From home Ec to the runway: story behind Australia’s best young fashion designer

A woman from regional Queensland found her passion for fashion in her Year 7 Home Economics class and now she could be on her way towards representing Australia in an International competition.

Ella Taylor creating her winning design at WorldSkills National Championships 2025.

Dancing since the age of four, Ella Taylor remembers helping her Nanny make handmade costumes but coming from a sporty family, fashion design hasn’t always been on her radar.

When Ms Taylor first sat behind a sewing machine in Year 7 Home Economics at St Joseph’s College she never could have imagined winning Australia’s national competition for fashion.

Ms Taylor took home a gold medal for Fashion Technology in the 2025 WorldSkills National competition, going up against 10 other talented young designers.

“I was quite surprised and very happy because a lot of time and effort had gone into it,” she said.

Ella Taylor creating her winning design at WorldSkills National Championships 2025.

The competition spanned multiple days where contestants had to design and create a dress following specific criteria.

The 10 contestants were given an hour and a half to draw their design and then 15 hours over three days to turn that sketch into a reality.

Ms Taylor said it was nerve-racking going into the competition not knowing what the specifications would be, with one of her TAFE teachers helping her prepare.

“We worked together as a team to come up with a design that would showcase my skills and something that was complex enough to stand out,” she said.

“But also not too hard that I wouldn’t be able to make it in the time frame, and also something that would meet the criteria.”

Ms Taylor is now in the running to represent Australia with the Skillaroos in the International WorldSkills competition hosted in Shanghai in September 2026.

She could have the chance to showcase her talent and compete against people from 86 other countries.

Ella Taylor creating her winning design at WorldSkills National Championships 2025.

Ms Taylor said she has come to realise the fashion industry has so much to offer from designing and patternmaking to manufacturing or e-commerce but she might be following in the footsteps of her nanny.

“I would love to become a buyer, or I would also love to work in the costume industry,” she said.

Ms Taylor said her Nanny is really proud of her achievements.

“She even still helps me every now and then with small projects,” she said.

“I think she appreciates me keeping the skill alive.”