Our Sarah turns heads
FASHION designer Sarah Hope Schofield is being dubbed a breakout star of Melbourne Fashion Week.
The 30-year-old got the call up to showcase her work on the event’s Premium Runway alongside labels such as Akira, Ginger and Smart and Manning Cartell about a month ago and has been relishing the whirlwind experience ever since.
“I was really excited to be included alongside respected, established Australian designers,” the Bannockburn-raised Ms Schofield said.
“When I was a young fashion student I really looked up to Akira and I actually did work experience with him while I was at university so it was this really nice full circle moment to be showing alongside him.”
The runway show comprised 14 unique looks with a bridal finale, complete with bouquet and confetti, that supported and celebrated marriage equality.
“I’ve never done such a big show before ... and because it’s just me there was a lot of sewing and late nights (in the lead up),” Ms Schofield said.
The Geelong College student moved to Paris in 2009 after finishing her bachelors degree at RMIT University.
“Fashion was always the first plan, I never had a plan B,” Ms Schofield said.
“I have a dress that I made at three or four years old with my babysitter.
“I was constantly making clothes for dolls and for myself.
“I did night school at the Gordon TAFE in high school. I always wanted to work as a fashion designer and always wanted to end up in Paris.”
After relocating, Ms Schofield completed a postgraduate program majoring in accessories at the Institut Francais de la Mode and has gone on to work for Dior, Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci, Versace, and Jacquemus.
“I love working with the history of the fashion house and the big budgets, it’s a different world,” Ms Schofield said.
“The main thing I tell people is there’s no reason you can’t have your dream job. Work hard and take a chance.”
She returned to Australia last year to spend time with her family in Geelong and complete her masters degree at RMIT.
The Melbourne Fashion Week collection was an extension of her graduate pieces.
Her work is inspired by a fusion of her rural upbringing in Australia and eight years living and working in Paris.
“It’s been amazing the response people have had to my work this year so I don't know, maybe I will continue to design under my own name,” Ms Schofield said.
On Wednesday, she will take the collection to the Perth Fashion Festival.