Laughing all the way to the bank
Copeland - a graduate from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's (RMIT) Textile Design Program - has beaten off stiff competition from 200 other entries in a contest run by ANZ and RMIT to find the print design for ANZ's corporate collection.
Her winning 'neo-mod' design - titled 'Synergy' will form the key look for up to 6,500 ANZ branch staff across Australia from October, featuring initially on ladies' shirts and scarves.
"The brief was to come up with a textile design that was vibrant and energetic and reflected ANZ's culture," Copeland said, adding she was "extremely surprised and excited" to have won.
"It's really going to stand me in good stead having the prize on my resume and the designs in my folio," she said.
Members of the judging panel included renowned RMIT alumni, designers Prue Acton and Georgia Chapman, who founded Melbourne label Vixen, while ANZ staff also participated in the voting.
RMIT Textile Design Degree program coordinator Patrick Snelling said ANZ's move to utilise student talent reflected the bank's community profile.
"From a corporate apparel point of view it's quite unique for ANZ to have approached a tertiary education institution, as banks are usually quite risk averse and tend to approach professional textile design specialists," he said.
RMIT's Textile Design Degree program was designed to "align closely with industry needs while also bringing out the creative and innovative talents of students", he added.
Copeland hopes to use the prize - an all expenses paid trip to an international industry show and an ANZ financial package - to visit the Premier Textile Show in Paris this September and kick start her career in textile design.
"I majored in weave textiles so the opportunities are quite broad. I must admit I'd done most of my work in home textiles until the ANZ project, but I really loved the excitement of working in fashion, so who knows where this will lead."