From diesel fumes to design rooms, Christine can drive dozers and draft garments!

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From diesel fumes to design rooms, Christine can drive dozers and draft garments!

Christine loves to learn and always dreamt of working in fashion and textiles. Her pathways are all about the journey; from civil construction and finance to pattern making, Christine isn’t afraid to learn and she’s winning awards along the way.

Christine’s switch from construction to fashion is already paying off. Her Y2K-inspired streetwear collection has won the top award in this year's RMIT and Disney collaboration. Created for the Disney’s Mickey and Friends project, Christine's playful designs impressed judges and were crowned the winning entry.

Person wearing design

Inspired by the movement of animation, Christines Mickey Mouse inspired streetwear look was created as part of the Disney’s Mickey and Friends project assessment for the industry partnership with Disney.

While many people view education as something that ends with a diploma, for Christine it is a way of life. Holding lifelong learning as a core value, Christine loves to learn and isn’t afraid to reinvent her life and career; especially if that means going back to school.

I don’t just love to study for a career outcome; I also just love to learn and improve myself.

Building her life and career on her own terms, she’s explored study for both her personal interests as well as career goals, including finance, graphic design, English as a foreign language and interior design. An inspiring reminder that anyone can be the architect of their own career path, able to return to the classroom whenever passion or opportunity calls, regardless of age.

For the past seven and a half years, Christine has been operating heavy machinery after completing a Certificate III in Civil Construction, a career shift driven by her fascination with machines and a desire to explore new opportunities following study in a different area. Despite loving the experience on job sites, Christine continually found herself drawn to an entirely different kind of trade: pattern making.

Now studying the RMIT Associate Degree in Fashion, Christine is finding her style in design and taking another leap into a new direction, one she has wanted to pursue all her life.

Person working underneath car

Christine has been working with heavy machinery for the last seven and a half years.

“I’d taken a short pattern making course before, but I was looking for a course that covered pattern making, CAD design, pattern grading, and specification packs. As well as the design and construction subjects, this course had it all.”

Balancing TAFE, a full-time job, and a little one on the way is no simple feat, however, Christine’s dedication is paying off as she’s impressed all with her designs, including industry partner, Disney, during the Mickey and Friends project assessment.

The Mickey and Friends project assessment spanned over a year, with students tasked to develop designs representing the Mickey and Friends theme and characters. Targeting the 18-22 age demographic, students created a streetwear collection drawing from late nineties and early 2000s aesthetics. Working with Disney, they received ongoing direction and feedback throughout the process.

“It's been the most incredible experience working with Disney over the last year,” said Christine.

“It gave me a true indication of the entire process of design in relation to a direct brief. Delivering design ideas to industry and getting real time feedback and opportunity to adjust accordingly is a great experience in preparation for real work.”

“The design was inspired by the movement and motion of animation, the techniques of squash and stretch, and the characters abilities to twist themselves and contort themselves as an exaggeration of movement. It is reflective of my design style in that I like to create structured forms and playful graphics that embody joy.”

Each garment she created for the assessment required months of planning and patterning to figure out the best possible outcome, the result was a Mickey and Friends Mickey Mouse Y2K inspired streetwear set, complete with the gloves and ‘lantern’ style pants.

I challenged myself beyond my current capabilities, what better time to challenge yourself and make mistakes than when you are in school?

Christine's garments were selected by Disney as their choice winner based off the project finale photoshoot, done in collaboration with the Diploma of Fashion Styling and Diploma of Photography and Digital Imaging students, allowing Christine’s work to really shine.

Person wearing design and certificate

Christine won ‘Best Design’, nominated and awarded by Disney at their Melbourne head office.

As Christine’s life opens a new chapter into motherhood, she’s still an advocate for taking on new opportunities, their challenges, and applying the skills she’s learnt throughout her studies so far.

“I'd love to start my own label and to continue to explore the possibilities of pattern making and design. It would seem all the subjects in this course are nurturing me towards my goals.”

Her advice; never be afraid to learn more, to give education as many chances as possible and have fun while being a student.

10 December 2025

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