Tasmania's fashion industry fears TasTAFE course cuts will impact creative pathways

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Young fashion designer Olivia Robertson is one of 18 junior designers featured in the Tasmanian Fashion Festival's Up & Coming Designer Runway — an initiative that intends to bring young designers an opportunity to showcase their work. Opportunities in the fashion industry are limited in Tasmania. The state's only tertiary education offering is no longer subsidised, adding additional barriers to career pathways.

Transcript

00:00In her bedroom, 13-year-old Olivia is adding the final touches to her handmade gown.

00:09I'll just work on them. I'll work on them.

00:12Sometimes it will be like 9.30 at night, Mum will come and be like,

00:15Olivia, time to go to sleep.

00:17Olivia's been sewing since she was four and dreams of having her own label and store.

00:22Her designs featured in the Tasmanian Fashion Festival's Up and Coming runway.

00:31She was one of 18 junior entrants.

00:34Where's their inspiration to keep going if they don't get that buzz at the end

00:37where people are seeing their creations?

00:39So that's what the Up and Coming Designer runway is all about.

00:42It gives me such a sense of pride and belonging when I see my girls walk down the runway.

00:49Olivia's hopeful for more runway opportunities in Tasmania.

00:53At the moment we've only got the one show,

00:55whereas maybe branching out and creating some other,

00:58that probably would be a good idea, I think, to help other people as well.

01:03Opportunities for careers in fashion are limited in Tasmania.

01:07The only tertiary education offering, the TasTAFE course, is no longer subsidised,

01:11meaning from next year fees will soar.

01:14This could lead to a big drop in enrolments and ultimately the end of the course.

01:18There's boutiques, bridal boutiques and designers,

01:21who are screaming out for seamstresses and qualified designers at the moment,

01:26but if they're not here getting trained, then obviously they're going to move interstate

01:31and the likeliness of them coming back is quite slim.

01:34Having a store here would definitely be a possibility,

01:37but being able to launch a label I don't think would work very well here,

01:42especially not having even like a university here for fashion.

01:46A Tasmanian government spokesperson says the fashion and design course

01:50has very low enrolments and is not sustainable.

01:53They say TasTAFE will instead subsidise more popular courses,

01:56which is the best use of taxpayer money.

02:00if being able to launch a field of富装.

02:02And then they say TasTAFE will not be able to answer those with any sort of

02:04work.

02:05And I think that they may have to be able to use them.

02:06I would like to see people in general as a way that the patient

02:07is going to have a text on the phone.

02:08I think that the patient is not in scratch.

02:09But we might have to be able to use the full-time ability.

02:10There's a inability to be able to tune in and make a hard time to be able

02:11to tune in, so the most important things that you can access

02:13in terms of their way to do really to do.

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