Why I chose to study Fashion Entrepreneurship

I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree (Honors) in International Fashion Business from Raffles College of Higher Education in Singapore, the degree of which was awarded by Coventry University U.K. I also have a diploma in Fashion Marketing from Raffles College of Higher Education as well. Before joining Raffles, I knew I wanted to be part of the fashion industry, but I wasn’t sure where exactly in the vast industry I wanted to work in, and I found myself leaning towards fashion styling and fashion journalism in the beginning of the program. However, after a while of being in the program, and several work opportunities and live projects later it became quite clear to me that I would rather be working in either the marketing or the management department of an international fashion brand.

While studying in Raffles I got many opportunities to work in the industry either as an intern or working alongside brands through live projects. I interned at Jimmy Choo in retail, while also getting the opportunity to learn visual merchandising and telemarketing. Interning for a brand as big as Jimmy Choo known for its luxurious craftsmanship was a big honor for me, although it made me realize retail was something I don’t want to make a career out of. I also interned at Shradha Apparels Worldwide, which is a clothing manufacturer in Mumbai, India, however working under the supply chain isn’t something I see myself doing either.

During my three years in Raffles I got a lot of volunteering opportunities as well such as volunteering for events like the Singapore Fashion Runway where I worked backstage and helped in getting the models ready and their sequencing, and for the Bee WoW launch event where I was an usher and also informed people about the new products and the concept behind them.

Some of the biggest learning experiences while studying in Raffles was always during the time of yearly fashion events. In 2016 I handled the social media and updated and livestreamed for Bright Young Minds, which showcased the fashion designer’s collections for that year. In 2017, as seniors, my class of 24 students organized a fashion event called We Can Be Heroes which showcased androgynous collections by fashion designers. I came up with the concept of the theme, as I thought an androgynous theme would work well in Singapore and was inspired by one of David Bowie’s biggest hit We Can Be Heroes, hence the show took the name after the song. I also worked under the marketing team and was in charge of getting sponsors, and during the show I was an usher and ushered 3 VIPs including Daniel Boey. The show was very well received by our guests, VIPs, the faculty members and our fellow students.

Class trips were also a big learning opportunity for me. In 2017, I got the opportunity to source at two of the biggest wholesale markets and one of the biggest fabric market in Guangzhou, China, a city known for its wholesalers and manufacturers globally. That year I also attended Hong Kong Fashion Week and got inspiration from three of the fashion shows I attended and gained learning experience at the trade show by talking to more than twenty of the brands present there and inquiring about them. In 2018, I experienced global growth in sustainability by visiting nine sustainable stores and two manufacturing houses in Bali. The reason I chose to go to Bali, Indonesia for my learning excursion was because I was focusing on sustainability in the fashion industry for all my assignments that year and Bali was one of the closest and biggest hubs of sustainable fashion near Singapore.

However, what really helped me put things in perspective and made me realize I wanted to work in the marketing or the management side of fashion was when I worked on live projects. I created a social media campaign for a Malaysian brand Island Shop, which was one of the first times I got to work in digital marketing in detail. After which, I created social media posts, layouts and planned captions, timings etc. for EcoBank Bazaar, an annual initiative where people can donate the clothes, book or toys no longer in use but are in good condition which will be sold and the proceeds of which will be donated to Arc’s Children Centre to aid children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, while the unsold goods gets donated to Embodhi Foundation to help women with low income in Sri Lanka, India and Vietnam. I also created social media posts, layouts and planned the captions, hashtags timings etc. for Sustainable by Raffles, an Instagram handle that showcased all the sustainable business plans and designs by the students of Raffles. I also worked for House Of Sheens, creating three mock-up social media layouts and brand guidelines for them.

For my final project I created a business plan called Cadence, a brand that will sell sustainable and customizable band t-shirts. I created social media campaigns on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for it, and also started a Kickstarter campaign along with my business research. While working on this final project, I realized how much I enjoyed working in marketing, especially digital marketing, in the industry. I also realized I wanted a stable job, as freelancing jobs like styling and journalism would not be suited for me as I want job safety and regular income to feel stable and secure at least at the beginning stage of my career, where I will have to establish myself professionally and personally. After a while, I feel like I would be able to take risks more bravely and would even want to venture out and be more adventurous with my choices. A job in marketing or management in a global fashion brand would be a very exciting job for me as I could learn a lot about the industry and form a strong foundation for myself.

So, right after graduating I decided to study for a master’s degree without wasting any time, as I felt in the competitive world of fashion, having a bachelor’s and as well as a master’s degree would give my profile an edge. When I found the Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship) program at RMIT, it felt like the perfect program for me, as my previous knowledge and work experience could act as a solid foundation for me while this program can give me an even finer insight on the industry and the subjects I already have prior knowledge of. This program also offers electives such as Trend Forecasting for Fashion and Luxury Fashion Business Management, some areas that I am also interested in but didn’t get a chance to study during my bachelor’s degree. Aside from the program, I really wanted to study in RMIT as it a top-ranked university and the 247th highest ranked university in the world. RMIT is also the #1 ranked university in Australia and #17 ranked university in the world for programs in Fashion and Textiles. It also has an outstanding teachers’ reputation and is ranked #1 in Australia for staff qualifications, while also being ranked #15 in the world for graduates employment rate. Once I got accepted in this program at RMIT there was no doubt in my mind that this is the perfect program for me that will help me enhance my prior knowledge while at the same time giving me many new learning opportunities, and help me make a great career for myself in the fashion industry once I graduate from this program.

Now, I have packed my stuff, moved to Australia and my classes have started. Even though this is the just the beginning and I have a long way to go before I graduate, I feel like I made the right decision by joining this program as so far I am really enjoying it and all my lecturers are really well experienced and are amazing teachers. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for me, where this program will take me but I am really excited for the journey.