Lifelong career in fashion enhanced by degree study

Tuesday, 04 September 2018

Wintec fashion student Angela Tremayne is taking her career to the next level through study.

Wintec fashion student Angela Tremayne with her daughter and model Tylah Tremayne wearing a garment made by Angela.

Wintec Fashion Design student Angela Tremayne has spent 30 years in the fashion industry, learning her skills the hard way. Now she’s taking her career to the next level with a degree.

Angela knew from an early age she wanted to pursue a creative pathway.

“I’ve always wanted to do fashion, I will do it until the day I can’t do it anymore, it’s a passion,” says Angela.

Angela has worked in the industry for 30 plus years making garments in sewing rooms in Australia and New Zealand and more recently working on her own business, Stucche Designs which sees her designing custom garments for clients alongside consulting for fashion start-ups. It’s safe to say that Angela’s at home in the fashion world.

However, learning on the job didn't come easy for Angela, she says, “I learnt the hard way, from the age of 18 years I’ve been in the fashion industry,” but after years knee deep in the industry, Angela began to realise she needed something to get her to the next level, and decided to pursue a Bachelor of Media Arts Fashion Design degree, “I found there was so much I didn't know, that’s why I started my degree at Wintec.”

Trend forecasting, understanding target markets and the process of digital platforms for commerce are just some of her key learnings which Angela says studying has enhanced her knowledge of the fashion world and taken her career to the next level. “It’s all about remaining current, and I know how to remain current, Wintec has given me the tools to know where to look,” she says.

“My degree has allowed me to bring all these things together, it’s opened up so many avenues for me.”

One of Angela's study highlights was an internship with Mitchell Vincent of Mitchell Vincent Collection, who is also a graduate of Wintec and a prominent figure in the youth fashion market operating out of Hamilton, New Zealand. This internship saw Angela working on a new range for an up-and-coming establishment.

“I loved working as an intern with the Mitchell Vincent Collection, sampling the range he has designed for a “Sense & Wonder” collaboration he was asked to do at The Base,” she says.

Last year Angela travelled with a group of fashion students to Thailand from July 2-10 2017, as part of their Bachelor of Media Arts Fashion Design studies. Wintec’s partnership with the Thailand Institute of Fashion Research (UTK) opened the door to their study tour, which showed them how the Eastern fashion industry operates and introduced them to a scale of factories and practices foreign to New Zealand soil.

The trip left a lasting impression on everyone and has seen Angela return to Southeast Asia, where she sources fabric samples for her new collection. “My trip to Thailand last year definitely helped me understand how to source fabrics and how important it is to go to Trade Shows and exhibitions for information,” says Angela.

“While I was in Bali this year, I used this knowledge to source and contact fabric suppliers and also cement ongoing contacts.”

As Angela’s degree comes to end this year, it’s her shared learning and collaboration with her ambitious 14 year old daughter, Tylah Tremayne that inspires her, “Tylah helps me keep up with trends and we have attended NZ Fashion Week together every year, she also models my garments,” she says.

It’s clear that having your Mum in the fashion industry has been an influence to Tylah, this year she’s taking a Fabric Technology class at Hamilton Girls’ High School and talks about creating her own clothing label. “I hope that by involving her in my own business, it will teach her the essential skills and qualities that will help her to start her own endeavour/s when she is ready,” says Angela.

When asked about life after study, Angela says she’s planning on launching her new fashion label Peace & Peony in the not too distant future, along with adding new designs to the collection – “I aim to continue to immerse myself in my designing and love of the fashion industry!”

This year Angela and our third-year fashion students will present a runway show presenting a diverse range of year-long projects on Sunday 18 November at the Meteor.

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Angela and her daughter Tylah discuss design concepts together as Angela develops her Peace & Peony collection.