the 2005 Memento Award for her underwear designs.
"It was for my "love your lawn" design," she laughs. "It's a singlet and a matching brief. There's a kangaroo on the top and a panel of grass across the crotch so it looks like the kangaroo is munching on it. It's selling like crazy!"
Of course, Gillespie adds, it wasn't always smooth sailing.
"I didn't realise how many little things were involved until I actually started working," she says. "There's marketing, branding, advertising and getting publicity! I've also learned more about production, sourcing fabric, contracting sewing people and manufacturers which I didn't learn much about at TAFE. Actually, I produced my first lot of garments overseas a couple of weeks ago so I'm still learning!"
Using Peter Alexander's business model as a source of inspiration, Caryn began by producing her stock locally and selling it online through caryn.com.au. Now looking to sell her range to select outlets in late July, Caryn has begun her steady push into the retail market.
"I still want to have my online business because its worked so well for me," she says. "It's a little ironic because my graphic design skills helped me to build the site in the first place!"