Westfield Innaloo is excited to be partnering with South Metropolitan TAFE again in 2024, after the success of our collaboration in previous years.

Working closely with a group of two fashion business students, we gave these fresh up-and-comers the opportunity and creative challenge to flex their design skills, by visual merchandising our display cabinets in centre this season.

Get ready to feel inspired as we take you through their creative journey and finished designs below.

---

The brief and concept

To create an Autumn/Winter fashion display for Westfield Innaloo that’s unique and visually striking. Students worked in small groups to ideate and bring their visions to life through sketch, moodboards and graphic design.

The big reveal

We’re proud to unveil the below concepts in our centre. Brought to life in true form, from the creative minds of South Metropolitan TAFE students. You can see that their creative journey from the initial moodboard and digital design phases came to fruition.

On your next visit to Westfield Innaloo, be sure to stroll by Boost Juice to appreciate these eye-catching displays. You’ll walk away feeling inspired and in-the-know for all things fashion this season.

The talent behind the design

Meet Kelly Di Francesco and Siena Marchese, the creative force behind the design. Read on to discover their inspiration, challenges and favourite moments working with us.

Why did you choose to study Visual Merchandising?

Siena – I initially completed 1 semester of fashion design at Curtin University after graduating high school, I took 1 year off to work full-time. During this time, I decided I wanted to delve deeper into my career, and I found the Fashion business course on SM TAFE’s website. It really intrigued me with all the different areas which I can gain experience in, through the course, with VM being a potential career path.

Kelly – I have been wanting to do this course for 20+ years! It was the design process, the elements of design and principles of design that was of most interest to me in wanting to learn Visual Merchandising.

What did you enjoy the most about this project?

Siena – I have loved the collaborative aspect to this project from working together with Kelly, sharing and coming up with our ideas and the concept for the project from the brief. It has been quite the rewarding process and seeing it all come into fruition is creatively fulfilling.

Kelly – Likewise! I have loved working together with Siena, thriving on each other’s ideas and then having to think conceptually, making our ideas come to light.

What inspirations did you draw upon to create your design?

We used WGSN for trend forecasting purposes and other VM windows which had an autumn focus to draw inspiration. Sources such as Pinterest, WGSN, and Google images were our go to search engines. We individually sought out inspiration from the colours of autumn, through autumn leaves, the warmth of autumn through wooden logs and life of autumn through moss, along with our Perth winter sun to tie in the use of coloured transparent acrylic leaves.

How did you work with external suppliers, your teacher and Westfield to bring your concept to life?

From conversations with our lecturer at TAFE about previous Westfield VM installs we were able to gain knowledge on certain materials and tools to keep away from, but also what was previously well executed. From a glance at the current VDU’s in Innaloo, we decided to have our tree sticking out of the VDU in our concept, to be a little different and think out of the “box” (pun intended!).

What was most challenging about this project?

The most challenging part to the project is being 1 man short. We lost our third collaborator 3 weeks into the project; we have since become well adjusted, but it was difficult having to complete all the work to a high standard in a short time frame. We have adapted very well by communicating effectively to ensure we are on the same page, and by sharing the work load evenly amongst each other.

---

The meaningful, real life experience provided through this partnership has given students practical experience, working with timelines, budgets and suppliers from different industries. Most importantly, it gave students a public podium to spotlight their creative work for our community and retailers to enjoy.

You can find more info on Fashion Business courses at South Metropolitan TAFE here >