Our Year 10 Fashion Design students recently had the unique opportunity to participate in a Fashion Illustration Workshop led by Prue Rainey, a renowned Australian designer with over 20 years of success in the fashion industry.
Prue is best known for her tenure as Head of Design at Cue, where she steered the label through a period of remarkable growth — expanding the brand from 80 to over 200 stores and helping Cue become the top-selling brand at Myer. A major career milestone included Cue’s first-ever solo runway show at Australian Fashion Week 2023 (AAFW).
After completing a Master’s in Fashion Design and Styling at Accademia Italiana in Florence, Prue went on to develop ILLYSTRATE — a fashion illustration tool designed to support creatives in translating their ideas onto paper. The innovative tool allows users to trace around a moveable figure to create accurate and proportioned fashion silhouettes.
Workshop Highlights
Students engaged in:
- A comprehensive introduction to the ‘9 Heads Theory’ for fashion figure drawing
- A live demonstration of the IllyStrate tool
- Advanced rendering techniques used in professional fashion illustration
- Direct interaction and feedback from Prue Rainey
- Application of workshop skills to current class projects and portfolio development
The session was both inspiring and practical, equipping students with tools, techniques, and insights that bridge industry practice with classroom learning. We thank Prue for generously sharing her experience and elevating the creative journey of our emerging fashion designers.
Julie Heggarty
Teacher – Textiles
