Cinderella Goes to Fashion College

Have you ever sat at your sewing machine, surrounded by threads, fabrics, bits of paper, feeling so happy that your creation has gone out the door on a friend or relative, looking great — but then reality sets in and you realise you did not get any payment in the creative rush of getting the gown done!!

‘Oh well’ you might say, ‘it was a nice experience’, but there is a disappointment that you now have to clean up the ashes’ like Cinderella’ and the chances you may get a gift or a ‘thank you’ or even paid, are slim.

Welcome to the world of Cinderella.

This is the fate of many creative amateurs who put their heart and soul into making a friend or relative look great but at the expense of a lot of nervous energy, time and even a money reward. How is it, even when they are so pleased with the garment, they seem to take it for granted that you don't need any recognition or payment for your skills. But you love doing it – they say - and you are so fast!! ‘Can you make me another one soon?’

It is important that you as a designer/maker are respected as a professional and that your creative and technical skills are respected and accordingly valued.

I have found many women really dislike asking for money. – perhaps they worry it might spoil the friendship — and they’re happy to sew for their friends and relatives but after while they start to say NO I am too old, too tired or too busy to do any more,

Enter the Fairy Godmother, the College of Fashion Design!

If you have earned a professional qualification and you display it proudly on your wall and you have a proper pricing system, most F ‘n’ Rs are happy to pay a fair price for a one-off made-to-measure garment that no one else has. If you list the skills involved in such a venture as garment designing/making, it involves consistently high level technical skills of drawing, designing, making patterns, cutting, laying out, sewing, tailoring, the list goes on.

The benefits of doing such a course was really impressed on me when we visited the Golden Age of Couture in Bendigo (a MUST for all to see!) and saw the beautiful tailored suits and evening gowns and found out about the hundreds of hours of effort and skill embedded in such amazing garments. Very impressive indeed.

I t also made me very proud that the College of Fashion Design is training practitioners who are able to continue this tradition but with a big difference. They can use a systematic patternmaking method rather than draping and hand sewing which was very expensive and time consuming . It made the final garment too costly by far, and only the wealthy could patronise the salons of the couturiers.

The SITAM AB patternmaking does provide a system to work efficiently without relying on raw talent so that even on a bad day you are able to draft a pattern to measurements, cut and layout and begin sewing knowing that will be a unique garment. At a reasonable price. However the faster you get does not necessarily mean the cheaper you get –it means you are more proficient. When you look at the tailored garments made by Denise Spalk who is only 20, it is most inspiring to know that she has the skills to draw, design, cut, layout and tailor 3 lined coats, two jackets, and four complex dresses AND she just has completed Certificate IV. This year she is studying her Diploma which will give her skills for ready-wear and grading AND learn business and marketing skills. Denise has a great love and respect for her profession and it shows in her work. I have no doubt she will be highly successful as an independent professional because she has a system of working. You can see from her initial drawings and designs that the final garments look exactly like her designs – the mark of a professional – no accidents on the way. Already she is making formal dresses and realising how important it is to have a well thought-out pricing system in place. She will not be a Cinderella !!

Time spent at the College of Fashion Design is an excellent investment in your future.