Why Interning and Instagram Matters, With Designer Emma Mulholland

This article is presented by TAFE NSW

A sequinned alien bikini, monster tees, hash brown pyjamas, a coral-reef rash vest: Emma Mulholland's style has always wandered into far-off places. But her desire to study fashion first started off at home, on the New South Wales south coast in small coastal town Ulladulla. Initially set on a bachelor of design at Ultimo TAFE in Sydney, Mulholland missed out and took on a certificate in fashion at Newcastle instead. Not to be stopped, she was at Ultimo a year later and worked her way into the graduate show at Australian Fashion Week.

Now the head of her own namesake label, Mulholland's fans include Grimes, M.I.A., and Azealia Banks; she's made swimsuits with Mambo and lounge wear with Macca's; and has spent part of her career based in Bali. Not bad, eh?

VICE spoke to Mulholland about the power of setbacks, sticking to your vision, and building a label from the ground up.

VICE: Tell us about running a fashion label. What's it really like?
Emma Mulholland: When you decide to be a fashion designer I think you imagine drawing clothes and then they get made. This happens, but it's also a hugely multi-faceted role. You come up with the creative and then you have to follow it all the way through to the end of the photo shoot or onto the runway. There's concepting, pattern-making, sewing, production, ordering, publicity: all these other parts to running the business. This will be my sixth year having the business now. There have been so many ups and downs.

What's a common misconception about being a designer?
People often think it's quite a fun and glamorous job, and are shocked at the crappy tasks, like unpicking stitches, I've had to do my whole career. Some people think they're going to come in and work on photo shoots and meet models, but there are so many boring jobs before you get to the fun stuff.

Talent and vision are obviously important, but so is a network. How did you build yours?
I actually met a lot of people through interning. I started out with Romance Was Born and then with Dion Lee, which was a really good opportunity for me to meet people. I also interned at different magazines. I was at Oyster for a short time. It all helped. I met people face-to-face and then they'd remember my name. These days, it's potentially more about social media networking on Instagram than physical networking. It's become more important to find and connect with different people online.

You were selected for the graduate show in your last year of TAFE. How did you stand out?
I always had a different approach to things. A lot of the other students were more interested in tailoring. At that time, Dion Lee was getting out there and everyone wanted to be like him with the sculptural sort of look. But I was always more interested in prints, textiles, and street wear. In the final year, a lot of people went to China to source fabrics, but I decide to go to Bali to work with beaders and get some sequinned pieces custom-made. I was tie-dying everything and doing stuff that wasn't normally done there.

On the flip side, was your approach questioned because it was different?
My teachers did want me to care more about pattern making and details. In retrospect, my finishes could have been a lot more polished. I did have to repeat a year, because I was really bad at pattern-making. I was so disappointed at the time, but the setback worked out in the end, because I had to prove to my family that I was going to succeed. I remember saying to my mum that I would get into the fashion week parade, which seems ridiculous considering I'd just failed, but I set my mind to it and somehow managed to come from the bottom ranks and do it.

What can people starting out in fashion do right now to build their careers?
You can put so much stuff out there through social media, so I'd advise them to look at Instagram like it's a portfolio and keep a separate personal account. It doesn't only have to show work, but your inspiration. I don't think followers matter. It's more about showing an aesthetic so people get where your vision is coming from. If you want a career in fashion I think studying is important, too. You need to have the basics. Even if you want to do street wear, you need an understanding about fabrics and small pattern-making skills. It's also an important way to meet people. My best friends are all from TAFE, interning, and experiences like that.

How important are collaborators?
For me, they've always been important. Byron Spencer—a friend and photographer who I still work with now—and I started out at a similar point. We did everything ourselves. He shot all my lookbooks. We were laughing recently about how bad some of the shoots were, but we learned by doing. I still kinda love our early stuff. It's terribly done, but it feels creative.

What lasting life lessons has your career taught you?
It's so important to like, and to get along with, the people you bring into your work and life, and also to treat everyone with respect. Starting out, you have to ask a lot of favours all the time, and you have to appreciate that people are taking time out of their schedules to help you. You can't take it for granted.

Photography: Amelia J Dowd
Assistant: Myfanwy Schostakowski
Hair & Make-Up: Constance Bowles

This article is presented by TAFE NSW