How to land a fashion school scholarship, according to one student who did

“Try to be unique, think outside the box and make sure there is a rock-solid purpose for your design.”

As a fashion designer, there’s no doubt that getting a proper education can completely transform your career. It gives you the space to create, lets you rub shoulders with some of the best in your field, and teaches you countless technical skills that YouTube tutorials couldn’t hold a candle to.

But going to fashion school isn’t always an easy choice to make. The high price of post-secondary education paired with the risk of going into a creative field is sometimes enough to stop even the most promising designers from following their dreams.

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For those who are sceptical about the cost of pursuing a fashion education, there is another option. Every year since 2012, the Woolmark Company has hosted the Wool4School Design Competition, which grants one winner a scholarship to the Whitehouse Institute of Design Australia, one of the country’s most coveted design schools. In the competition, students from years seven to 12 are tasked with creating a design that celebrates the durability and sustainability of wool. 

For the 2022 competition, the theme was Design for Your Hero. The winner of the Aspiring Designer (Year 12) segment, Ksenia Cosmo, says she is thrilled about heading off to Whitehouse and is looking forward to “the unlimited possibilities when it comes to designing and creating and being supported on that journey”.

After first learning about the competition while flicking through a magazine in Coles, Ksenia has entered the Wool4School Design Competition every year since 2020. This time, she went above and beyond with her submission. Applicants usually only have to share the plan and concept of their design, but Ksenia actually made the clothing and photographed it using herself as the model.

Her transformational, gender-fluid, wool-based design features a peachy-toned leotard, maroon slacks, a chunky red jacket and a felted flower necklace that ties the look together. Ksenia chose one of Australia’s most prominent drag queens as her inspiration for the project. 

“It was mainly inspired by Courtney Act and the music video Cold Heart by Dua Lipa and Elton John,” says Ksenia. “I decided to hero Courtney Act because in my opinion, I see them as the voice for this progressive movement, but also because I share the same values as them.”

The entries have just opened up for the 2023 competition, and Woolmark has announced that the theme is Wool Reimagined. Students are invited to ‘take what’s old and make it new’ with their outfit, which has to be made from at least 70 per cent merino wool. Ksenia encourages the next generation of Wool4School applicants to be bold and brave with their creations.

“Try to be unique, think outside the box and make sure there is a rock-solid purpose for your design,” she tells me. “With Wool4School it’s absolutely necessary – not only that but also in the fashion industry in general. I found it easier to check back with the ‘who, what, why?’ so that I never lost touch with the true goal of my outfit.”

Pictured: Ksenia’s winning designs

Leanne Whitehouse, the founder and executive director of the Whitehouse Institute of Design, says it takes “creative talent and an open, non-judgmental, positive approach to the design world” to land a scholarship place in the highly-regarded program. 

The art school alumni started the Whitehouse Institute of Design over 30 years ago from her basement in Sydney. Her innovation, dedication and perseverance are qualities that carry over to her students as well. 

She says Whitehouse looks for a few specific things when judging student work. “Student talent can be shown in many ways by the use of fabric, modern contemporary fashion silhouettes and internal design detail like interesting pocket shapes and design lines. Interesting use of unique fabrics, drawings that show some underlying ability,” she says.

While they don’t expect those applying for the scholarship to know all of the technicalities right from the beginning, she says it’s important that they have the willingness to learn and are not afraid to take chances. “Being a design student who is a risk taker also shows that a student can develop new and unusual outcomes,” she says.

Once student designers get in the door, they should be ready to play with the big kids. “Before they start, the students should be alert to the latest collections and what colours, silhouettes [and] fabrics are being shown in London, Paris and Milan. The most wonderful part of being a designer is researching the latest, greatest [and] newest in everything creative.”

Leanne has big hopes for the applicants of the 2023 Wool4School Design Competition, which kicks off today and will run until submissions close on July 20. The competition is expected to be intense, with over 100,000 students across the world involved. “2023 students we hope will be wildly experimental but have great design research abilities and a love of drawing and design,” shares Leanne.

To register for next year’s Wool4School design competition, head here.