5 Design Students On The Cost Of Starting A Brand & Studying Fashion In Melbourne

In primary school, I could have sworn that almost every third kid's dream job was to become a fashion designer (it was always closely followed by veterinary pursuits).

I'm afraid to say that no, my grade six class didn't sprout eight budding fashionistas, because the reality of pursuing fashion as a career is much harder than Project Runway may lead you to believe.

Melbourne is known for its ability to foster creative talent — and its pool of eager fashion students lives up to this reputation. Just take a look at this year's Melbourne Fashion Week; the ever-exciting student collection runway was one of the first shows to sell out (we even overheard media bickering about who would get to attend the show).

Ahead of Thursday's runways, we sat down with the five exceptionally-talented student designer finalists. Coming from Holmesglen Institute, RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles and Whitehouse Institute of Design, these Gen Z designers spill about their experience at fashion school and the price of starting up your own label.