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Designs by Laura Anderson
Spotlight helps new
Australian designers
explore the world
In the last two years Spotlight has presented Melbourne Spring Fashion Week’s (MSFW) RMIT Student Prize.
This Prize goes to an outstanding graduating RMIT fashion student & includes a one month internship in Milan,
Melbourne’s sister-city & a hotspot for global fashion design. Spotlight provides thousands of dollars
in sponsorship funds to assist the winner to reach his or her potential.
The 2010 winner
was Laura Anderson
who spent a month
with Costume
National in Milan.
She returned to
Melbourne in March
2011 to fulfill an ambassadorial role
with MSFW before returning to Milan to
undertake additional study at Istituto
Marangoni, one of the city’s leading
design schools. Now based in Sydney
where she is working to further her
career, Laura took time out recently
to speak to Get Creative Quarterly
about the impact the Award has had
on her life.
GCQ: How did both Costume
National and Istituto Marangoni affect
your design process and your work?
Laura: One of the best parts of this
experience was seeing how the design
system works in Italy and the way that
design is taught. Istituto Marangoni
is an incredibly well regarded school
in Milan (and internationally), in fact
many of the designers at Costume
National studied there. Their approach
to design is commercially based but
always with exceptional quality.
The access to fabrics and trims was
also incredible. I think commercial
viability whilst innovating was
something I definitely took from this
– as well as working with a lot more
colour!
GCQ: How has winning the award
impacted on you overall?
Laura: The award gave me an
incredible opportunity to experience
Europe and see how my work fits
into an international context. It was
also an incredible recognition of what
I’m doing which has given me the
confidence to keep pushing it and
pursuing what I love.
GCQ: We have many young readers
keen to pursue careers in fashion
design. When choosing courses what
would you tell them are the most
important things to look for in course
structures and what skills will they
most need once they enter “the real
world”?
Laura: I think when you are
studying fashion there are two really
important areas to learn. The first
is how to develop really original
concepts and work that is innovative
and challenging. I think this area is
about developing ‘design thinking’ and
looking at the many different forms
fashion can take. The second set of
skills that I consider important in the
‘real world,’ is having a good business
understanding as well as the technical
knowledge to execute your work. It’s
an important balance to have and to
look for when choosing a course.
GCQ: What are you doing now
in Sydney? What are your plans for
2012?
Laura: After coming back from
Europe I really felt like moving to a new
city and seeing what opportunities
might come from it. Currently I am
looking at collaborating with the
Danish company MUUSE, which is a
great platform for helping graduate
designers move into the next stage
with their work. I have also just found
out I am a finalist for the incredible
Australians In New York Fashion
Foundation (AINYFF) Award, which
is extremely exciting and a great
opportunity to produce new work. So
my plans for 2012 could hopefully
see me in New York and, if not,
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