In the lead up to our 2025 Graduate Shows, we’re celebrating the creativity and talent of our graduating students by sharing their stories and showcasing their incredible work. We spoke with Fashion Design with Business Studies BA(Hons) student Sabrina Nieddu about the course, their influences and advice to their younger self.

Please tell us a bit about your work and your influences
My design aesthetic blends sustainability with storytelling, creating garments that act as vessels of memory and connection. Influenced by my background in tailoring and fine arts, I transform second-hand materials into one-of-a-kind pieces, exploring themes of heritage, intergenerational bonds, and the emotional imprint of clothing. My work challenges the boundaries between fashion and art, prioritising craftsmanship, upcycling, and narrative-driven design. Through texture, deconstruction, and historical references, I strive to create garments that evoke contemplation, honour the past, and reimagine the future of fashion.

What made you choose your course?
I grew up in Sardinia in my mother’s tailor shop, surrounded by fabrics, lace, and the rhythm of her craft. As a child, I made clothes for my dolls, imagining I was just like her. Fashion has always been my dream, but financial challenges led me down a different path. Still, I never stopped sewing or believing. In 2013, I moved to England and spent ten years working and saving, determined to learn the language and eventually return to my true passion. Three years ago, the University of Brighton gave me the opportunity I had dreamed of since I was a child. Choosing this course wasn’t just about education, it was about reclaiming a lifelong dream.

If you got your place through clearing, can you tell us a bit about that experience?
Due to a lack of confidence in my abilities and uncertainty about my future, I submitted my application quite late, around June. I never expected much, but to my surprise, the University of Brighton offered me a place on the Fashion course soon after.

Can you tell us about your favourite part of your studies and how it helped the development of you and your practice?
What helped me most to evolve my creative language was the relationship with the teaching team. Having previously studied in Italy, I was used to a more distant, formal approach with professors. At first, I found the weekly group and one-to-one tutorials quite challenging, but over time, the feedback and suggestions I received pushed me to explore unexpected areas of research and to go further with my ideas. That consistent support has been the most valuable part of the course, it helped me grow both as a designer and as a thinker.

Can you tell us about any staff who particularly inspired you?
All the tutors I’ve had during these three years have been a great source of inspiration, but I want to especially thank the Learning Support team. As a non-native English speaker and a dyslexic student, the beginning of my journey was particularly challenging. Without the Learning Support Plan and the consistent guidance of Deborah Mackinnon through weekly tutorials, I truly don’t know if I would have been able to complete this academic path.

Learning disabilities are often misunderstood; they’re not limitations, but simply different ways our minds work. Unfortunately, support services like this are often underfunded and overlooked. I hope that in the future, there will be greater collaboration between subject tutors and the Learning Support team, especially when it comes to course organisation and planning realistic deadlines that take into account the extension periods many disabled students rely on.

What does Brighton mean to you now?
For me, the University of Brighton represents possibility, change, opportunity, and hope. For three years, I looked at my student card and felt incredibly lucky for the opportunity that had been given to me. Access to education is often taken for granted, but for someone like me, who had dreamed for years of returning to study, these three years have held profound meaning. The University of Brighton became a safe space where I could express my ideas freely and where the only expectation was for me to think, learn, and create. During my time here, I wrote my first real essay, something that once seemed impossible. It was a journey of discovering what fashion truly means to me: not just creating clothes, but using fashion as a powerful form of communication to tell meaningful stories.

Can you tell us your plans after graduation?
My plans after graduation are to continue my studies. These three years have been just the beginning of a journey that I feel compelled to pursue further. With the encouragement and support I’ve received from both the university and the British Fashion Council, I’ve gained greater confidence in my abilities and in my work. This has allowed me to apply for a Master’s course in Fashion, which I hope will be the next step in my academic and artistic development. I look forward to starting this new chapter in September and envision it leading to practice-based PhD research in the future.

Finally, if you could give your 17-year-old self any advice about going to university, what would it be?
If I could give my 17-year-old self some advice, I would tell her not to worry, that choosing to study Fine Art instead of Fashion will become a beautiful and formative experience. The years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna will give her the freedom to explore, experiment, and develop a strong visual language. One day, when she finally gets to study fashion, she will bring with her a deeper understanding of art and storytelling. I’d tell her to take every course she can, spend as much time as possible in the studio with her peers, visit every museum she finds, and build honest dialogues with her tutors. Every step she takes will shape the artist and designer she’s becoming.

If you’d like to see more of Sabrina’s work, you can view their Instagram @sabrina_nieddu_

Find out more about our 2025 Summer Shows where large parts of the university turn into a huge free exhibition space.