NAME: Rebecca Wilson

JOB TITLE: RMIT Student/ RTJ Networking Competition Winner

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND

Well I started off as a student of psychology as I was always fascinated by human behavior. I completed four years of study then went out into the workforce and worked as a Psychologist in a few areas such as counseling and schizophrenia research.

WHY THE CHANGE OF HEART IN CAREER DIRECTION?

One day I decided that life was too short not to follow my dreams of working in fashion. I would spend most of my spare time immersed in fashion magazines, on fashion websites or talking about fashion. After a little bit of research, I finally figured out where in the world of fashion I would fit so I enrolled in the Fashion and Textiles Merchandising course at RMIT and have not looked back since.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR 'AVERAGE' DAY AS A STUDENT AT RMIT

No day at school starts without my morning coffee. I spend most mornings in class and the afternoons working in my group, researching trends and brainstorming ideas for our projects. As I am in the final year of my course, I spend a lot of time at RMIT!

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH AND GREATEST WEAKNESS IN THIS INDUSTRY?

I think the fact that I have spent the last few years working as a Psychologist is perhaps my greatest strength and weakness at the same time. It is a weakness because I lack experience in the fashion industry. However, it is also my strength because it is my point of difference and means that I bring with me a completely different set of skills that I know will help me succeed.

WHERE DO YOU ENVISAGE YOURSELF BEING IN 5 YEARS TIME?

In 5 years time, I would love to be working for an Australian fashion company that has both innovative retail stores as well as an interactive online store. I would love to be involved in product development, as well as other aspects of the business such as marketing and creating ways to offer unique experiences to customers.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Most recently, I attended the business seminar for the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and I was inspired by Paul Bennett from IDEO and Sojin Lee from the Fashionair website. These are two people who are pushing the boundaries in the industry.

YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE WANTING TO PURSUE A CAREER IN FASHION

If fashion is something you are thinking of pursuing then take the time to do a lot of research.  I have found Ragtradejobs such a useful website and it has definitely helped me to determine exactly what sort of fashion career I want to have.

WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF WINNING THE RTJ L'OREAL MELBOURNE FASHION FESTIVAL NETWORKING COMPETITION?

It was an amazing night! I loved seeing the Vogue runway show with the highlight for me being the collection from Romance Was Born. Afterwards, dinner at Longrain was fantastic but most important was the opportunity to meet so many people from the industry.  At dinner, I was seated next to Country Road, which gave me the chance to learn more about the company. It was truly a unique experience and was the perfect start to my career in fashion.