Stepping Out - Queensland University of Technology

Assia Benmedjdoub talks to a current and former student from the Queensland University of Technology about experience versus youth.

Adele Corbello has inherited a good deal of knowledge from the women in her family. 

First, there's her knack for sewing – a skill she attributes to working with a grandmother who spent 67 years designing and creating wedding dresses. Then there's her appreciation for craftsmanship and quality – values she says her mother, a former buyer for the Coles Myer group, and an extended relative, who was an employee of luxurywear brand Bally, both instilled in her.

It comes as little surprise then, that Corbello describes herself a fashion traditionalist.
"I would love to learn the art of traditional tailoring," she adds. "It is becoming a dying skill and I think is essential for all good designers to learn and understand this if they have any intention of producing quality garments."

Six weeks out from graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, Corbello says her ultimate goal is to travel to Europe and "work, work, work" her way to the top. And by top, she doesn't mean mass-marketed luxury brands like Versace, Gucci or Yves Saint Laurent.

"My greatest dream would be to work for Australian designer in Paris, Martin Grant, and learn as much as I can from him. He is a true master who is not given enough credit over here."

Corbello, who balances university life with two part-time jobs, is less enthusing about young, fledging designers.
"It occasionally disappoints me when I hear about another new label that has no credibility, no knowledge or insight on the full facet of fashion. There is so much to learn, the more you learn the greater equipped you are to be more creative and successful."

George Wu seems to be an exception to Corbello's rule.
Soon after graduating from the Queensland University of Technology in 2004, the young womenswear designer scored a double header – wooing two high-end Brisbane stockists within a week of his labels' launch and a spot on the prestigious Mercedes Benz Start-Up program. The program meant he could showcase his work at the Brisbane Fashion Festival in 2006 and 2007 and ultimately, land some much needed coverage on the website of Australian fashion magazine Vogue.

He mightn't have had the experience Corbello prizes, but he says he had both the business acumen and determination. 
"One of the major highlights and milestones in our business was getting interest from The Corner Shop and having our line stocked alongside their established labels," he says, adding that a mix of new and recognised designer labels is vital to the sustainability of the industry.

Wu, who participated at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in April, isn't planning on slowing down. Armed with an American agent and a small following in New York and Los Angeles, Wu has pencilled in the US as his next frontier. He says he doesn't want to over-saturate the Australian market and instead, enjoys supplying his intricate pieces to independent retailers such as The Corner Shop in Sydney and Kisses and Joy Hysteric in Queensland.

The designer's latest collection, dubbed Into The Unknown, includes silk dresses in black, white and metallic sheens and is priced from $290 to $590.  

By Assia Benmedjdoub