Next steps on the Dior mentoring journey

Insights from Christian Dior executives and a VIP styling session were among the highlights of an evening to mark the halfway point of the Women@Dior mentoring program.

Earlier this year, five RMIT students were selected to take part in the Australian-first program with one of the world’s most revered fashion brands.

The students kicked off their participation in the program with a trip to Sydney to meet their Dior mentors and other professionals at the Christian Dior Couture Head Office in Castlereagh Street, Sydney.

The six-month milestone was celebrated with a special session at the Dior boutique at Chadstone in Victoria, where students had the opportunity to reconnect with Dior executives and discuss personal branding, interview techniques and how to make the first impression count.

Annemarie Carroll from RMIT’s Industry Engagement team, said the advice provided by the Dior team was invaluable.

“The progression of all the students throughout this year has been clear, and I can see they are already putting into the place the guidance they have received thanks to this experience.”

The famous House of Dior launched its Women@Dior mentoring program in Paris this year to support young female students build self-confidence and cultivate their professional careers.

The mentors are all young women working across a range of roles such as creation, marketing, retail, design, merchandising, architecture or communications, which represent the diversity of Dior’s professional activities. They shared their own stories to help foster the professional growth of the students as they embark on their own careers

“The team at Christian Dior Couture has been extremely generous with their time and our students have loved the experience; it’s been terrific,” Carroll said.

“This partnership between RMIT and Dior is a fantastic example of how we are giving our students a head start and readying them for life and work.”

Carroll said the success of 2018 mentoring program has allowed the program to be expanded in 2019 to allow six students to take part.

Students taking part in the current program are:

Hannah Purcell – Merchandising (Associate Degree F&T Merchandising) (DSC)

Johanna McLeod – Retail Management (Associate Degree F&T Merchandising) (DSC)

Katherine (Kate) Milburn – Marketing & PR Bachelor of Fashion, Merchandising Management) (DSC)

Judy Nidea – HR (College of Business)

Lauren Hannan – Finance (College of Business)

/RMIT University News Release. View in full here.