Katrina Kan
Fashion Design BA
RMIT University Melbourne
Specialisms: Apparel / Formal/Couture / Genderless
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Katrina Kan
First Name: Katrina
Last Name: Kan
Specialisms: Apparel / Formal/Couture / Genderless
Sectors:
My Location: Melbourne, Australia
University / College: RMIT University Melbourne
Course / Program Title: Fashion Design BA
About
I am a Melbourne-based emerging fashion designer with a background in scientific research. Before studying fashion, I completed a PhD in neuroimmunology focused on brain cancer. That training continues to shape the way I approach design: I work through observation, experimentation and refinement, allowing ideas to develop through the material and making process.
My practice is sculptural and process-led, with a focus on material, structure and disciplined construction. I am interested in garments that appear restrained and resolved at first glance, but reveal the labour and technical rigour invested in them upon closer inspection. Rather than pursuing visual impact through addition alone, I aim to create work with a clear internal logic, where form emerges through the making process.
Throughout my degree at RMIT, I have pursued projects connecting fashion with research, collaboration and advocacy. I received the Emily McPherson Award for Fashion Design in 2023 and 2024. Through HIV Unwrapped, I have collaborated with HIV researchers to translate complex scientific research into garments and public-facing advocacy. An exchange at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore, where I studied bespoke tailoring, further strengthened my understanding of fit, precision and hand construction. I also co-lead FOLIO, an independent not-for- profit publication supporting emerging fashion designers across Victoria.
Moving forward, I intend to build Kattre as an independent experimental practice spanning garment design, creative direction, publishing and interdisciplinary advocacy.
After completing a PhD in brain cancer research, I entered fashion questioning my purpose as a designer. Initially, I thought my graduate collection would be visually extravagant. In fact, I realised I had constantly relied on aesthetic for validation throughout my time at fashion school, yet my pursuit of meaning had not been fulfilled. So, I exercised restraint: no machinery and embellishment that had previously occupied my attention. Only the material, process and labour remained. Every garment originates from one square of silk organza, folded with discipline and constructed entirely by hand. What remained when all the noise was removed? All studio photography (01-07, 11-13, 17, 18, 23-25, 29, 30, 37-41) by Jack de Marie Smith (@jack_de_marie_smith). Talent: Martina Wylie (Look 1; @martinawyliestudio), Arlen Mahon (Look 2; @arlzlm_), John Ives (Look 3; @johnives_).
Competitions
