The Creative Process Sessions

Originally from Montréal, Eloïse Ptito-Echeverria is a textile-apparel designer and curator currently based in Amsterdam, NL. Driven by intelligent print and ethical design, she possesses a particular penchant for textiles, embroidery, and colour. After completing her Fine Arts degree in 2011, she lived in Santiago, Chile for a year where she trained in Rococo hand-embroidery and Shibori. She also studied Precolumbian-Andina textiles at l’Universidad Catolica de Diseño.

     All of these experiences have collectively impacted her aesthetic vocabulary, resulting in a heavily art-based design ethos that insists upon embedding her work with the empowering qualities of colour, the textile practices of her mixed heritage, and the emotional recycling of personal materials. Paying very little attention to current fads, her ultimate goal is to create soulful heirloom pieces that will be passed down from generation to generation. She is a graduate of the Ryerson Fashion Design Program and was awarded Brettons’ Designer of the Year. 

Her work has been featured in Selvedge Magazine (UK), Textielplus, The Toronto Star, The Kit, Not Just a Label, Blanc Magazine, and more.

Designed, sourced and made-in-Canada, the award-winning Joseph Tassoni brand is a  celebration of Canadian quality, craftsmanship and creativity. Joseph came from humble  beginnings, starting his fashion career by studying at the Ryerson School of Fashion,  which led to his work in corporate apparel for 18 years before starting his own, successful  brand that exists today. In 2017, Joseph launched his outerwear label to great reception  during Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. The Joseph Tassoni brand is known for its best in-class materials and inventive designs that ensure the women and men wearing his  pieces don’t have to sacrifice comfort for style. 

Joseph’s design aesthetic is one of bold femininity and high fashion, while remaining  focused on uncompromising fit. From his winning Cashmere 2016 gown crafted entirely  out of bathroom tissue, to outfitting red-carpet looks for TIFF in 2017, 2018 and 2019  (where his heart-shaped backless silhouette was a favourite among photographers and  media) Joseph’s designs are consistently high caliber. His capsule collection for Toronto  Women’s Fashion Week’s runway celebration of Canada’s 150th served luxury and  couture to the runway in a powerful way that was uniquely Canadian. 

In addition to constantly elevating his brand, Joseph remains passionate about elevating  the state of Canadian home-grown fashion through mentorship programs at George  Brown, Humber College, and through his advocacy towards made-in-Canada brands. In  2020, Joseph paved the way for fashion designers in Canada by pivoting his studio to  produce protective equipment, including masks and gloves, to aid in the fight against  COVID-19. Joseph was the first made-in- Canada fashion label to bring masks to the  market, with proceeds from each purchase going towards his local hospital in Burlington.  His passion for his craft, and for the country that inspires him, is evident in everything  Joseph does. His designs and brand model are representative of his passion and love for the Canadian fashion industry.

Ever since he could remember, Mahrzad Lari has had a flair for fashion  and illustration. From the young age of 5, you could find him drawing  away, illustrating his world through his very own perspective. Fast forward a few years, and his passion only grew stronger. In 2007, the  young man debuted his fashion education at Marie-Victorin’s design  school. After 3 years of training, he began an internship at Canada’s  leading luxury fashion House, Maison Marie Saint Pierre. What was  supposed to be a 3 month stay turned into a 10 year passage, where  he worked his way up to becoming the House’ Collections Director.  It’s during his journey that he learned to construct and assemble  luxury garments, where he mastered cut and proportion, and the intricate art of draping fabric to a body.  

His experiences gave him the key elements and know-how to finally  design and create pieces for himself that allowed him to feel confident, to finally feel seen.  Inspired by his family’s professional landscape, Mahrzad then decided to pursue another of his passions, and embarked on his real  estate career as a residential broker with Royal LePage Altitude,  where he learned the art of the deal from the very best of the business. 

His entrepreneurial spirit finally pushed Mahrzad to merge his love  for business and plus size menswear, digging deep into his personal  story, in order to better serve the wide man. A distinguished sense  of pride is the very feeling he’s sharing with the men of the world,  so they can finally live and share their true potential, through confidence, pride, acceptance and self-respect.

Monica Smiley is a freelance Fashion Illustrator who has collaborated with leading international luxury brands: Louis Vuitton, Holt Renfrew, Hermès, Burberry, Tiffany & Co, MAC Cosmetics, David Yurman,  Aleberta Ferretti, Smythe, Diet Coke, Cartier, MLSE, Samsung, Charlotte Tilbury, and more. Her work has been featured in Flare Magazine, Elle Canada, New York Magazine, The Kit, S Moda Magazine.

Monica is based in Toronto, ON. She began eighty seventh ST. in 2009 after graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Fashion as an accessible platform to showcase her artwork. Since then her and eighty seventh ST. have become a favourite for the fashionably inclined paper lover across Canada and beyond.

Link https://www.eightyseventhst.com/our-story (external link) 

Montréal-based designer Gabriel Drolet-Maguire is a graduate of the École Supérieure de mode de Montréal (2017). Since obtaining his bachelor’s degree in fashion design, Drolet-Maguire’s uncanny signature style is about shining a light on aspects of life that normally remain in shadow. His previous collections, SØRRY MØM and HONEYCUM, made for subversive runway shows at the Festival de Mode et Design de Montréal, and were debuted in features on VICE Québec where he unapologetically revealed the often silenced themes of addiction, recovery and sexuality.

Nadine Mos is an environmentally friendly womenswear label with made to order pieces. Every product is carefully hand crafted, with the goal of shifting the consumer culture to wearing ethically made creations. www.nadinemos.com (external link)