Receiving the Milan-Melbourne Travel Scholarship taught Eugenie some lessons she never anticipated.
To read the full image descriptions, please click on the individual image above.
Eugenie Zhan returned from her semester at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan, brimming with inspiration and thankful for the opportunity.
The third-year Bachelor of Fashion Design student says receiving the scholarship wasn’t just about financial support: “I felt supported to push myself and make the most of the opportunity because I knew someone was investing in my education. It gave me a sense of security, a safety net, and the reassurance that there are people out there who genuinely want to help.”
Eugenie had been saving hard from the moment she applied for the Milan-Melbourne Exchange Program at the end of 2023. It wasn’t until after she was accepted in May 2024 that she was offered the opportunity to apply for the Milan-Melbourne Travel Scholarship.
“When I was notified that I got the scholarship, it was such a relief. Milan is an expensive city to live in and I thought, ‘now that I have a bigger budget, I can look for better accommodation.’ I found an apartment close to IED that I shared with three other students, and the scholarship covered nearly all my rent.”
Student life was very different to what Eugenie was used to at RMIT, but she embraced it.
“The teachers were harsh, strict, and brutally honest, but in the end, it was exactly what I needed. At first, their criticism felt intense, but I realised it was just their way of pushing us to be better. If they didn’t like a design, you knew it needed to change. And when they finally gave a compliment, you knew it was truly earned. Their directness made me grow and understand the level I need to be at to succeed. I’ll try to implement everything that I’ve learned in Milan into my final year at RMIT.”
RMIT is known for its design innovation, but Eugenie says it’s more traditional in Milan. “You have to know all the industry standards and you’re not allowed to deviate from them. If you try to be a bit creative and do something different with assignments, it’s not seen as unique, it's just seen as wrong.”
One of her favourite subjects was Fashion Design Research, which challenged her to create an imaginary world in which her designs can exist so her garments have a unique yet cohesive concept, colour, theme, and branding.
Unlike her previous experiences, where referencing existing designers was common, Milan’s approach pushed her to go deeper to the original sources of inspiration. “In Milan, they didn’t want us to draw references from existing designers. We had to go beyond and look at the original art, the architecture, the movements that inspired design,” she says.
“The teacher would ask ‘Why that picture? Why that colour? Why that texture?’ I had never thought so deeply about my design choices before.”
At IED, the schedule was also much more intense with classes going from 8:30am to 6:30pm four days a week. During the lunch break, Eugenie says a lot of the students would go to Esselunga, a nearby supermarket, for an inexpensive potato snack to keep them going. “You would see all the students throughout IED devouring these small boxes of deliciously roasted, oily little baby potatoes,” she laughs.
Thanks to the extra money from the scholarship, Eugenie loved getting out and exploring Italy and Europe with new friends from all over the world.
“Travelling within Europe is so easy. I managed to go to Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. I also travelled within Italy to places like Rome, Florence, Bergamo, Sirmione, Lake Como and Sardinia.”
Eugenie is excited to be back in Melbourne to embark on the final year of her degree. She feels extremely grateful for the opportunity the scholarship allowed her.
“Knowing that someone I may never meet believes in me is incredibly encouraging. It’s a silent, invisible support that reminds me there is so much kindness and humanity in the world. Their generosity has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, open my mind and inspire me to keep going. I hope that one day I can give back in some way.
