During the summer, I began to design my collection.

Step one: create actual visuals to experiment with. I drew a lot of inspiration from Iris van Herpen and gained a deeper appreciation for designers—this process is definitely not for the weak.

Note: These are definitely not what my final pieces looked like…

Then, I spent extensive time collaborating with my mentor.

Susanna Moyer is a creative director, business executive, and educator with experience managing multimillion-dollar brands and developing business strategies. She has worked with high-profile brands like Christian Dior, Liz Claiborne, and Hickey Freeman, and ran her own collection for over 10 years. Currently, she is a part-time professor at Parsons School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has also taught sustainable fashion at universities worldwide. Susanna holds a BFA from Parsons and an MPS in Global Fashion Management from FIT.

Step two: Susanna and I had several meetings to discuss the purpose and intention behind my brand and initiative. Over the summer, she taught me how to effectively showcase my brand to an audience and helped me find ways to connect it to my sustainability goals.

Picture from when we finally met in person in New York

Step 3: Job shadowing! In New York, a few friends and I got hands-on experience learning the process of making clothes at Mood Designer Fabrics.

We were guided by Julian, one of the managers, who showed us the different types of fabrics needed to create the clothes we wear today. He then took us to the back, where the actual fabric-making process was happening. It was fascinating to see how many steps go into creating something as simple as a t-shirt we wear every day!

I have never touched so many different types of fabric in one day…

Step 4: I conducted interviews with Susanna and several other fashion professors, including Nooshin Ahmadi, a senior lecturer in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. Through these conversations, I gained valuable insights into the process of building a brand and received feedback on how to improve my initiative, making it more achievable.

Mid-summer, I was invited to showcase my collection at New York Fashion Week through Nolcha Shows! I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity, as it allows me to reach a larger audience and bring more awareness to my sustainability goals.

With the preparation complete, it was finally time to start making the clothes.

Step 5: I began creating my pieces. At first, I overestimated myself and thought I could make all the clothes on my own—looking back, that was a VERY wild idea. I’m so grateful to Wendy's Top Tailor in Vancouver for helping me bring my designs to life

All of the materials and fabrics I used were sourced from various fabric stores around Vancouver and online.