Oleksandra Ivanova

Oleksandra Ivanova collected her HNC in Fashion Business at the 2024 NESCol Graduation Ceremony. It was an occasion not just to celebrate the achievement of a new qualification, but her new life in Aberdeen. 

Oleksandra is from Ukraine and had to make the difficult decision to leave her homeland in 2022 because of the conflict with Russia. She remained in the country for four months after the war broke out but when Scotland opened the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ programme, she moved here with her three children for their safety. 

Oleksandra said, “At first, I thought it would only be temporary, and I didn’t know which city we would end up in. We have now been living in Aberdeen for more than two years, and I am incredibly grateful for all the support we have been given. Scotland has truly become my second home.” 

Before the war, Oleksandra was working in Kyiv as a content manager and graphic designer with a lot of her e-commerce projects closely linked to the fashion industry. With a lifelong love for fashion, she decided to study the HNC at NESCol to further develop her skills.   

Oleksandra relished the new challenge and said, “I loved attending NESCol, it’s a welcoming and supportive environment. The course was very interesting, and I particularly enjoyed the Fashion Forecasting unit, as I’m passionate about analysing upcoming trends, colours, fabrics, and silhouettes that will be popular in future seasons. I explored WGSN (Worth Global Style Network) trends for spring/summer 2024 and examined the various factors influencing those.” 

She continued, “One of my course highlights was creating a digital sketchbook with my findings to help me develop a fashion range for BOSS, and then applying all that knowledge when I worked on my final graded unit.”

Oleksandra achieved a high A award for the project and the standard of her work was widely praised by her lecturers at City Campus.  

Curriculum Manager for Art, Design, Textiles, and Visual Communication at NESCol, Janice Scott, said, “We were so impressed by Oleksandra’s determination to succeed. She completed her work to an excellent standard and was a committed, and enthusiastic student. To achieve like she has while adjusting to a new life in Aberdeen and supporting her children to adapt too is truly admirable. “

Oleksandra has used her HNC to directly enter the second year of the BA (Hons) Fashion Management degree at RGU and aspires to work with luxury fashion brands. 

She said, “I’m continuing to further my knowledge of the industry and am actively looking for part-time employment in a fashion-related role to gain more practical experience. My children are doing well and have settled into school here, we’re all gradually adapting to our new life in Aberdeen.”