From UTS Fashion to Christian Dior: Jason Clark’s Journey from Sydney to Paris

One skillset, endless possibilities 

My honour’s year is still my most fond memory of UTS; the staff were all inspiring and deeply connected and invested in our work as students. I was mentored by Dr Cecilia Heffer in textiles, and her approach sticks with me still today years after graduation; "try to explore, don’t try to solve". She championed me to enjoy the design process and to think through the doing. This unblocked my textile research into a world of colour and print that I didn’t know I was capable of. Discover Jason’s graduate collection described by Fashion Journal as “capturing the kaleidoscopic nature of nightlife”. 

From UTS to Paris: Studying Fashion in France 

When I graduated from UTS, I just had this feeling inside me that I wasn’t done studying and exploring. UTS gave me an amazing foundation of skills and courage in design, but I saw it as the foundation, and a master’s degree was going to build the house on top of it. I left Australia to study a Master of Arts in Fashion Design at L'Institut Francais de la Mode. The technical rigour of UTS' fashion course along with the benefit of studying within a research university proved to be a strong advantage in my master’s as I had already developed strong skills in making and research.

Working in Haute Couture at Christian Dior 

Upon completion of a master’s degree at L'IFM, it is mandatory to complete a 6-month full time internship in fashion to graduate. I sent many applications to many houses, and luckily enough after a few months I was hired at Christian Dior as an intern in the womenswear ready-to-wear studio. After three months, I was given the opportunity to join the Haute Couture team and then at the end of my internship I was offered a permanent position there.

How UTS Prepared Jason for a Career in Couture 

The technical and conceptual go hand in hand with confidence and bravery; things that were taught quickly in the honour’s degree at UTS. The honour’s year

moves incredibly fast and the expectations spike quickly from the experience of third year in the bachelor’s, to the honour’s. I remember in my honour’s year, I felt like I didn’t have time to doubt myself, you had to just make and make and respond quickly without becoming emotionally invested in the outcome. Dior moves fast and every day there are new challenges and questions to solve. As a designer, the foundational skills I learnt at university feel like very personal life skills; to be effective, manage my time, manage my expectations, to work hard and to take risks, be brave and know that anything is possible if you just think through the doing.

Advice for Future UTS Fashion Students 

The fashion department at UTS, along with its access to many other design departments, sits on the world stage in terms of its resources and opportunities for students to explore design in new and innovative ways. Being a part of a research university is going to give you the skills to interrogate your design thinking and inspire you into abstract ways of seeing and designing in the world we live in. The professors and tutors in fashion at UTS are passionate, engaged and inspiring to challenge you and give you the opportunity to explore and hone your unique perspective.