Darcie Osborn

Turning creativity into a future career

Darcie Osborn is pursuing the Level 3 Fashion Diploma after discovering a passion for creativity through art. While she describes herself as "not really an academic person", she excelled in GCSE Art, achieving a Grade 9 and realising that a creative career was the right path for her.

Darcie explains: "I've always had a big interest in art and anything creative. Fashion was something I'd always loved, but I'd never actually learnt how to make clothes myself, so I decided this course was the perfect opportunity."

Stand out moments

Throughout the course, Darcie has particularly enjoyed developing practical skills that were completely new to her. Having never worked with textiles or sewing machines before, she embraced the challenge and gained confidence through hands-on learning.

"I'd never done anything with textiles or learnt how to sew before, so learning those new skills has been my favourite part. I really enjoyed using the sewing machines and experimenting with different textile techniques."

Darcie is especially inspired by the styling and conceptual side of fashion.

"I really like the styling and creative aspects of fashion. I'm drawn to conceptual fashion - the kind of designs you wouldn't typically see."

Her work has been heavily inspired by two iconic fashion designers, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, both renowned for their innovative and conceptual approach to fashion.

"We had to choose two designers for our projects, and I picked Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen because I love their conceptual designs. A lot of the work I've created has been inspired by them," says Darcie.

Choosing Leicester College

When choosing where to study, Darcie explored several colleges but found that many courses combined fashion with other creative subjects. The Level 3 Fashion Diploma at Leicester College stood out because of its dedicated focus on fashion and the wide range of specialist skills it offered.

Darcie continues: "I wanted a course that focused purely on fashion rather than mixing it with other subjects. This course gave me the opportunity to explore lots of different areas within fashion."

Next steps

Looking ahead, Darcie hopes to progress to university to study fashion marketing, styling or creative direction, combining her passion for design with visual storytelling.

 "I enjoy designing clothes, but I also love presenting them on models and thinking about the overall creative direction so I would like to explore those options at university."

Recommending the course to others

Despite initially worrying that other students would have more experience, Darcie quickly found the support she needed to thrive.

"I was really nervous because I thought everyone else would already know how to sew and have lots of experience with textiles. But all the teachers were so supportive that I never felt left behind. They really helped build my confidence."

Darcie would highly recommend the course to anyone considering a career in fashion.