So, it’s decided. You will create incredible clothes that make people dream about looking fab. But where to start? Join Fashion Beauty Runway as we give you a quick tour of how to craft your path in the apparel industry and round up all the ammunition you’ll need when your parents go hysterical the second you tell them you want to become a fashion designer. Or nothing else. Oh, and we also have some insider tips from a promising young designer who’s gone off the beaten track when it comes to merging fine arts and fashion as an art form.
Canada’s Thriving Fashion Industry: A Lucrative Path for Aspiring Designers
The fashion industry in Canada is a significant contributor to the economy, driven by a mix of established brands, emerging designers, and a growing focus on sustainability and innovation. In 2023, the Canadian apparel market was valued at approximately CAD 37.6 billion dollars, with sales increasing by 6.8% in speciality apparel stores. In Canada, sales of luxury apparel are projected to rise by 4.2% in 2024 and by 18.8% by 2027. It is forecasted that online apparel sales will grow by 0.9% in 2024 and by 6.1% from 2023 to 2027.
Despite mega fast fashion brands making inroads, Canadian consumers are increasingly favouring homegrown labels, especially those focused on sustainability and ethical production. As for the creative force, there are roughly 6,000 designers working in different capacities in various cities, particularly in hubs like Toronto, Montreal — known as the fashion capital of Canada, with a focus on innovation and creativity — and Vancouver.
Although some ultra-creative and gifted individuals can start creating clothing seemingly out of nothing, any established designer will tell you a good education in fashion is essential to embarking on a successful career path. Particularly because there are so many aspects to producing a collection, a multilevelled process with many moving parts and different departments involved: from pattern making, to model fittings, to sales projections.
Because fashion is not just about imagining pretty dresses. It’s also big business. Bernard Arnault, the majority shareholder of LVHM (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton as well as most of the world’s biggest luxury brands), is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$180 billion as of August 2024, according to Forbes. In Canada, Lululemon, Ssense, Moose Knuckles, not to mention all the other niche brands, are all seen as case studies for success on the global stage in the fashion industry.
Top Fashion Design Programs in Canada: Where to Start Your Journey
Fashion schools across Canada are redefining the future of style by offering a wide range of programs that blend creativity with the latest industry technologies. From coast to coast, these schools are cultivating the next wave of designers, stylists, and fashion entrepreneurs. Whether you’re interested in a classical approach to fashion and are a fan of quiet luxury, you live and breathe streetwear, or are more inclined to bringing a more couture approach to crafting garments, there’s a program to match every passion in fashion.
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) offers a Bachelor of Design program that covers everything from garment construction to fashion business. LaSalle College, originally founded in Montreal in 1959 is a leader, worldwide, with 23 international campuses offering specialized diplomas in fashion design, styling, and fashion marketing. Students can hone their skills through hands-on projects and internships with top Canadian brands.
Heading west, Vancouver’s Blanche Macdonald Centre offers programs focused on the intersection of fashion and technology. From digital fashion illustration to sustainable fashion production, their curriculum is designed to keep students ahead of the trends. In Alberta, the University of Alberta offers two interesting programs with distinct focuses on fashion. The Bachelor of Science in Fashion Business Management, offered in collaboration with the Alberta School of Business, equips students with advanced analytical, marketing, and management skills. It also emphasizes leadership and ethical values essential for professionals in the fashion industry. The Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology, Clothing, Textiles and Material Culture program explores the design, production, distribution, and use of textiles and clothing. It also addresses important issues like sustainability and fair labor practices within the global fashion and textile industry.
Out east, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) offers an interdisciplinary approach to fashion, combining elements of textiles, art, and design into their Bachelor of Fine Arts program. This unique program encourages students to explore innovative ways to integrate fashion with other creative disciplines.
École Supérieure de Mode de Montréal, from UQAM university, has a program that is focused on integrating fashion and business skills. Another option is Concordia University in Montreal which doesn’t offer a straightforward Bachelor of Arts in fashion design but, through a combination of classes in its Fine Arts program, can lead students to a very promising fashion career.
“My path has not been a conventional one,” says up-and-coming designer Alexander Bergman. “I come from a fine arts background, and before moving into the Fibres Department at Concordia University, in Montreal, I was in the Studio Arts program, a major that allows you to be very broad in your studies. I was looking to keep my options open in the first years of university as I had just moved from the UK and wanted to be in a major that I felt secure in, where I was able to experiment and grow as a person. Still to this day, I consider myself new to fashion, and back then I didn’t know how to construct garments properly. As my skill level was not exactly where I wanted it to be I was testing myself, asking myself the question: ’Is fashion really where I am headed?’ I needed a safe route while keeping my options open, so this interdisciplinary Fibers program I felt really was a perfect fit for me to develop in.”
Insider Tips on Launching Your First Fashion Collection
Other than the academic knowledge transmitted through an institution, it’s really by working hands-on with an established designer that a young creative can maximize the theoretical know-how and grow beyond the borders imposed by the majority of school projects to find their own voice and style in the fashion world. Which is why networking and industry exposure are critical elements when embarking on a career in the fashion industry. Alexander Bergman says it’s never too soon to start an apprenticeship or offering your services to designers you connect with.
After working a couple of seasons with Canadian streetwear designer Guillaum Chaigne, the latter has become a kind of mentor to Alexander Bergman, supporting him in putting together Pendulums, a six-piece capsule collection infused with the true spirit of couture and an intellectual approach to garment questioning the boundaries between fine art and fashion. The collection was launched at the end of August 2024 with a (literally splashy) video where the pieces received their final adornments, flamboyantly punctuating a highly conceptual ensemble.
“What I love about fashion, says Alexander Bergman, is that the body makes the pieces come alive. It bridges the gap between fine art, encompassing performance art, self-expression and the movement of the fabric, so that the wearer can express themselves and make a piece of art come alive. This is also what I wanted to showcase with my Pendulums collection. The body becomes a medium, while the object — in this case the clothing — has its own energy and power. And, in a reflective way, this also empowers the person wearing the piece.”
Is Fashion Design Your Calling? Discover How to Make Your Mark
In any career, you have to feel the tingling and excitement of working in that field with passion. Particularly if you’re about to embark on a creative path. For some, it can be a yearning that’s been there their whole life, since they were children. While, for others, working in fashion is the culmination of different types of wants and needs that feed an intellectual curiosity and a thirst for creating clothing.
According to Alexander Bergman, “fashion is so individual and at the same time so communal. The wearer makes the item unique as fashion embodies the idea of it acting like armour where it can defend you or make you feel powerful. And it can also be used to challenge the system. Fashion is also a visual representation of who you are, and how you feel, and it can also connect you with many people. I’m not just talking about trends, but through different cultures and identities we are able to connect through the power of fashion.”
More ammunition to defend your career choices when people call you superficial. Because if something truly has meaning in terms of how we communicate nonverbally, it is definitely the garment and the accessories we choose to present ourselves to the world.
Live your dreams, live in fashion. Go for it!
Featured Image:
Pendulums collection by Alexander Bergman
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Couture
