I walked into National Fashion College knowing exactly what I loved and not yet knowing how to explain it. I left in 2024 with an Advanced Certificate covering Fashion PR, Marketing, Retail Management and Business Management, and with the language and confidence to turn that love into a business of my own.
NIYA STYLING was built slowly: early call times, long days on set and a constant curiosity about image-making and brand storytelling. If there’s one thing I want students and new graduates to hear, it’s that the gap between studying fashion and working in it is smaller than it seems. You just have to cross it on purpose.
Finding my direction
Styling was always the pull for me: the way an outfit can build a character, lift a brand or say everything about a person in one frame. What I was missing was the business side. How do you position yourself? How do you show clients what you’re worth? How do you think strategically about a brand, including your own?
The marketing and PR units filled that gap. Learning how brands tell their story, how editorial and commercial work feed each other, and how a stylist’s name can become a creative asset in itself shaped the way I set up NIYA STYLING from the very start.
The early work
My first big commercial break came through Pool Party Agency, a Sydney creative production company, which brought me onto campaigns for:
- American Apparel Four campaigns
- Helly Hansen Campaign
- Sheraton Hotels Campaign
- Peppers Retreats Campaign
- Comma Football Campaign
A professional production environment taught me what no classroom could: the speed of a commercial set, the responsibility that comes with a brand’s name, and what it means to be trusted with someone else’s identity. Four campaigns in a row with American Apparel showed me that styling with purpose means protecting and moving a much-loved brand forward, not just making a picture look good.
“If Daniya’s on the job, I don’t even need to worry about the styling.”
Gabriela Rocha · Content Manager, American Apparel
Growing the portfolio
NFC taught me that fashion sits where lots of industries meet, and that staying in one lane limits you creatively and commercially. So I pushed into music video, film, runway production and editorial on purpose, and every new setting sharpened a different skill.
- GRAVEYLANE E‑com stylist, runway producer & model
- NY Melody, ‘Far Away’ Music video · 2.2M views
- ‘The Dragon’ Short film · wardrobe
The AMBA chapter
In 2025 I styled two collections for Jordan Donegan of Studio X for the Australian Modern Barber Awards. The ‘Daddy Issues’ collection won Best ANZ Barber Collection Freestyle and picked up two more finalist nominations, including Modern Barber of the Year. It was then published by ten international hair and beauty titles across seven countries, all crediting me as stylist. It proved something I’d believed since college: good work travels.
What I’d tell students now
The breadth of what you learn is your edge. A stylist who understands brand management thinks differently on set. One who understands PR thinks differently about credit and visibility. One who understands retail can tell what a client needs before they say it.
Take every unit seriously. The business subjects aren’t extras, they’re what make a creative career last. And don’t wait for the perfect job. Say yes to the work that scares you a little. The best thing I ever did was take on a role I wasn’t sure I was ready for, and find out I was.
This story was first published as a feature by National Fashion College. Read the original on their site.
Read on NFC ↗
