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Fashion design is like modern alchemy: from scraps of disparate materials, such as velvet, tinsel, feathers and beads, it is possible to create something memorably beautiful that brings happiness to whoever should wear it. I wish to create fashions that bring joy to as many people as possible, as a fashion designer with my own brand. To achieve my goal, I can think of no better place than the UK, the home of fashion visionaries such as Vivienne Westwood, to continue my studies, so that I may gain the knowledge and qualifications necessary to make my dream a reality.
As a first step towards my goal, I have completed a degree in Art and Design at Changsha University in China, where I was in the top five of my class for the final two years. I also won many awards and scholarships on account of my work in fashion and artistic design. I took a wide range of courses related to fashion and art more generally, including design sketching, design aesthetics, graphic design and trends in modern art. The courses helped me develop a keen aesthetic sense and an ability to sketch designs and patterns accurately and quickly, a skill which should be of great use on the degree and in my career. My exceptional fashion teachers impressed upon me the importance of technology for fashion and taught me how to adapt clothing designs to different body shapes.
Outside of the classroom, during my degree, I also worked in a photography studio, where I was responsible for every aspect of the presentation of a picture, including make-up, background, modelling and post-production. The work gave me invaluable experience of working with models and gave me a better eye for what looks good with what, which is essential for fashion photography and being able to promote and sell clothes.
To learn more about the fashion industry and innovative developments in design, in my spare time, I avidly read fashion magazines and websites, such as Vogue and Wallpaper, which give me a better sense of how fashion interacts with culture and lifestyle. I believe the appeal of fashion comes from its being a part of a certain aesthetic approach to life. I hope to learn more about how fashion is interlinked with lifestyle and commerce on the MA.
My love of fashion stems from my love of art and good aesthetics. Music is another love and I was selected for my aesthetic sense to judge a singing contest at school. More recently, following my passion for art, I competed in a major art competition, where my work was praised by the judges. During my degree, I also tried to promote art by organising evening shows and parties in the art department of the university. For each event, I prepared the venue, ensuring the lights and setting fitted the occasion, managed the set-up and distributed duties to staff members. The work immeasurably improved my organisational and presentational skills, on account of which I duly received high praise from students and staff alike. The experience should prepare me well for organising fashion shows and shoots on the degree and in my career. I hope to organise such events on the MA. I should like to work with fellow students to organise fashion shows and fashion shoots inside and outside of the university.
Through organising such events and networking, I hope I shall make valuable contacts with high-flyers in the fashion industry as well. I know that fashion is intimately connected with business so to be successful I shall have to learn how to network and present myself and my work in a commercially favourable way. I hope to develop these skills from watching and emulating the exceptional students and teachers I shall come across.
I hope most of all that I shall meet teachers and fellow students who share my artistic vision and with whom I could work to create a new fashion brand. What is without question is that the degree will equip me with the knowledge and qualifications necessary to put me on the right road towards my goal of owning my own fashion label.
