Five Days at Vogue College: An Engineer’s Perspective on Creative Direction

What led you to Vogue College of Fashion?

I was born in Romania and studied engineering and robotics in Iasi and Vienna, Austria, before building a 15-year international career in the automotive industry. My professional path evolved from software development to leading complex global transformation programs, innovation initiatives, and cross-functional project management within premium automotive environments, including Mercedes-Benz AG.

Outside work, I have always been equally fascinated by creativity. I write, play the piano, enjoy interior design, travel, paragliding, and exploring ideas that connect technology with humanity.

Together with my university sweetheart, who became my husband in 2010, and our son, who was born in 2014, we moved to Germany in 2015. Later that year, Stuttgart became our home.

In June 2025, I intentionally stepped away from the automotive world for a period of reflection and learning. That decision led me to Vogue College of Fashion in London, where five days unexpectedly became one of the most meaningful creative experiences of my life.

Could you share a little about your background and current work?

Engineering taught me how systems work; leadership taught me how people work. Over fifteen years, I progressed from developer to international project manager, leading software, engineering, digital transformation, and business innovation projects.

Today, my passion is building bridges between technology, creativity, customer centricity, and people.

The next chapter of my career, starting July 2026, brings me back to robotics and AI as a project manager, combining my engineering roots with a broader creative perspective.

What made you choose Vogue’s 5 Days of Creative Direction course?

I wanted to challenge myself beyond the world of engineering. Creativity is not the opposite of structure; it is its perfect partner. Vogue represented an opportunity to learn visual storytelling, creative thinking, and a new way of observing the world.

What moment or experience in the course made you feel closest to how the industry really works?

The discussions around identity, narrative, and creative decision-making made me realize that every successful creative project begins with a strong point of view. The collaborative atmosphere, constructive feedback, and real creative briefs demonstrated how ideas evolve collectively.

Can you share an example of an assignment that you particularly enjoyed?

The Harvey Nichols creative brief was unforgettable. It challenged us to translate emotion into visual language. Instead of focusing only on aesthetics, I enjoyed discovering how strategy, storytelling, and emotion coexist within creative direction.

What specific lessons from this course have influenced your approach as a project manager?

The course reinforced that great leadership and creative direction go hand in hand. Both require vision, empathy, storytelling, curiosity, and the courage to ask better questions. I now pay even greater attention to visual communication, diverse perspectives, and creating environments where ideas can flourish.

You recently published your first book. Tell us about the inspiration.

In 2020, I began asking myself: “Who are the people behind the person I have become?” That reflection became The Wheels Behind My Attitude. I spent years writing hundreds of letters of gratitude before finding the courage to transform the concept into a book.

Vogue became the final spark.

During the course, I kept hearing one silent message: Write. The result was my first autobiographical motivational poem book, published in Romanian, English, and German in 2026.

I dedicated an entire poem to Vogue College of Fashion because the experience genuinely changed my creative journey. One excerpt captures that transformation:

“I learned that creative direction is not a role…It is a way of seeing.”

How has the course contributed to your professional growth?

It reminded me that innovation is born where disciplines meet. It strengthened my confidence to combine engineering with creativity, leadership with storytelling, and technology with human emotion. That mindset has already influenced the direction of my next professional chapter in robotics and AI.

How did your creative perspective evolve?

Before Vogue, I believed creativity was something you applied to projects. After Vogue, I understood creativity as a way of seeing the world. It is curiosity in action. Whether designing a campaign, leading a transformation program, or writing a book, the process begins with empathy, observation, and courage.

One line from the poem I dedicated to Vogue summarizes the experience best: “And Vogue is not merely a name. It is the place where creativity remembers who it is.”

Those words express my gratitude for what Vogue College of Fashion means to me. The course did not simply teach creative direction; it gave me permission to create.

If my journey demonstrates anything, it is that an engineer can become an author, that project management benefits from creativity, and that learning never truly ends.