Student Profile

Lauren Boyle

Running own fashion label, 'she said yoo hoo'
Bachelor of Arts (Fashion and Textile Design)

I chose to study at Curtin because it was the only university in Western Australia offering the course I was interested in (Fashion and Textile Design)

My time at Curtin was very challenging, but also very rewarding. I must admit there were a few times when I was that stressed and busy that I wanted to give up and drop out, but so glad I didn’t. The people you meet and the things you learn are all worth it. The staff were great. Always encouraging us to come to them with questions or for help. They pushed us to work to our full potential, which at times I cursed, but secretly knew it was for the best.

My highlight would definitely have to be our final year graduation parade. The whole year leads up to this one night. After slaving away behind a sewing machine, fundraising thousands of dollars, promoting the event, organising every little detail, down to what font we should use on the name cards; seeing your work being paraded in front of everyone was just the best feeling.

At my graduation parade I was awarded Attitude Magazine’s ‘Emerging Talent Award’ which gave me $1000 worth of advertising, and a new semi-industrial machine. Then a few days later I had an email from some boutique owners that were interested in stocking my collection. So I thought it seemed like the right thing to do to just bite the bullet and start my own label.

I was runner-up in the Student Ready to Wear (Men’s) category at the 2007 WA Fashion Designer of the Year awards. I also won the Capsule award at the 2008 Perth Fashion Festival for best collection of three outfits. 

Since then I’ve been working on future collections and just trying to get my name better known. I’ll be travelling over east soon to sell my collection to the rest of Australia.

Did my degree help my career path? For sure! You make so many useful connections whilst at university that will help out in the industry. The things I’ve learnt from this degree will help me for the rest of my career.

I would recommend this degree only if you truly have a passion for textiles and fashion. Don’t do the degree because you think it’ll be easy and you can sit there all day drawing designs for skirts. It couldn’t be further from that!