Before I started the Diploma I thought it would be like a hobby course, but it was way more extensive than I thought it would be, which was good!  I felt like I learnt so much more than I expected.  I love the process of being able to draw up a pattern in my own design and then make it up, it is always exciting.   Patternmaking has been my most difficult subject but it has opened up a new skill.  Using the patternmaking template is like discovering a magic tool.   I would love to design my…

I come from Rotorua every day and I really love the course.  I look back over the year and I have learnt so much its astronomical!  I now rarely get stuck.  Before I started I thought the Diploma would be easier than what it is, I didn’t realise the extent of the learning from the History of Fashion to Fashion Illustration and even some printmaking, its not just learning to sew but a whole range of related subjects.  I am excited to be carrying on to next year, if possible, as it opens options …

I started straight from school and found the people at the Academy comfortable to work with and we had heaps of teacher one on one time.  I got more from the course than I expected, I feel now I can do everything, and I am looking forward to next year to the more advanced modules.  During the course I couldn’t wait to get back to my days at the Academy and find out about the next thing I was going to learn, I never missed a days class. Learning with the Patternmaking tool made everything eas…

I have been coming to the Academy for 7 years. l started as a teen and I have now almost completed the Diploma.  I took the Diploma because I wanted the knowledge of garment construction to help me with costume design. The pattern making is brilliant, we are able to work on our own, and figure out what we want to do, with input from the tutor.  Learning how to make a basic block for any woman/man’s measurements is also a must for costume design.  No one is the same shape or size. The course …

I am really enjoying the Distance Diploma course I find it challenging and creative.  I initially trained as a hairdresser/makeup artist, but couldn’t find the backup in my apprenticship.  When I started the Diploma I thought it would be a lot easier, but I found I can learn at my own pace and I get great feedback from my tutor Glenda, who lets me know where I have made an error and why.  The most difficult thing is waiting for the feedback but Glenda goes into great detail and helps me unders…

I was hoping to learn sewing, patternmaking and alterations and I hoped I would achieve that.  I initially struggled to keep up with the Diploma because of language difficulties, but I improved gradually.  My fears were that I would not understand the assignments, but the Academy helped with extra lessons and while it is still a challenge to me I am keeping up.  I would recommend this course to my friends because it is very well organised and we learn a lot. – Day Diploma

I joined the diploma to learn how to make things properly, and clearly from what I learned I was not doing it properly in the past!  I also joined with a view to doing something with my study after completion and although its difficult with work I am definitely going to try out a few things, and I have some great ideas.   During the course I sometimes found it difficult to coordinate with work and found I needed more time, the diploma goes at a good pace, but sometimes you need to take account…

This is a great course, everyone is very friendly and the tutors are great.  I joined this course as I thought I would like to make garments at home and make them properly, I loved to create but without the specialist knowledge it was a struggle.  Now that I have almost completed the course I am planning on going into business with my daughter and daughter in law to make clothes for the markets, its now easy to make a unique garment and know if the market wants it.  The biggest benefit from t…

I am now a fashion buyer promoted while I was taking the Diploma.  I went into the industry with no technical knowledge, one of the buyers suggested I needed a patternmaking course to advance in my career and while I was interested in the 8 week patternmaking as it was at that time, it made more sense to take the whole Diploma course and get a more rounded aspect of apparel production. Taking an evening course worked well, I didn’t have the time to go back to uni as I was already in full time wo…

I joined the Academy because I wanted to learn how to make clothes because I love fashion, the Evening class is a little bit hard but fun.  Before I started I didn’t think it would be as hard as it is, but I really enjoy it.  I am in Year 13 and I entered the Westlake Girls Fashion Show and am a finalist.  Its my first time so I am very proud, as is my mother and grandfather.  I took this Diploma as I want to go onto study fashion and I think this will give me a head start.  I love designing…

What I like most about the Evening Diploma is the tutors and how I learnt to sew functional professional looking garments, I also made a lot of friends.  I knew exactly what I was getting into as I had researched courses extensively and this was the most practical course I came across, it taught me everything I wanted and nothing I didn’t.  I also talked to Pam and Marlene and knew exactly what the course entailed.The biggest benefit is being able to see a garment and then pick out the pattern.…

I really liked the History of Fashion and Garment Construction, I love sewing and wanted a more hands on course than that offered by Massey.  I had to wait until the mid year intake before I could start the Diploma, but I wanted to be more hands on rather than theory oriented and this Diploma covers the basics, it certainly lived up to my expectations.  The biggest benefits were it only being 2 days a week so I could work and study, the Academy was close to home and I got to sew on an industri…

What I liked most about the Diploma was making the actual clothes, and also going through the whole process, from patternmaking to actually constructing the garments.  When I first started I really didn’t think it could be that detailed and involved, I now realise that fashion takes a lot of time and effort.  The biggest benefit for me was being able to look at a picture, create a pattern and make the garment.  The tutors were helpful, patient and really went out of their way to make sure I un…

I loved everything about the Diploma but the patternmaking was the best.  I thought before I started the course I would be learning all about sewing for fashion, but I learnt far more than I thought I would.  I learnt to sew on industrial machines, to use the patternmaking tool and gained lots of confidence in what I could do.  I can now look at most images and patternmake from that image.  I love that I can make personal blocks for everyone.  The tutors are amazing, and after I leave the A…

Mum and I met with people from the Academy and decided that the diploma course sounded really hands on and practical and I would learn good skills.  The best thing about the course is I can make anything I want from the basics and more.  I really liked the hands on aspect and the fact it was only 2 years as other degrees take 3 or 4 years.  I appreciated the smaller classes as this gave me, and the rest of the students, more individual attention.  I was learning all the things I needed to cr…

NZAF has fantastic tutors and I thoroughly enjoy what I learn.   Before I started with NZAF I thought it was an intimate school, but it has grown and changed.  I also thought I could perhaps change my career, but wasn’t sure it it was enough to get a job in the industry, but now I feel I can get a job and I am only at the end of year 1.  I know taking this course is life changing, I have met so many fantastic people and am awaking my brain and learning new skills. I would unreservedly recomm…

As I approach the end of a two year diploma course I wish I had the funds to continue to take courses at the NZ Academy of Fashion Design as I have found it so enjoyable. This is my third course at the academy, having previously completed the introductory course, and the over-locker course. I started at the academy as a complete novice and the knowledge I have gained far exceeds my expectations. The standard of teaching at this academy is second to none. The teachers are not only highly skill…