INSPIRE THE ASPIRING
The goal of The Suzanne Rogers Fashion Institute is to educate, support, promote, and advocate for new talent at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in fashion craftsmanship and design.
These talented individuals will learn, grow, create and make an impact in the world of fashion because of Suzanne Rogers and the Rogers family’s legacy of support.
The SRFI fellowship program is unique in the Canadian fashion landscape attracting fellows early in their academic and creative careers. Recent graduates from the Fashion Design program undergo a competitive selection process to become Fellows of the Institute. The SRFI provides perspective for an exceptional group of students and alumni working in the field to bridge the transition from their fashion education to practice.
Made possible through a gift from The Edward and Suzanne Rogers Foundation, the SRFI in The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University supports emerging Canadian fashion designers nationally and internationally.
Suzanne Rogers at Canada House on Trafalgar Square. Photo: Darren Bandoo
As a patron of the Canadian fashion industry, Suzanne Rogers has witnessed the strength of emerging design talent at the starting line of their careers. Year after year, as one designer after another debuted their collections at the School of Fashion’s year-end show, Mass Exodus, her main question became “what happens next?”
Presented with a unique opportunity to provide meaningful support and fill a gap between fashion education and practice, the answer to her question became The Suzanne Rogers Fashion Institute. This dynamic fellowship program is set to enrich the next generation through its long-term and unconditional support for emerging designers in the onset of their careers.
Meet The Fellows
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Alexandra Armata is a London-based fashion designer and recent graduate from the esteemed Masters of Fashion programme at Central Saint Martins in 2020.
Recently, Alexandra has worked for designers Vejas Kruszewski and Chopova Lowena. Her graduate collection for her MA Fashion degree centred on exploring her heritage through family photos and archival material to discover an off-beat sense of fashion and personal narrative. The collection focuses on Soviet-era Polish fashion, through the eyes of its foreign descendent. At the same time, her work explores the effects authoritarian governments have on fashion and its accessibility and how that can shape the views of the proletariat.
Alexandra Armata elaborates on her experimental design process to reimagine the potential of upcycled post-consumer denim. Set within the confines of her unmanicured studio, Alexandra designed, cut, sewed, directed, shot, and modelled the collection. Pieces within this project are a personal labour and a testament to the emotional fulfillment of making.
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Sara He is a recent graduate of the Fashion Design program at Toronto Metropolitan University. With a background in visual arts, Sara’s interest in illustration and conceptual art informs her practice as an emerging designer.
Her work is rooted in hands-on experimentation and play, seeking new ways of approaching the design process. Sara’s graduating collection ‘HETEROGENIUS’ was the opened for Mass Exodus 2022.
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After graduating from TMU in Fashion Design, Yvonne moved to the United Kingdom to further her studies in fashion and art. Completing her Graduate Diploma in Fashion at Central Saint Martins and an MA in Womenswear at the Royal College of Art in London, Yvonne has held key design roles at various leading designer brands in the UK.
For Yvonne, design is a form of expression used to translate a broad spectrum of human emotion. A multidisciplinary approach allows her to explore unique facets of her practice beyond garments and accessories including installation, photography, and film. Yvonne’s designs harmoniously combine classic and modern elements, and captures strength and sensitivity in equal parts, celebrating the complexity and contradiction of the fragility and resilience within the body.
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Stephanie Moscall-Varey is a contemporary womenswear designer based in Canada.
Her brand Moskal is fueled by anthropocentric and anthropologic observations of women in the blue-collar workforce. Her design approach merges academic themes around social heritage and experimentation through character development.
Stephanie is a graduate with Distinction from London College of Fashion’s Master of Womenswear Design. Stephanie currently resides in Toronto, ON as a designer and product developer for Joesph Mimran & Associates.
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Olivia Rubens is a positive knitwear designer, aiming for climate and people positive clothing. Rubens is about the womxn who are themselves unapologetically, with their values set at their core.
Rubens’s collections are maximalist, playing with dark humour through an environmentally responsible eye and novel collaborations. Rubens graduated from MA Womenswear at LCF in 2020, is the ITS 2020 Responsible Fashion and CNMI Award winner, the Most Sustainable Designer Award winner with the iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2021, and a grant recipient in the UAL Creative Business Accelerator 2021. She has been featured in Vogue, Re-Edition, and WWD.
