From Styling to Storytelling: How Vogue College of Fashion Inspired Gabi Barnat’s Creative Journey

Enrolling in Vogue College of Fashion’s online courses opened new creative directions for Gabi Barnat. From Fashion Styling to Social Media Strategy & Marketing, she connected fashion, modelling and her activewear brand with storytelling and creativity. Here, Barnat reflects on her journey, the skills she gained, and how the experience has shaped both her personal and professional path.

What first drew you to study at Vogue College of Fashion?

I knew fashion styling would be useful for my personal style, my modelling work and my activewear brand. The decision was easy. There’s no better place to learn fashion than Vogue.

After completing your first online course, Vogue Fashion Styling, what inspired you to continue with another? Vogue Fashion Styling gave me direction, structure and clarity. It’s a holistic course that goes beyond styling clothes. Each assignment is a mirror: it reveals what draws you in, how you think, what your strengths are and where you can improve. It really has opened a new universe of skills and ideas for me.

What inspired me to continue with another course was seeing how I could improve in several areas. The selfie assignment, for example, showed me that although I was proud of the styling, the photos didn’t match what I had envisioned. Because I wanted to strengthen my content creation skills, I enrolled in the Vogue Social Media Strategy & Marketing course. I stayed with Vogue College as I sought the same clarity and hands-on practice. Once again the course proved incredibly inspiring and effective.

Did the courses help you discover new areas of interest or career paths you hadn’t considered before?

The courses strengthened my passion for conceptual work and showed me that I’m good at in-depth research and analysis. I naturally go deep and search for meaning. They also made me realize that storytelling is an area that truly resonates with me.

If you had to pick one word to describe the online learning experience, what would it be and why?

Interwoven.

I see online learning as an experience that brings together voices and perspectives from around the world and gives me the freedom to study from anywhere. For instance, I worked on my Fashion Styling master task while I was in Kazakhstan for a dance festival. That experience shaped my concept and without the online format, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.

At Vogue College, each assignment felt like a shared mind map with ideas sparked by people with diverse professional and cultural backgrounds. I love what we’ve woven together.

Can you share an example of an assignment that you particularly enjoyed?

During the Vogue Fashion Styling course, I especially enjoyed the assignment to develop a shoot concept envisioning where fashion might be in 2040. My research led me in many interesting directions: from bio-based to high-performance and smart fabrics. I even discussed the topic with my father, a scientist, to hear his perspective on the future.

Within the Vogue Social Media Strategy & Marketing course, I loved the ethics-focused assignments. They made me reflect on the kind of future I want to live in and how I can contribute to it.

How did you interact with your classmates and instructor during the course? What was that like?

I really appreciated the chance to interact with classmates and the course leader during live sessions and on the learning platform where we could comment on each other’s assignments. What I found most interesting was getting to know the stories behind each assignment and hearing why students chose a particular direction. Those exchanges opened up so many angles and interpretations, they were a real boost to my creativity.

What were the most valuable skills you gained during the courses?

I gained many valuable skills during the courses but the most important ones were sharpening my eye for aesthetics, strengthening my storytelling, learning to crystallise ideas and building a practical toolkit to execute them.

How have the courses contributed to your growth, personally, professionally and academically?

The courses inspired me to bring fashion into dance and dance into modelling. I improved my portfolio and signed with the agency Inbetween Models in the Netherlands. I was also invited to a fashion event in Reykjavik. Plus, I now feel well equipped to create good content. The social media course inspired me to share the journey of building our activewear brand with my sister Angela Barnat, whose work as a tattoo artist shapes our designs. On a personal level, the courses made me feel happier and more confident, knowing that I finally gained the skills I needed.

What advice would you give to current Vogue College of Fashion students?

If I could give some advice, I’d say refine your eye and your point of view. Learn to translate your vision clearly and precisely. The world rewards those who not only see differently, but can make others see it too.

Looking to specialize in a particular area of the fashion industry? Explore a range of online courses.