Category: Fashion and Apparel Studies
Putting Global Learning into Practice
February 02, 2026 Written by Natasha Kapadia | Courtesy of Skye Johnson
UD senior Skye Johnson turns Australia internship into New York Fashion Week experience
When senior Skye Johnson boarded a plane to Australia in January 2025 for a five-week study abroad and internship program, she had no idea that experience would land her an opportunity to be part of the team launching a new brand on one of the fashion industry’s most prestigious stages—New York Fashion Week (NYFW). If Australia offered Johnson a chance to build a brand, New York Fashion Week delivered the front-row payoff.
Johnson, a fashion merchandising and management major and business administration minor, worked as the director of photography for the Sydney-based company THDR, which launched its high-tech brand Neuono at NYFW in September.
Neuono is a technology-driven fashion brand that integrates artificial intelligence and digital body-scanning technology to create personalized garments. The platform allows users to generate precise body measurements through a digital scanning process, which are then used to produce custom-fitted clothing without the need for traditional in-person tailoring.
When THDR revealed the line on the runway, it wasn’t just clothing, it was experimental tech: using scanning technology and digital body measurements to design and personalize garments, reimagining how consumers shop for tailored basics. It was the first time an AI-designed brand was part of New York’s biggest fashion experience.
Johnson helped behind the scenes during the lead-up to the show, and took photos and ran social media throughout the week. She organized her first photoshoot with the models.
“I’d never been put in a role where I was in charge of something like that before,” Johnson said. “I was really nervous, but being trusted to run the photoshoot and direct the models pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me a lot more confidence in myself.”
Making and maintaining global connections
The runway show was the birth of an idea that began thousands of miles away when Johnson spent her internship working with THDR, the parent company of several menswear and tailoring brands. What she didn’t expect was to be assigned to a yet-to-be-launched digital label. The interns were asked for their input on strategy, branding and audience from the ground up.
“We were literally sitting with the founders talking through their launch plan,” she said. “They gave us so much trust.”
Her group sat in meetings with THDR’s CEO and co-founder, reviewing everything from customer acquisition to social tone, pinpointing gaps, proposing alternatives and, in one of the internship’s most surreal moments, choosing the name of the brand itself.
“We had four names written on the board, and we crossed them out until we had one left,” Johnson said, laughing. “And then they ended up picking my font for the logo.” That font remains the visual identity for the brand’s app today, a detail that still feels hard for her to believe.
Months later, she learned that THDR was coming to New York and knew she wanted to help launch Neuono in the US. She reached out to her former bosses and was hired immediately.
Although some of the photoshoots were new to her, working closely with student groups and being part of the runway show environment felt familiar, echoing experiences she had already encountered through her academic and extracurricular involvement. That sense of familiarity helped her feel comfortable stepping into the role despite the challenges.
Hearing the ooohs and ahas of the audience as the first Neuono models walked down the runway was a surreal moment for Johnson.
“Seeing everything come to life was like, wow, I helped build this,” she said.
Full circle moment
For Johnson, the THDR internship felt less like part of a study abroad trip and more like a long-delayed reunion with a place that shaped her childhood.
In sixth grade, Johnson spent a year living in Australia when her parents participated in a teacher-exchange program, swapping their Brewster, New York, home, schools and routines with a family halfway around the world. She made friends, settled into a new school and discovered the joy of following fashion with her grandmother as she vowed to return someday.
“I cried when we had to leave,” she remembered. “It felt like this huge full-circle moment to go back as an adult and actually work in the industry I love.”
She said goodbye to Sydney a second time after her internship, but Johnson wasn’t done with the experience. She started a group chat for students planning to participate in the next year’s Australia program, sharing advice, packing tips and answering late-night questions from nervous juniors.
“I just had so much fun and I wanted other students to feel comfortable going,” she said. “It’s far and people don’t always consider Australia, but it was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
Those efforts helped boost interest; the program sent fifteen students to Australia this year, the first full group since COVID.
Looking to the future
With graduation approaching and fashion’s future leaning toward tech, personalization, digital retail, and global production, Johnson isn’t sure exactly where she’ll land and she’s okay with that.
“I love the business side: branding, merchandise, strategy,” she said. “I love seeing ideas come to life.”
What she knows with certainty is that UD gave her enough space to explore, enough mentors to encourage her and one very long flight to the other side of the world to remind her that childhood dreams have a funny habit of circling back.
