The AnnKM Fashion and Social Impact Initiative
The AnnKM Fashion and Social Impact Initiative
Funded by the Initiative, a group of Undergraduate and Graduate students were able to showcase their work at INLAND in May 2023. INLAND (external link) is a marketplace showcasing the best of Canada's upcoming new designers.
Photo by Arthur Mola
The AnnKM Fashion & Social Impact Initiative supports institutional inclusion initiatives at the School of Fashion such as student groups focused on representation in fashion education, speakers from justice-seeking groups and projects that advance the cause of social justice. The generous philanthropic commitment also supports students from underrepresented communities who study Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University’s faculty of media, design, and creative industries and home to the School of Fashion.
The AK Fashion Initiative funds social justice initiatives that respond to the needs of students from underrepresented communities who are enrolled in Fashion at The Creative School. Over the course of four years, the gift will further the social mission of the school in alignment with its three guiding principles; inclusion, decolonization and sustainability.
A Stitch in Crime
As an extension of the student-led project also supported by the AnnKM Fund, Sephra Lamothe (MA Fashion) and Camilla Leonelli Calzado (4th year Design) organized a public, high-profile Fabric of Crime/Captive Labour event at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. The event was hosted with the generous donation of Museum space from Elizabeth Semmelhack, Creative Director and Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto, who was also an adjunct faculty member at TMU. The purpose of this event was to take the Captive Labour project's research off campus to a major Toronto museum, reaching a broader public audience. It aimed to foster student and community engagement with the important work students had done in raising awareness of the history and ongoing social issues faced by incarcerated and marginalized populations, including Indigenous inmates. These individuals had worked in unsafe and exploitative conditions in Canada, producing garments and footwear for other prisoners and government agencies.
Fashion x INLAND
INLAND (external link) is a shopping community for Canadian designers and for those who celebrate them. A curated marketplace, we showcase slow fashion, accessory, and jewelry brands that are thoughtfully designed and crafted. Founded in 2014 by Sarah Power, INLAND has created space [...] to access and shop Canada's most defining new designers. By promoting sustainable collections, advocating for diverse representation, and empowering local voices, we make it easy for you to discover, shop and feel good about your everyday wardrobe choices. (Source: INLAND)
This year’s collaboration with Fashion at TMU platformed 12 emerging creatives from the Fashion program and showcased their work alongside other established Canadian designers. These students had the opportunity to create their own pop-up retail engagement within the INLAND space to creatively display their products/services. Following a successful launch party on Friday evening, was 2 full days of retail shopping driven by traffic from INLAND’s established reputation.
The student vendors represented a range of products and services that served different consumer markets and supported the initiative mandates. Among those were: plus size deadstock swimwear; bespoke and luxury jewellery; upcycled short run garment collections; handcrafted vegan handbags; made-to-order athletic wear; and slow fashion women's wear.
Fashion x INLAND
INLAND (external link) is a shopping community for Canadian designers and for those who celebrate them. A curated marketplace, we showcase slow fashion, accessory, and jewelry brands that are thoughtfully designed and crafted. Founded in 2014 by Sarah Power, INLAND has created space [...] to access and shop Canada's most defining new designers. By promoting sustainable collections, advocating for diverse representation, and empowering local voices, we make it easy for you to discover, shop and feel good about your everyday wardrobe choices. (Source: INLAND)
This year’s collaboration with Fashion at TMU platformed 12 emerging creatives from the Fashion program and showcased their work alongside other established Canadian designers. These students had the opportunity to create their own pop-up retail engagement within the INLAND space to creatively display their products/services. Following a successful launch party on Friday evening, was 2 full days of retail shopping driven by traffic from INLAND’s established reputation.
The student vendors represented a range of products and services that served different consumer markets and supported the initiative mandates. Among those were: plus size deadstock swimwear; bespoke and luxury jewellery; upcycled short run garment collections; handcrafted vegan handbags; made-to-order athletic wear; and slow fashion women's wear.
Fashion Zone Business Development 101
In this business development program, creatives and aspiring entrepreneurs will move through 11 interactive workshops using the design thinking method to establish the foundation for their fashion businesses and enhance their skills as entrepreneurs. Guided by the mentorship and expertise of business strategist Dr. Bettina Maisch, students will not only learn the design thinking method to building a business, but take actionable steps to ideate, test, validate, and refine their business in each workshop as they progress towards their launch. Participants join with an idea and jump into learning important skills like: the mindset of a successful entrepreneur; understanding their customer to develop a targeted product/service; business model development; brand building and marketing; pitch and investor ready; getting ready for market.
Natural Dye Workshop
Using the funding, Fashion established a small-scale experiential dye garden in TMU’s Urban Farm, giving students a resource for their creative work and research. Fall of 2022 saw the inaugural session of a new Special Topics course in the School of Fashion at TMU, Natural Dye Workshop. This course gives students the opportunity to learn the methodology and context of natural dyeing through independent investigation and hands-on studio-based learning.
The Urban Farm is a Living Lab that brings together urban farmers, community partners and academics through interdisciplinary research on the rooftop farm. The Living Lab builds on user-driven research needs that respond to the challenges of designing and operating a rooftop farm using green roof technology.
Style Circle – The Book 08
The digital and print publication StyleCircle addresses all of the stated principles as it’s aim is to spark important conversations by allowing different perspectives to have a voice. StyleCircle members come from a plethora of different programs, years, and backgrounds. The magazine encourages its members to tell their truth through visual and editorial pieces, while giving them a platform to do so. Not only can members submit pieces, but the publication also accepts some from community members outside of the magazine.
StyleCircle celebrates diversity, community and innovation in the fashion industry by having these important conversations. The Book 08 aims to celebrate the diversity of fashion cultures and histories . This issue aims to recognize the work of emerging creatives while honouring those who paved a way for new talent to thrive. Essentially this issue will contain deeply personal pieces giving a glimpse of the creators relationship with the fashion industry and how they developed their style.
Crochet Workshop with Legin Knits
The funding received for this event supported a project focused on current students but has the potential to expand Fashion's conventional network. Legin, an artist with ties to communities that are currently not being accessed by Fashion, including local communities, artists, musicians, and craftspersons. This has the potential to play a crucial role in making Fashion a more inclusive, sustainable, and decolonized practice.
Legin's journey with crochet began through the mentorship of a Rastaman. After acquiring skills in design and creation, he started teaching friends and youths in the community, gradually developing a program to share the gift and meditative practice of crochet. Individuals who were taught by Legin expressed deep gratitude and believed that learning the art of crochet instilled values that continue to apply in their lives today.
Blank Magazine – Issue 3
In partnership with The School of Fashion, the AnnKM Fashion Initiative Fund provided financial support for Issue 3 of Blank Magazine. Blank Magazine was founded with the goal of amplifying the creative work of communities that are often erased in traditional fashion spaces.
Captive Labour
The funding will go towards creating a digital afterlife for the exhibition on several digital platforms, including a digital exhibition aimed at increasing awareness of the experiences of incarcerated populations and the exploitative labor occurring within Canadian penitentiaries today. Additionally, the research findings are planned to be published in the Fashion Studies Journal and the Labour Studies Journal.