Having studied fashion at EIT’s ideaschool, Rachel Hawkins is now looking ahead to a design-driven career.

Rachel Hawkins (third from left) explored future futuristic fashion in her three-piece Legion collection.

From Hastings, Rachel channelled her creativity into art when she was at school.  The former Sacred Heart College student was “looking for something different from the norm” when she enrolled in EIT’s two-year Certificate in Fashion Apparel.

“In the first two weeks I thought I was going to quit,” she recalls. “My classmates were so passionate about fashion and had experience of sewing and I had none.”

Rachel persevered, however, working with tutor Christina Rhodes, who boosted her confidence and helped develop her sewing skills.

At ideaschool’s end-of-year fashion show, Rachel’s Legion collection was the first of the second-year student grouped designs to showcase on the runway.

“Knowing I was going to be first meant having to step it up, tweaking my collection.”

It helped that the class had travelled to Auckland for Fashion Week where Rachel picked up some important tips.

“It was an eye-opener.  I learnt that a design can be simple but you need to polish the look.  We saw simple garments looking so effective because of the way they were presented.”

The focus for her Legion collection was futuristic fashion.

“I wanted to look forward,” she says, “I’m not one to look at the past.  I like minimalist costumes in futuristic movies like those in Star Wars 7.”

Rachel “hugely enjoyed” studying at EIT.

“It was a challenge at times with so much work to get through, you do so much in the two years.  As well as Fashion Week, we went to two WOWs and also entered the Cult Couture and Hokonui fashion awards.

“The thing I’ve learnt most about is time management.  Seriously,” she adds with a laugh, “keeping up with deadlines while staying true to the creativity I started with.  You need time management in all areas of life, but you also have to make sure you enjoy the process.”

For now, the plan is to stay in Hawke’s Bay.

“If I could, I would like to produce garments for my friends, starting small and slowly getting bigger.   So, creating one-off garments that one person is going to love and then growing the group of people who want my designs.”

Rachel is grateful to her family for their support.  “That was a big part of getting through the year,” she says, “and I’m thinking of my Mum here.”