2017 Skillaroo Team Uniform to be Designed by WorldSkills Past Participant

A past WorldSkills competitor, Ashleigh Huntley, has been selected to design the Team Australia’s uniform for the WorldSkills International event in Abu Dhabi in October 2017.

WorldSkills Australia invited young designers from our national training institutions and TAFEs to design both the casual and formal uniforms, which both need to be functional, smart and representative of the Australian team and the spirit of WorldSkills.

We were overwhelmed with the quality of responses and designs. The variety of designs and concepts was fantastic, but Ashleigh Huntley’s design was the standout and was unanimously chosen.

After completing her Advanced Diploma in 2012 for Applied Fashion Design and Technology at Ultimo TAFE, Ashleigh challenged her fashion skills through her own inclusion in the 2013 Skillaroo team which saw her go on to compete at the Leipzig International Worldskills Competition.

Shortly after the International competition, Ashleigh took on a role as an assistant designer for the sports brand Netti. Working in various roles since, including contract pattern making, sales and made to measure for bridal and formal wear, Ashleigh now runs her own special occasion dressmaking business Ash-Lynne Couture.

WorldSkills Australia CEO Brett Judd is delighted with the choice of Ashleigh’s design for the uniform, ‘Having the 2017 Skillaroo team clothed in designs created right here in Australia by a young, small business owner – who is also an ex-Skillaroo – is exactly the type of entrepreneurial spirit we are aiming to encourage at WorldSkills.  It’s a great example of how WorldSkills has assisted someone to become a successful business owner and skilled industry leader in their own right.’

Ashleigh is ecstatic that her designs have been chosen as the Skillaroo uniform for 2017, ‘As an ex-international competitor myself, I understand the need for a uniform to perform just as well as you do.’

Inspired by Aboriginal dot artwork and the Australian landscape, the casual and formal Skillaroo uniforms for 2017 are an ideal blend of form, function and aesthetic appeal.

The final uniform design will be revealed after the Global Skills Challenge in Newcastle in July 2017.