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Alumni Interview: Yuliya Dovzhich, Bachelor Fashion Design

Get to know:

Name: Yuliya Dovzhich
Nationality: Kazakhstani
IFA Campus: Paris
Program studied: Bachelor Fashion Design
Favourite course (and why): Fashion Design (course with the same name as the degree) with Lise Parmentier as teacher because she was always supportive and helped with creativity. It was always nice to come to her lessons!
Current project: I launched my own brand – Good but not the best #2. I re-use vintage items and give new life to them
Fashion inspiration: The group of people I became friends are my fashion inspiration because they are all sustainably conscious. I don’t really focus on any particular sustainable designers

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background – who you are, where you come from and what got you interested in studying fashion.

I was born and raised in Kazakhstan and since childhood, I had always studied at an art school, so I guess you could say my passion started in the early years! I moved to Prague to study art but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a profession, I knew it had art in it, but not exactly which field. I decided to start studying fashion, and went to Florence to study at Polimoda, however realised the courses while nice, were not technical enough and I felt I was lacking important skills.

Bag designed by Yuliya Dovzhich

I also wanted to move to a bigger and more exciting fashion capital, so left Florence for Paris, where one of my friends was studying at IFA Paris in Fashion Marketing. I asked her to be honest about it and she said the education I will get at IFA Paris will help me in the future.

What are you currently doing and what’s most exciting about it?

I launched my own brand, Good but not the best #2. I never thought I would be an independent designer so it’s definitely different! I always thought I would work for a fashion house and maybe in the future launch one. However, Covid-19 happened and it is difficult to find internships and jobs, so I started to make my own projects, draw and sew. It just feels so right to launch my own brand right now.

The creation is my favourite part and I really like that I now have more knowledge of the marketing field. Once you start working you start to really understand how it works and how you can reach customers.

Yuliya Dovzhich

What skills did you learn at IFA Paris that helps you in your current role?

Marketing for sure because at my first university we didn’t have any marketing introductions. It really helps a lot to understand the principles. Also, the technical skills you learn at IFA Paris like Photoshop and sewing have helped me. When I first came to IFA I could barely Photoshop and had to catch up fast.

In FOUR words, describe your IFA Paris experience:

Challenging, exciting, hard, “no regrets”

What words of wisdom do you have for current and any future IFA Paris students?

Take as much information from your teacher and classmates and soak up as much as you can. And don’t forget to take a rest! It’s important to work hard but also rest because you won’t be able to continue otherwise.

If you could choose three things to include for an IFA Paris “survival toolkit”, what would they be?

Coffee for sure, you didn’t start your day at IFA Paris without it! A ruler (I would often forget it and had to borrow), a bobbin case and courage.

Yuliya's top tips for: Paris

Cheap eats: Monoprix (supermarket) for some cheap eats. And always go for a kebab, why not! It’s cheap and filling
Place to hangout with friends My best friend’s apartment
Getting around: Walk as much as you can and experience the city
Relaxing: I really liked to go to Buttes Chaumont
Favourite word in local language Fatigué(é) (tired) because it’s the word we used the most when teachers asked us how we were!

Find more information on program pursued by Yuliya: Bachelor Fashion Design
This program is also available online for distance learning