First ICMS Fashion Week a Fabulous Success

ICMS students attend their first Fashion Week

Fashion, glitz, glamour and an in-depth look behind what it takes to build a successful brand are what International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) students gained at the first ICMS Fashion Week that took place from 9-10 May in Sydney, NSW.

Designed to give ICMS Bachelor of Business (Fashion and Global Branding) students an introduction to textiles and design through a holiday intensive workshop, ICMS Fashion Week was an exclusive two-day holiday workshop which included Masterclasses, Industry Talks and a ticket to see the Bec & Bridge runway show at the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week.

On the first day Dr Sal Edwards, a leader in the fashion industry across gender fluid design and a passionate academic, trained students on textiles, draping and construction. On day two, students put ‘pen to paper’ and began training on technical drawings using Adobe Illustrator, thereafter creating a specification sheet. 

Putting theory into practice, a four-stage journey of design concepts including synthetic vs. natural fibre testing, breaking down the language of garment construction, beginning to drape a dress of their own design to eventually preparing that design for manufacture, gave students a great grounding in fashion construction. Besides understanding their fashion purchases better, these lessons learned also helped them better appreciate the complexity of the business of fashion and challengers facing designers to bring their brand concepts to life. 

Providing students with insider insight into Fashion Week

“It was such a pleasure to host our first ever ICMS Fashion Week to give students an insider look at the textile and design side of their industry,” Program Manager (Fashion Global Brand Management and Marketing) Nicole Venter said.

“I loved watching us come together after two years of largely remote learning to feel like a community again and was very proud of how our business students dived into draping, sketching and learning about fibre in the famous ‘burn test’ to become more thoughtful fashion brand owners and marketers in the future. ICMS Fashion Week was a blast and we can’t wait to do it again next year!”

Experiential & enriched learning for ICMS students

Students enjoyed talks from industry professionals on sustainability, the fashion metaverse and how to start your own brand.

Industry expert speakers included:

• Australia’s leading expert in gender-fluid design, Dr Sal Edwards;
• Australian menswear specialist Malcolm Davidowitz;
• Indigenous Fashion label owner and Brand Growth Specialist, David Leslie; 
• PhD candidate in Fashion and Biotechnology at Queensland University of Technology, Luis Quijano;
• Fashion in the metaverse experts, David Francis & Carli Johnston.

“The highlight was an excursion to the opening night of the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week for some fashion and celebrity watching,” Nicole said.

“These type of holiday workshops and industry events give students the opportunity to explore related hard and soft skills in their industry, and gives them the chance to discuss on trend topics with industry experts and experience the industry first-hand at major events. They are also a chance for a little fun and community bonding outside of the stresses of study and assessment performance.”

ICMS students’ experience of attending Australian Fashion week

The 2022 Afterpay Australian Fashion Week was held at Carriageworks in Sydney between the 9th and 13th of May. Students were invited to watch the 21st anniversary Bec and Bridge show on the 9th of May. Bec and Bridge’s resort ’23 collection featured many low rise, archival silhouettes with a glamorous meets grunge style.

Besides attending the fashion show, ICMS students were exposed to what is in fashion and what influencers are setting as fashion for the upcoming season. Bright 90s style oversized suits, leather and neutrals are in. With an eye for tailoring menswear, Dr. Sal Edwards, a designer and academic who ran the ICMS Fashion short course noticed all the textures donned at Fashion Week, from patent leathers to interesting satins.

Students were also able to take part in brand activations which included the Porsche Taycan Photo Moment and and EBay’s Pop Up Store.

“I never thought I would ever be able to go to Fashion Week, let alone attend a show like Bec and Bridge or encounter so many luxury brands” shares ICMS Master of International Business student & Instagram live co-host, Samantha Hardiman.

 Want more behind the scenes? Watch what we got up to at AAFW 2022.

@icmscampus

ICMS fashion students attend a fashion masterclass & @Bec and Bridge show 🤍 @Australian Fashion Week #AAFW #fashionstudent #sydney #australia #fashionweek

♬ about damn time x promiscuous – Adam Wright

Bachelor of Business (Fashion and Global Brand Management) Degree

The ICMS Bachelor of Business (Fashion and Global Brand Management) degree blends core business subjects with specialised subjects relating to fashion and brand management, providing students with the perfect foundation for a successful career in fashion, retail or brand management.

From managing a boutique brand, creating visual merchandising strategies for world-renowned fashion houses or marketing new product lines for online fashion retail giants, this degree equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to carve a niche in the fashion industry.

For more information on ICMS Bachelor of Business (Fashion and Global Brand Management), click here

For a behind-the-scenes look at Australian Fashion Week, follow ICMS on Instagram at @icmscampus and @icmsfashion.