EXCURSION Cotton On Headquarters: Inside a Global Fashion Brand

WORDS BY NFC STUDENT ABIGAIL FARMER

As a fashion student I have always imagined what it would be like to work in one of those big, beautiful headquarters you see in the movies, but the Cotton On headquarters went beyond anything I could have pictured.

After a long drive out to Geelong, we were all kind of laughing because the facility is so grand we had no clue where the entrance was no matter how we turned our map. All the buildings were crafted in a dark brick, hidden by layers of lush greenery, located on the outskirts of the city that really didn't feel like a typical workplace at all. 

When we finally found the entrance, I was properly like…wow. 

It didn't feel like an office cafe at all, it felt like I had been transported to a gorgeous hotel lobby. Rich oak encased their walls and tall ceilings, accented with warm chandelier lighting and cosy couches that made the whole space feel inviting and relaxed.

Ready for our exclusive tour of the headquarters, we came face to face with a gym. Next door to our meeting room there was a Pilates class running, in the middle of the work hours. When I say this is my dream work environment, I mean it. Like, going for a walk by the water, grabbing a coffee, coming back to work, it just felt balanced and healthy in a way you wouldn’t usually associate with big companies.

The way the headquarters just kept getting more impressive with every doorway we walked through. 

There are meeting rooms lined with fabric samples, floors layered in mood boards, and full visual merchandising setups, where they literally build ‘fake’ stores to design the concept of what the real ones will look like. Nothing is random, and everything is placed with intention and thought, so surreal. 

There were so many highlights, but we also were privileged to visit during supply week when they invited all their suppliers to place their garments on display for the teams to look at. Around 70% had been flown in, and you could see every version of a piece, different fabrics, cuts, fits. It made me realise how much detail and thought goes into every single item of clothing.

I genuinely don't believe I could walk into a Cotton On store and just see clothes, now all I think about is the design processes, and the people who bring every piece to life.

To finish off we heard from the amazing Carlette Franco, Cotton On Australia’s Creative VM Manager, and others from the team, who were all so insightful and really showcased what it is like working behind the scenes of an incredible establishment. 

This was a surreal experience but made everything I am working towards feel so real, knowing that I'm studying for an industry I can and want to step into.

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