By Rose de Paulsen ‘She’s All that and a Pair of Leggings’ Yoga pants must be one of the most contentious garment pieces we have seen recently in the West. Going to a high school that required students to wear a uniform, yoga pants were practically demonized for existing; often seen as an inherently sexual…
Phil Dith’s A ‘Busy Person’s Guide to Starting a Clothing Brand and Business’ April 2023
Seneca Canadian Fashion Diversity Project Talk, April 2023. Compiled by: Rose de Paulsen Phil Dith, fashion entrepreneur, is the creator and owner of enitial, a Toronto-based Asian-inspired clothing label, has shared with us his experience building a business for those with a fast-paced lifestyle. Inspired by FUBU, a popular Black owned fashion brand from the…
An Exhibition of the Practice-Led Research of Seneca Fashion Professor Philip Sparks “Missed Fit” (Nov. 2022-Jan. 2023)
From November 2022 to January 2023 the Seneca Canadian Fashion Diversity Project at the Seneca School of Fashion mounted an exhibition of the fascinating and innovative practice-led research of Seneca fashion professor, Philip Sparks. These garments are part of a larger corpus of research by professor Sparks that includes performative engagements, body measurements, and creation…
“A Fitting Room”: Embodied Object-Based Research at the Seneca Fashion Resource Centre
Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell “An individual’s reaction to trying on a garment is rarely what you expect.” (Philip Sparks 2019) “A Fitting Room” a performative engagement with the fashion research of Seneca Fashion professor Philip Sparks As a part of his ongoing research into fit and conformity, Seneca Fashion Professor Sparks has created a series…
Redefining the “Standard”
By SCFDP student researcher: Anna Ludmirsky Life as a young person usually shapes and molds you into a projection of your future self, which usually begins with environment and role models. Specifically speaking on self-body image, as we grew older and began to consume media in a sponge-like manner, our subconscious self-loathing was gradually set…
Mara Buda’s Historical Recreation
A Neoclassical Recreation for a One of a Kind Doll A practice-led historical recreation project by Seneca Fashion Resource Centre student researcher Mara Buda. The purpose of this research project is for the fashion history student to experience and learn fashion history through the doing. Fashion is a fundamentally tactile and maker-driven medium, garments are designed,…
Angela Lin’s Experience of Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2023 at Fashion Art Toronto
By: Angela Lin (3rd Year Fashion Business Management student) The movie The Devil Wears Prada does not exaggerate the pace of life in the fashion industry; in reality, it is a highly frenetic place in which everyone is always RUNNING! During the 2022 edition of Toronto Fashion Week, which was organized by Fashion Art Toronto,…
DORIAN WHO?
By Rose de Paulsen DORIAN WHO is not the typical Canadian streetwear brand. When thinking of Canadian streetwear, we often imagine neutral colours with pops of contrasts, oversized casual wear, and of course, the outdoor gear and performance wear. Dorian Rahimzadeh had a different approach. Born in Iran, Dorian became interested with the colours and…
Zoran Dobric: Kohaze & Cross-Cultural Collaboration
Author: Professor Zoran Dobric Figure 1: Aoyama Kohaze. Various styles of kohaze. https://kohaze.net/toha_en/ Accessed on August 18, 2019. Image description: Various embossed kohaze samples in brass and gold finishes. Figure 2: Zoran Dobric, “Kohaze Dress”, 2019, Silk satin, silk crepe, brass kohaze and cotton embroidery thread. Photo by: Aleksandar Antonijevic. Image description: A model wearing…
Bübl x David Dixon
Fashion for a Greater Purpose By: Rose de Paulsen In 1995, David Dixon graduated from Ryerson University and began creating contemporary evening wear that marries elegance with functionality. Since conception, his garments have been sold across Canada and in select boutiques globally. Dixon’s artistry has always transcended language to tell stories in visually provocative ways….