How NFC Graduate Daniya Sammour Turned Fashion Studies Into a Successful Styling Career

WORDS BY NFC GRADUATE DANIYA SAMMOUR

When I enrolled at National Fashion College, I had a clear vision but not yet the vocabulary to articulate it. By the time I graduated in 2024 with an Advanced Certificate spanning Fashion PR, Marketing, Retail Management, and Business Management, I had both, and the confidence to build something of my own.

NIYA STYLING didn't happen overnight. It was built through early mornings, late sets, and the kind of relentless curiosity about fashion, image-making, and brand storytelling that NFC helped me understand wasn't just a passion, it was a career. What I want to share with current students and graduates is that the bridge between studying fashion and building a real practice in it is shorter than it looks; but you have to be intentional about crossing it.

Finding My Direction

Before NFC, I knew I loved styling. I knew I was drawn to the way clothes could construct a character, elevate a brand, or communicate an entire identity in a single frame. What I didn't fully understand was the business of it, how to position myself, how to communicate my value to clients, how to think about a brand (including my own) with strategic clarity.

GRAVEYLANE e-commerce shoot — styling by Daniya Sammour

The Marketing and PR components of my certificate were transformative in that regard. Understanding how brands build narratives, how press and editorial work hand-in-hand with commercial output, how a stylist's name becomes a creative asset in its own right — these were the frameworks that shaped how I approached building NIYA STYLING from day one.

The Early Work

My first major commercial opportunity came through Pool Party Agency, Sydney's leading creative production company, which engaged me across campaigns for American Apparel, Helly Hansen, Sheraton Hotels, Peppers Retreats, and Comma Football. Working within a professional production environment at that level early on taught me things no classroom could: the pace of a commercial set, the weight of brand accountability, the art of being trusted with someone else's identity.

Four consecutive campaigns with American Apparel were a masterclass in what it means to style with purpose. The brief wasn't just to make the imagery look good, it was to protect and evolve a brand identity that generations of people already had a relationship with. My NFC training in brand management and retail thinking directly informed how I approached those briefs:

"Daniya is seriously amazing. From the first brief to the final shot, she's across every detail. If Daniya's on the job, I don't even need to worry about the styling — I know it's going to look great."

— Gabriela Rocha, Content Manager, American Apparel

Expanding the Portfolio

On set — 'The Dragon' short film · Wardrobe: Daniya Sammour / NIYA STYLING · Dir. Gianluca

One of the things my NFC education instilled in me was the value of versatility. Fashion isn't one industry; it's the intersection of many. Staying in one lane limits both your creativity and your commercial reach. So I deliberately pushed into new territories: music video styling, film, runway production, and editorial. Each new context sharpened a different skill.

For Australian streetwear and surf label GRAVEYLANE, I served three roles in a single day: e-commerce stylist, runway show producer, and runway model. It was one of those days that reminded me why I do this. The creative energy, the trust the brand placed in me, the feeling of seeing something come together that you've had a hand in at every level — that's what the work is about.

I also served as the credited stylist on NY Melody's 'Far Away' music video - produced by JÁEN Collective, directed by Jon Baxter, which has since reached 2.2 million views on YouTube. And as wardrobe stylist on the short film 'The Dragon', directed by Gianluca, I learned how deeply styling can serve character and narrative when you're working in screen.

The AMBA Chapter

AMBA 2025 · Best ANZ Barber Collection — BTS Crew · Photographer: Ben Blyth · Stylist: Daniya Sammour

In 2025, I had the opportunity to style two collections for Jordan Donegan of Studio X for the Australian Modern Barber Awards (AMBA). The 'Daddy Issues' collection, a bold editorial project exploring identity and self-expression, won Best ANZ Barber Collection Freestyle and earned two further finalist nominations, including Modern Barber of the Year.

What happened next genuinely surprised me. The collection was picked up by ten international hair and beauty publications across seven countries: South Korea, Germany, Taiwan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and Italy, all formally crediting me as Stylist. That international reach was something I hadn't fully anticipated, but it reinforced something I'd believed since NFC: that quality work travels.

"Having worked with different stylists in the past, Daniya stood out for being extremely professional. She loves what she does, and it shows. Her creative instinct, attention to detail, and commitment to the shoot made the difference between a good collection and an award-winning one."

— Jordan Donegan, AMBA 2025 Winner, Studio X

BeautySu Web - South Korea · July 2025

Querschnitt Magazine - Germany · August 2025

SalonNews Asia - Taiwan · August 2025

Peluqueros Mexico Vol. 3 - Mexico · September 2025

BarberSociety Magazine #25 - Netherlands · October 2025

HairTrendy - Poland · October 2025

StileCapelli - Italy · November 2025

FaleLokiKoki - Poland · December 2025

GlobeLife - Italy · January 2026

Top Hair Fashion - Germany · January 2026

What I'd Tell Current Students

The education you receive at NFC is genuinely multidisciplinary, and that breadth is your competitive advantage. A stylist who understands brand management thinks differently on set. One who understands PR thinks differently about credit, visibility, and how to position their work. One who understands retail knows instinctively what a client needs before they articulate it.

Use every unit. The business components are not supplementary to the creative ones; they are what make a sustainable creative career possible. I wouldn't have built NIYA STYLING the way I did without the business and marketing frameworks NFC gave me.

And don't wait for the perfect opportunity. Say yes to the projects that push you into unfamiliar territory. The best thing I ever did was take on a role I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for and find out that I was.