Andy Truong 16 and making waves in Melbourne fashion scene

Do you know of many 16-year-olds with their own fashion label and online boutique? If your answer is no, you probably haven't met Andy Truong, one of Melbourne's youngest up-and-coming fashion designers. The Kangan Institute VCE fashion student is a rare find - combining a mixture of talent, passion, determination and business calling, Andy has already debuted at the coveted Melbourne Spring Fashion Week in 2012 and is now building a real reputation locally as an emerging designer via his online boutique at http://www.andytruongworld.com/, all whilst completing his secondary schooling. Andy was offered a Kangan Institute scholarship to undertake the Certificate II in Applied Fashion Design and Technology alongside his secondary school studies as part of the VET in Schools program. This will provide him with support as a designer with access to modern equipment, resources, training and creative guidance at the Institute's Centre for Fashion and Creative Industries in Richmond. The two-year program (one afternoon per week) covers all areas of fashion, from design to construction, and includes online components to ensure students have easy access to learning materials anytime. "Kangan has helped my brand, and me as a designer, grow a lot with the help of financial and creative support that I can utilise and to grow my skills," said Andy. "Since my time at Kangan Institute is considered as another subject of mine, I can balance my homework and not go insane with the stress as I can relive it in designing!" Andy's love for fashion began at a young age of six where he helped his mother in sewing buttons with the mending work she did from home. Since then, he's cultivated this passion into a clear vision for the future. "Since very young I have always loved clothing and textiles. The vision for the brand is to go global," he shared. He is making some good progress in that direction, with his designs attracting interest from boutiques and bloggers internationally. He also featured prominently in Virgin Australia's in-flight magazine Voyeur as one of four brightest Australian teenage entrepreneurs. Some of Andy's upcoming activities include producing a garment range for the Kangan Institute end of year fashion parade. The range will incorporate different fabric types and garment styles - he will also have the opportunity to personalise his fabric with his own design by utilising a digital printer on campus at the Textile and Fashion Hub. But before that, Andy will be launching the 2013/2014 Spring and Summer collection very soon on his online store. Pre-order will be available from June. We wish Andy all the best in his training and an exciting future ahead as a designer!