Creative Communication
It’s as though Zal Pinter, Higher National Diploma student of the British Academy of Fashion Design, had no choice but to become a Fashion Designer. Her entire life has been either tinkering with a kid’s sewing machine at 8 years of age, or a freelance make-up artist and photographer as an adult? There has always been something drawing her towards creativity and that something is her artist’s voice. Expression and communication are where we find our identity and our voice. As humans, we have an innate drive to connect and to share with other people. Even the most solitary of us has a need to release some form of voice from deep inside.
Zal has used her personal style and love of fashion as a language through which she can speak to the world, and with so much to say, it is no accident she enrolled in the Academy.
“I’ve always wanted to study fashion in some form. I did a few online short courses/lessons in styling while I was working in makeup and photography, because often I would do styling as well in certain shoots.
Being around/in the fashion industry with my work, I became even more interested in leaning into the fashion side of things.”
Inner child
Many fashion designers began their careers with a sense of performance and playful expression with clothing. Children will openly tell you what they feel with no filter, but sometimes it is not in words that their voice is expressed. Zal was one of those children, a searcher on a creative quest to find her true identity.
“I would make my own designs and do fashion shows for my parents. I would layer and style my clothes in the weirdest way when I was a kid, but I thought I was totally setting new trends. I also just love clothing as an expression. I’ve changed so much over the years, and my style has always changed with me, reflecting a bit of me. I’ve always thought that’s the coolest thing about fashion, wearing art on your body to reflect a bit of who you are to the world.”
When the time came to step back from make-up and photography, Zal needed to find the right fit for her Fashion Design mission. Having always dabbled in arts & crafts and sewing, she needed to find a home for her needs that would live up to her well-honed standards.
“I wanted something flexible and online, so if I wanted to still take on the occasional job, I would have that freedom. I’m also neurodivergent (AuDHD) and function under a chaotic schedule, so studying online also appealed to my need for the freedom to work on my own weird schedule.”
Flexible learning
And those so-called “weird” schedules are exactly what sets the Academy apart from other educational bodies. The flexible study options truly put the student in charge, allowing for the broadest level of accessibility and access to the highest standards of learning.
With Zal’s history of creativity, comes an earned maturity. She knows now that there is not much point in setting a rigid path for her design journey. When the artist’s mind has been unlocked, there is no telling where it can take you. As long as you remain open, and a little fearless.
“Through all my arts and design studies and interests I’ve had since high school, I’ve always been intrigued by how society impacts art and design movements, and vice versa. You even see it in how one form of art can influence another, like architecture and fashion. I see it more now through studying fashion and looking at historical designers and their works, how the social climate impacted their design, and noticing how that is still happening with modern fashion.”
A lifetime of creative expression can also introduce some habits that can be hard to break. Zal has a design mind full of ideas and often envisions her final collection, like a flash of inspiration that arrives in an instant. But the gradual process of research, iteration and refinement is what will really set the great designers apart. Fashion Design is a deliberate, intentional process that should not be rushed.
“When I receive a brief for a project or assignment, my brain just jumps straight ahead to what I want the final piece or collection to look like, and then I just try to fill in the gaps. But studying fashion design has really emphasised the iterative design process; taking a brief and breaking it apart step by step, going back and forth on concepts, and really refining it. And I’ve come to realise how important that is when creating designs that aren’t just pretty and cool to look at, but you can really see how it’s been developed and where each idea comes from. I think it makes for better storytelling in any piece of design work.”
The whole world opens up
And therein lies the unexpected lessons that come hand-in-hand with a strong education. It is not about filling your head with knowledge, it’s about allowing that newly acquired knowledge to open your mind to more ideas and freedom of thought.
“Learning that showing my failed attempts or bad ideas through the design process is actually a good thing and helps me grow and get to a better final idea. And I’ve tried to start incorporating that mindset into other creative aspects of my life, allowing myself to start new projects and ideas without needing them to be perfect right away.”
Zal loves to learn and is growing every day as a designer and as a person. When asked where she sees herself in 5 years, Zal replied:
“If I was asked this question 5 years ago, I think I would have had a sure answer, but now I think I’m more comfortable with not having set plans and being at peace with where life takes me and doing what feels right in different seasons.”
This is possibly surprising but certainly an inspiring takeaway from her fashion design learning. The idea that tranquility can be achieved, yet ambition remains, may seem at first like a contrasting outcome, but the phrase “Be Water” comes to mind, and that’s what Zal is doing. She intends to combine her “makeup, photography, and fashion knowledge, working on creative shoots” and yet, she is happy to allow the road to Fashion Design lead her where she will go.
Perhaps we should all be more like Zal Pinter, and be water.
