Meet Faz, one of our recent Bachelor of Fashion Business graduates! You may recognise her from our 48 hour photoshoot challenge, Project T.M. as the stylist of the winning team, winning a digital campaign with Isabella May jewellery - how incredible!
Find out all about Faz' journey studying with us, including her favourite units, a year by year recap and some of her favourite parts about studying at The Masters:
The first time I heard of Melbourne School of Fashion I was doing research for PLP in year 10. For those of you who aren’t familiar with PLP (Personal Learning Plan) it was a requirement to complete SACE which is the equivalent to VCE for us in South Australia. I grew up with a mother who ran her own boutique and I guess that naturally had it’s influence on me, I knew that my strengths were in being creative not just visually but also in problem solving.
In year 11, I chose Fashion Photography for Research Project and I would dress my friends ( I was styling and I didn’t know what I was doing), do their makeup (mind you, I have recently worked for Mecca and I am still terrible at it so imagine what I did to those poor pals of mine) and shoot them, edit and produce content for my blog on Blogspot which was the thing, before Instagram existed.
My friends are the true heroes in this narrative because they let me do whatever I wanted for “creative expression” and let’s just say there were times where I made them look like a cast from Hi5 if they went out to town and went straight to work the next day. So yes, I have put them through the worst of my creative outlets but they also played a huge part in honing my skills and knowing what I would later pursue.
Originally my first year of BFB started in Sydney, 2015 after relocating from good old Adelaide. It was where I met some great mentors and educators. Before the degree slightly rearranged into one with a heavier business focus, I had the chance to get hands on with both design and dress making.
My favourite project was the zero waste project where we were required to bring in an old shirt, redesign and assemble it without producing way waste. I really liked the emphasis on taking social responsibility and the environmental conscientious that was instilled in us from day one, it aligned with my personal values and made me aware of the impacts of my actions if I wasn’t careful, scientifically, logistically, economically and socially. I know that the fashion industry often gets a bad rep for waste but when it came down to learning, Masters made sure we were educated and encouraged to challenge the system in our own lives and when we transition into the workforce.
My career goals at this stage are a grey area, as a creative I want to be able to hone my skills and there are many things I’m interested in but Masters has helped in figuring out my strengths by facilitating industry visits and competitions where I have had the opportunity to experiment, collaborate with hair & make up and with incredibly supportive mentors/peers. MI has cultivated a great people culture, everyone is supportive, collaborative and action oriented. The people are definitely what I love the most about this place.
Personally, the second year was different but also similar to the first, I moved to Melbourne to finish off the remainder of my bachelors and I was restarting, in a new city for the second time. The academic transition was seamless, I had the same amount of support if not more and the campus culture was warm & welcoming. My favourite part of the second year was the Styling and Buying units which gave me space to explore my strengths and weaknesses both creatively and statistically.
Whilst one encouraged creativity with no boundaries the other was a juxtaposition by forcing me to analyse data, reflect the market and cater to it. As someone who doesn’t work well with limitations, I favoured the latter of styling because it wasn’t just about limitations, it was about innovating in a method that people had not thought of before and producing Visual Arts.
I learned that I also really enjoyed Buying, it was like learning in theory everything I knew and predicted about the systems of the industry. I like numbers and crunching data so I had the space to put it into practical work, analyse the trends and overall, it was a very balanced year.
The final year was probably my favourite, I had established my network of friends who became my support system and we motivated each other in the case of setbacks and doubt. We were giving feedback to the course coordinator on the restructure of BFB so that it’s improved in many ways for the future generations to come. It was also the year that it clicked to us how fortunate we are to have so much support and one on one assistance from our lecturers and mentors on campus which is not something you get at other larger institutions.
We were encouraged to take on as many internships to build our CV upon graduation and this is where I put my strength into good use by producing my own photoshoots during summer break. I collaborated with friends and this time it was legit, I knew the concept of planning, structure, time sheets, mood boards and a team rather than going off a visual in my head and expecting everyone else to be on the same page. The quality of the work was completely different to the Hi 5 days and it showed.
After graduation I was approached to collaborate on Project TM which was so much fun! We worked on a brief for Isabella May’s jewellery campaign, in a team of make up artists, hair stylist and a fashion stylist, we had 48 hours to complete the brief inspired by the 90’s and competed against 2 other teams & we took the trophy home. Everyone had a great time , it was more about collaboration than competition and I believe every single person who was involved on that day enjoyed the whole process!
ICYMI: Watch the three part video series of Project T.M. below!
Looking back now, I had a “Uni” experience that you just don’t get often, there was always so much support and encouragement, the lecturers were mentors who genuinely wanted us to succeed in our chosen pathways. If you’re studying at the masters or considering, take on every opportunity, work hard and most importantly, enjoy the process knowing there is enough space in the world for everyone to succeed.
Written by Faz Shukhrat
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