Fashion | Express Yourself

CASSIE TWEMLOW

Thinking of pursuing the Creative Arts? With so many on offer here at the College – Digital, Design, Food, Information and Textile Technology, plus Drama, Art, Media and Graphics – our students are spoilt for choice. Aspiring Engineers, Chefs, Fashion Designers and more, are nurtured through ATAR, IB and VET courses alike. In this, the first in a series of articles on Technology and the Arts, I spoke to Ingrid Rucinski, Fashion and Design Teacher as well as VET Coordinator, about the courses she teaches here at St Peters.

Fashion became an applied subject at St Peters back in 1998. At the time, this was considered quite progressive, especially at a private school. However, the College saw the need for those students who wanted to learn more trade-style subjects to equip them for more practical natured vocations later in life.

“In that regard, it showed vision because [the College] understood that there were other pathways for students and ensured they had the skills to equip them,” Ingrid said.

When she started in 2005, the program only had two classes—one multi-Year Level Senior class and a Year 10 class (just 24 students in total). Since then, it has grown into a subject that is adopted by approximately 350 students per year from Years 7-12.

Over the years, Ingrid progressed Fashion as an applied subject to that of a vocational subject; part of the St Peters Vocational Education Training (VET) pathway. She recognised the skill level the students had and knew that Certificate qualifications would be advantageous in the workplace and give greater diversity to the academic studies. During the Junior High years, it’s basic training, however, once students start studying in Senior, it’s essentially like the first and second years at TAFE.

“This is great,” Ingrid explained, “because students who want to pursue a creative pathway learn skills including pattern making, garment production and how to present a portfolio for entrance into their desired course after school.”

Ingrid also stresses the inclusion and importance of industry connections within the course. Having contextual learning and industry links with local companies such as Black Milk and designers like Jac Hunt, of Jac and Jack, means students see, hear and feel what it’s really like within the fashion industry.

“You can’t be what you cannot see,” Ingrid shared. “Earlier this term, we took one of the Senior classes to Black Milk in Banyo, where they were able to look around the warehouse and saw firsthand the sourcing of designs, advertising, cutting, production, digital printing, quality control and shipping in the warehouse."

Ingrid even bumped into one of her exstudents, Maryanne Frost (2011, pictured right with her sister in the Wedding Dress competition), who currently works at Black Milk!

Another Old Scholar, Joash Teo, of eponymous brand Joteo, began his university studies during his final year at St Peters in 2014. Last year he was named the Fashion Design Graduate of the Year (Qld) from the Design Institute of Australia, after completing his Bachelor of Design (Hons) degree at QUT. To add to this honour, Joteo also opened at the 2020 Brisbane Fashion Month—a big deal for any designer! I

ngrid is immensely proud of her students’ achievements. Seeing what can happen, she said, raises the profile of Fashion being a legitimate career choice, instead of something that’s a hobby or go-between job. “It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry,” Ingrid said. “Probably one of the largest businesses, globally, is clothing and manufacturing. Everyone needs clothes!”

It’s not all about making gorgeous clothes or creating amazing fabrics though. In recent years, and thanks to ethical Australian brand, Gorman, sustainability has become a huge buzzword in the industry. Ingrid said it’s not just the industry but consumers that have driven this trend, and her students want to promote the sustainability issue too.

“Being more understanding of sustainability and progressive within the Fashion industry is what it’s currently all about,” she remarked.

From clothing that will eventually break down into the earth at its end of life, to items that are shipped in compostable bags, the industry is clearly moving with the times.

“Fashion is quite reactive to social views and values and it’s becoming more philosophical knowing we have a responsibility to the planet,” Ingrid said, noting that it’s therefore important for her to practice what she preaches by way of wearing a lot of secondhand clothing. She’s also advised her Senior students to hire formal dresses—it’s a fraction of the amount you’d spend on buying a dress and it leaves less of a carbon footprint!

Being part of the Gateway to Industry Schools Program, St Peters students are afforded the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills to participate effectively in the local economy whilst networking with other schools and linking with industry. Ingrid emphasised that this provides context to the students, “especially as it can be a difficult industry for kids to break into without contacts.”

Ingrid noted that the students that have gone through the Fashion program at St Peters haven’t necessarily wanted to be fashion designers. Most students, she reflected, have been interested in the wider creative industries, whether it’s Costume Design, Photography, Landscape Architecture or something else.

“[Our students] come through being very focussed. They’ve always had very specific things they’ve wanted to do to express themselves,” she said. “[Fashion] is a very inclusive environment where the students feel instantly comfortable to do what they are passionate about.”

The passion and Pastoral Care within the subject has led to students discovering their unique skills and finding a sense of community they don’t always have elsewhere.

So, Ingrid’s advice to students seeking a career in Fashion?

“Perseverance. It’s not the kind of vocation you go out and start with immediate success and a great big pay cheque. It’s a long slog and the people that are successful are the people who don’t give up because it’s their passion. It’s a good life lesson, that with perseverance and hard work, eventually you’re rewarded.”