For SS23, Olivia Rubens looks to 18th century garments and Rococo excess to shine light on the greed and ignorance of the past, echoing the harsh realities of today. Using waste and found objects to piece together a collection, Rubens continues to create clothing that is both planet and people positive.
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Serena Li is a 2023 graduate of the TMU Fashion Design program, who has honed her craft with notable brands like Spencer Badu, 032c, and Reese Cooper®. Serena brings a unique vision that blurs the boundaries between traditional ready-to-wear and contemporary technical apparel.
Driven by a passion for performance and functionality, she seamlessly integrates technical materials and innovative design elements into classic fashion silhouettes. Serena Li’s designs represent a dedication to urbane sophistication, equipping wearers with the necessary functional needs to combat the city environment with a cutting-edge style.
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Daniel is a 2020 TMU Fashion Design graduate and multidisciplinary designer originally from Toronto, now residing in Paris, France. Daniel – currently moving into their final year of a master’s in Fashion Design and the Arts at Parsons Paris – focuses on exploring everyday identities and domesticity through humour, sculpture, performance, film, and critical design work. After completing their Graduate Diploma in Fashion at Central Saint Martins in London, Daniel worked under Bradley Sharpe to create his SS22 collection in collaboration with Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY.
Play and experimentation are at the center of their work. References to childhood memories, pop culture, and heritage all combine to create a body of work that challenges fashion to be critical while still maintaining a sense of freedom and fun.
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Lynne Hey was born in Durban, South Africa and moved to Canada at a young age with her family. Echoes of this experience can be found in her work via exploration of themes related to emotional and cultural displacement through evocative design. With the support of the SRFI, she continues to refine her design ethos to create pieces that can touch people.
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Nadine Mosallam is the founder of the eponymous womenswear label, Nadine Mos, based in London, England. The label’s ethos is representative of her beliefs that fashion should be ethical, accessible, supportive, and slow.
Her work evokes a sense of home, taking elements of her heritage to disseminate stories that are personal yet approachable. The value placed on home is emphasized by the genuine respect for the end-user, keeping them in mind at each stage of the making process. The label is a celebration of femininity, subtlety, and a sense of beauty within everyday life. Garments are carefully designed to follow the natural curves and imperfections, referencing her love of art and sculpture. Nadine encourages a connection with her audience and welcomes conversation and reflection.
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Originally from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, and currently based in Vancouver, Curtis Oland is a Lil’Wat-Canadian garment designer and interdisciplinary artist.
His connection to his indigenous Lil’Wat heritage, to the supernatural, mountainous landscapes of his homeland, and his experiences as an international nomad, have created a raw essence of subdued wilderness, that celebrates and honours land and materiality. His work traverses the realms of art, fashion, performance, installation, and film, having worked on collaboratively driven projects that allow for diverse and complex story-telling.
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Wanze Song is a Chinese-Canadian designer based in Toronto, Canada. A graduate from Ryerson University, Wanze has worked with Canadian brand Beaufille, and internationally under Kiko Kostadinov, and Xiao Li.
Currently, Wanze is in the process of establishing her own namesake label. With her worldview perspective and experience, Wanze hopes to communicate her work in a thoughtful and connected manner. Focusing on innovative pattern cutting, the brand values quality and functionality, while taking a patient approach to design.
This season, Wanze Song presents a collection that strives to achieve and even traverse today’s delicate balance of work and play. Holding the belief that ‘formal’ and ‘casual’ exist as distinct codes, Wanze creates garments that mirror that balance. Rather than challenge this codification, Wanze seeks to find ways to allow the wearer to satisfy both criteria, giving familiar and classic pieces modern interpretations, with ease and wearability in mind.
Wanze Song opens her studio for a week-long showroom from November 2-7, 2022.
If you’re interested in previewing the SS23 collection in person, click here to book a time.
FELLOWS ALUMNI
Adrian Arnieri, Quentin Tecumseh Collier