Cara Haley at home with some of her nascent creations which propelled her to a coveted place at NIDA.
When it comes to making the cut in the fashion industry, one of the toughest gigs has to be getting a foot in the door at NIDA.
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So if it’s so sought after, just how good are the fashionistas coming out of the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art?
Globally golden, as it turns out – pure gold.
NIDA fashion designers stalk the stage at the annual Oscars with golden statuette winners including Catherine Martin, who has four from her work in Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby; Angus Strathie collected his own Oscar for Moulin Rouge! alongside her.
He also designed the iconic, groundbreaking suits for Catwoman.
And 1993 NIDA graduate Michael Wilkinson received an Academy Award nomination for American Hustle and is widely known for his work in Batman v Superman and 300.
When it comes to cult classics there is Tim Chappel and his Oscar for Priscilla, while Deborah Riley has collected an Emmy as well as an Academy Award nomination for her work on Game of Thrones.
It all seems a long way from a small sewing machine in an Echuca spare room and entering contests at little shows from Cohuna to Kyabram, but Cara Haley is also one of just six people to win a sought-after spot in the 2026 intake at NIDA’s Sydney HQ.
Where she has already produced her first design for the musical In Pieces.
Cara probably has stars in her eyes, but at NIDA she is also surrounded by them – most recently having Sarah Snook (also a NIDA graduate with six AACTAs, a Primetime Emmy, a Tony, two Golden Globes and two Actor Awards in her prize chest) coming to school to give presentations.
Cast and crew pose for a group shot on the NIDA stage, where In Pieces debuted.
Actor Jennifer Roache on stage in Cara Haley’s first NIDA design.
Home for the holidays, Cara is delighted to be able to put her feet up – albeit for a very short time.
She says the pace in NIDA’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design for Performance) is relentless.
“It’s 9-5, five days a week, and that’s just lessons and contact hours – after that you have all your make-up work and it’s up to you to get it done,” Cara explains.
“They lock the doors at 11pm, so that’s when you have to get out, but you can also get access on Saturday mornings,” she says.
On top of that there is the two-hour round train trip to get there and back each day because this is Sydney, and 19-year-old students without any spare time to get a part-time job, have to take what accommodation they can get, where they can get it.
This year that means sharing a house with big sister Edie, but she is moving in 2027 so that’s another challenge facing Cara’s bid for success.
“When I started looking around for courses in design there were only three real ones in Australia, but only one NIDA,” she says.
“I had always been into art, with drawing and painting when I was younger, but in high school I started sewing and started entering into sewing sections in country shows.
“They were good because each show had a brief on what could be entered so you knew what to sew. I had always been making clothes, and I also got interested in historical garments, which you would make, wear once, take a few pictures and then put in a wardrobe.”
A wardrobe now bulging with creations, because Cara can’t bear to part with them, even though she is now rarely here.
But which contributed to her NIDA application, a work of art in itself, featuring her design work from Regency period dress to the Titanic, the ’20s to the ’60s and her own seasonal and revolutionary creations.
She says she was never interested in the mainstream fashion business, she wants to be a designer, not a businesswoman.
NIDA, however, is in the business of producing stars, from set design to stage and silver screen – and costume design. So the pressure to perform is a constant, and something Cara has happily plunged into.
“Our little group will stay together through all three years of the degree, we will progress through the training and as well as our lecturers we also work alongside final year students as mentors,” she says.
“They also bring in specialists for every aspect of our study – we have had a guy for tailoring, and another to work on stretch fabrics, it is so specialised.
“We have had to go and watch a play then write an essay about what happened on the stage, how our work can be woven into that and how it all comes together.”
In the term just completed Cara and her third-year mentor Imogen Hale produced garments for In Pieces, including a black satin shift with sequinned overlay worn by actor Jennifer Roache.
NIDA stages four shows a year and all students work on them, learning from each other and their lecturers. And when the curtains rise, they all have their extra jobs – in the case of humble first years that is mainly as costume assistants.
For the audience, things on stage might appear to be going smoothly, but backstage, and in the wings, harried helpers such as Cara are rushing around to assist with quick changes as actors come on and off the stage.
“We have a show plan, of who has to be where and when, and we also get to do maintenance, washing and laying out the costumes – it is a bit overwhelming at first but soon becomes routine,” she says.
“It was also fabulous to go around Opera Australia and visit their workrooms, see their costume work, their archives, and realise a lot of alumni are working there.
“All this exposes you to so many talented and skilled people, of all ages, with so many things to see and do – it’s all pretty cool,” Cara says.
“My first dress order came from the play’s designer, and we had meetings, fittings and had to produce a calico version for sign-off before we made the real thing,” she adds.
“It all starts with a sketch and some inspo (inspirational) photos for referencing, then we do the actor measurements and then it starts getting very real.”
A reality a long way from the Cohuna Agricultural Show, but a reality with a worldwide reputation which has Cara heading down the road to NIDA’s star factory.
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