Are you looking to up-skill?
As with our studio-based courses, our online short courses are designed to help beginners and creative people master new challenges, gain new skills and be inspired by new ideas.
Fashion designer Iria Chover tells us how she came to do an online short course with us during lockdown and how it has benefited her own professional practice.
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“Ever since I was young, I felt the need to express myself creatively and soon realised it was through fashion,” Iria Chover tells me.
Prior to completing the Visual Communication for Fashion Online Short Course, Iria had quite the busy schedule. Originally from the Mediterranean, she made the decision to pursue her interest in fashion abroad. First, graduating with a degree in fashion design from Italy and then moving to New York to intern for Marc Jacobs – a once in a lifetime experience she says she learned a lot from.
It was only after the Coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020 that Iria was forced to slow down. “With everything in the world slowing down I decided to take advantage of this and do a lot of research on sustainability within fashion and focus on my own creative identity,” Iria explains.
As such, doing the Visual Communication for Fashion Online Short Course made sense for Iria as it was a way to develop her skills in communicating through a visual medium from an internationally respected institution. While at the same time using the new-found free time, she had in a meaningful way that still aligned with her passion.
“I did this course because communicating your ideas visually, is very important in fashion. It's needed in a lot of stages of the process of building up and conceptualising a collection or a fashion brand.”
Iria continues, “Mood boards and collages are essential and provide a lot of information about the universe and aesthetic you are creating. It also helps to combine very different ideas into one and that's always been one of my favourites parts of the process, so I wanted to explore, learn more about it and improve my skills.”
When asked how she found the course itself, Iria tells me the practical nature of the course helped her develop new ways she can express her ideas and that a lot of what she learned is directly applicable to her own line of work. But above all else, it was the creative freedom she had on the course that inspired her the most.
“The tutors on the course are great because they give you feedback and guidance without compromising your taste or identity. And in such a short space of time you get a real sense of what it is like to work as a creative as well as a lot of tools to develop your own projects.”
For anyone contemplating doing a short course, Iria’s advice is simple: “Do it! Either if you just want to discover a new field or learn more about one you already have some knowledge in.”
Looking ahead Iria says she has lots of exciting plans in the pipeline where she plans to use her newfound skills and confidence. “Right now, I am working on different projects as a fashion designer, some personal projects as well as an exciting collaboration with KOLABS a platform for emerging designers that will hopefully come out soon!”
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Are you interested in the world of fashion? We have online short courses in Fashion Drawing for Beginners, Fashion Business and Sustainability taught by those who work in the industry.
Or maybe you’ve found yourself with a lot of free time and want to use it to nurture your creativity? Our diverse collection of online short courses offer students the chance to develop their current practice or introduce themselves to a brand new one remotely from home.
If you are wondering how to get your start in the industry and what you need to consider before taking the leap, check-out our How to start a carer in fashion article for more information.
