CAFA Profiles

Arc Jewellery- Emerging Fashion Fridays Designed and handcrafted in Montreal by Lina Hu, Arc Jewellery was born in a time of transition. Originally in Montreal to pursue a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology, Lina quickly realized that this was not her calling. She made the difficult decision to leave school, and, on a whim, decided to enroll in a jewellery course. Lina fell in love with metalsmithing, and spent the spring and summer of 2013 developing pieces that have evolved into her two premier collections: Petites Pensees and Pointed Feelings launched in February of 2014. A rational sensibility from Lina’s background in science translates to the clean lines and constrained forms of Arc Jewellery. The newly launched Linearity collection echoes the geometry of the first two groupings, but reduces the ideas to more minimal and almost two-dimensional forms. Lina’s designs are polished, simple, and meant to be worn together in a…

Bano eeMee – Emerging Fashion Fridays “I traded the stability in life to find the unpolluted me and discovered a person who wanted to create. The world of fashion became my canvas” – Aleem Arif (Creative Director- Bano eeMee.) Bano eeMee is derived from the visions of Creative Director Aleem Arif who founded the brand in early 2012. Aleem, hailing from the world of finance decided to switch his career to fashion and form Bano eeMee in Canada. The brand is dedicated to two generations of women in Aleem’s family. He recalls ‘my grandmother used to lovingly call my mother Bano and eeMee is what my mother called me….I decided to form Bano eeMee paying homage to both generations’ The issue of social consciousness is at the heart of Bano eeMee’s ethos. The brand promotes ethical realization of its designs with a focus on helping support the social fabric in…

COUTUKITSCH- Emerging Fashion Fridays Jewelry line CoutuKitsch is linked closely to the life of its founder, Dorian Kitsch. The very name pays homage to Dorian’s roots. Coutu is a family name representing her Metis heritage, while Kitsch is Dorian’s surname from her father’s stepfather. This heritage is represented in each piece from the CoutuKitsch line, which is built on the belief that there are no rules when wearing jewelry. Born and raised in Manitoba, Dorian describes herself as a creative individual whose talents were always nurtured by her family. She was an artist from a young age, drawing, colouring and even designing outfits for Barbie dolls from her mother’s fabric scraps. In 2004, Dorian attended Olds College where she attained a Certificate in Fashion Marketing and a Diploma in Fashion Design. Armed with an education, Dorian moved to Calgary to begin working on her career. There, she gained experience in…

Brit Wacher- Emerging Fashion Fridays Montreal based designer Brit Wacher forges a specific and precise path in creating quality, handcrafted, and original, wearable objects. Following her graduation from La Salle University in Vancouver, BC she worked as a stylist in Thailand before relocating to Arnhem where she worked with Dutch designer Pauline Van Dongen. It was under Van Dongen’s tuleage that Brittany began to refine her approach to garment construction and the practice of conceptual exploration. Wacher’s pieces are reflections of experiencing life through fantasy and simultaneously, the core conflicts of the physical world. Integral to her vision is the concept of duality and the passage of energy through time and space. This energy, represented by moods and feelings is transformed into shapes, colour blocking and use of lines in textile. Habitual examination of information collected consciously and subconsciously, creates a strong dialogue between simplicity and chaos. Thus, producing a…

Sarah Sears- Emerging Fashion Fridays Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Sarah Sears considers jewelry design her first love. Her journey began in 2008 during a trip to South East Asia to teach English. During her time in Chiang Mai, she enrolled in an introductory jewelry making course at the Nova Art Lab. Shortly after, she returned to Canada, ready to attend art school with a mission to master the art of metalsmithing. Sarah graduated in 2013 from NSCAD University with a major in Jewelry Design/Metalsmithing. Upon graduating Sarah moved to New York, gaining experience in the industry by interning under jewelry designer Anna Sheffield at Bing Bang NYC. Shortly after, Sarah decided it was the right time to start her own jewelry line, and launched her eponymous label Sarah Sears Jewellery. Although her line can be described as minimalistic, she describes herself as a bohemian at heart. She loves…

UNTTLD – Emerging Fashion Fridays UNTTLD is a luxury line that reflects a sense of masculine femininity and timeless elegance, focusing on fine fabrics and the perfect fit. Part of UNTTLD’s mission is to support high-end fashion manufacturing Canada”. UNTTLD is the ongoing collaborative work of Montreal designers José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger. After graduating from Cégep Marie Victorin in Fashion Design, José went on to perfect his knowledge of textiles and techniques in the Fibre Program at Concordia University’s faculty of Fine Arts. A graduate of LaSalle College’s Fashion Design program, Simon Bélanger earned a Master’s degree at the Domus Academy of Milan.” Some of their recent accolades and achievements include, recently winning the Mercedes-Benz Start-Up contest as well as the Star Wars fashion competition during World Master Card Fashion Week in Toronto. UNTTLD has also had the honour of dressing the entire organizing committee of the Montreal…

Rita Tesolin – Canadian Jewellery Designer CAFA sat down with Canadian jewellery designer Rita Tesolin as part of our designer profile series. During the interview Rita shared her earliest inspirations, thoughts on her dramatic career change, and her favourite elements of Canada’s fashion industry.   To read more about Rita Tesolin, please visit http://www.ritatesolin.com CAFA: You made a major career switch, from lawyer to jewellery designer. At what point did you realize that you wanted to be in fashion? RT: I had made jewellery out of leather scraps since I was young. I eventually tried selling my work on consignment, and by the time I was seventeen, my designs were in twenty-two stores across Canada. I had also always wanted to become a lawyer so that I could help people. But being a lawyer wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, so I started painting and making jewellery again…

Treana Peake – Canadian Fashion Designer CAFA sat down with Canadian Fashion designer Treana Peake as part of our designer profile series to learn more about her distinctive approach to fashion and what drives her as a socially conscious designer. Treana Peake is a woman of many talents. In addition to spearheading luxury fashion brand Obakki -worn by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson- Peake is an avid humanitarian and activist. Through her work with Obakki and its philanthropic counterpart The Obakki Foundation, the designer has united her creative talent and passion for social good to create an innovative fundraising model. The model’s success speaks for itself: Peake has positively impacted the lives of over 500,000 people by providing over 700 water wells and building 12 schools in South Sudan and Cameroon – support that can subsequently lead to self-sustainable growth in these communities. To read more about…

Ron White – Canadian Fashion Designer With over 20 years in the industry and a background in both biomechanics and fashion footwear, Canadian shoe designer Ron White is dedicated in bringing both style and comfort for men and women. As the CEO and Creative Director of Ron White Shoes, he has become one of Canada’s most recognizable footwear designers, having created the world’s very first All Day Heels®. With a loyal celebrity following around the world, the media refer to him as “Canada’s Shoeru”. He was named International Retailer of the Year by Condé Nast in 2011, (a Canadian first) and was inducted to the Sheridan College Business Hall of Fame in 2006. The Ron White Collections are sold across Canada at The Hudson’s Bay, Holy Renfrew and through a number of independent retailers, including five Ron White Shoes stores in the GTA. In the US, Ron White Shoes are…