Take a Look at the Fashion Zone Entrepreneurship Month Team Highlights!

Launched in 2019 by British born Ghanaian designer Emefa Kuadey, the luxury ready-to-wear clothing and accessories brand redefines minimalism through structure and bold femininity. Israella KOBLA was created for the confident woman with a distinct sense of style. She stands out, effortlessly. 

Inspiration for the Toronto based brand comes from a juxtaposition of the designer’s interests; fashion and a past life as a civil engineer. israella KOBLA pieces highlight an appreciation for architecture and timeless design. Ultimately, the goal is to redefine the way we look at minimalism and modern fashion.

In April of 2022, Israella KOBLA won the $10,000 Amazon Black Fashion Innovators Award powered by Amazon Canada (external link) . Later in September, the company opened up in a total of 3 Hudson’s Bay (external link)  locations in Canada! This is what the founder, Emefa Kuadey, had to say:

“Things have been great since winning the award. I've been able to work on the next steps for ISRAELLA KOBLA with a certain confidence and ease that comes from knowing you have the funds to support your plans. We're expanding into Hudsons Bay stores in Yorkdale, Eaton Centre and Sherway gardens in July and some of the money is going towards those launches. We also hosted a popup shop recently, which was an amazing opportunity to network as well as meet new customers in person and get direct feedback”

In October of 2022, Israella KOBLA won the Bay Fashion Fund Award hosted by the CAFA Awards and Hudson’s Bay. During the award event, Emefa shared a very inspiring and touching story of how the company initially started. Make sure to take a look at Israella KOBLA’s Instagram Annoucement (external link)  for details.

Aille Design (pronounced: eye) is an emerging designer brand that is disrupting fashion industry norms and changing the way society views inclusive design. We add small beads to the exterior of clothing to form phrases in Braille that communicate clothing characteristics to blind individuals such as colour, fit, textiles and care content. The Braille beading on our garments is fully legible and is created with Swarovski Crystal pearls.

What’s unique about this concept is that the functionality is displayed through an innovative design element and is created to appeal to a wide range of sighted and non-sighted fashion consumers. Alexa Jovanovic, founder of Aille Design, creates all of the garments through a co-design process with a diverse team of blind, visually impaired and sighted fashion lovers. The company is run on the founder’s philosophy, “good design shouldn’t exclude anyone.”

Aille Design was featured in several Live TV news platforms that interviewed the founder on the company’s entrepreneurial journey, including CP24 (external link)  in 2020 and BlogTO (external link)  in 2021. In addition, the company was featured in the Fashion Magazine Canada and the CAFA awards articles. 

In September of 2021 to February of 2022, Aille Design’s braille masks were featured in a new exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (external link)  (ROM)! The face masks featured in the exhibit represent how communities transformed a piece of protection into a form of self-expression. The braille mask was categorized as poetry and protest. For more information, check out Aille Design’s ROM IG Reels (external link) .

Edie and Jacquelyn Assinewe are twin sisters who were born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. They are members of Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation. Both are full-time students studying business and fashion. They are bringing their passion to life with the creation of Assinewe Jewelry!

In 2022, Assinewe Jewelry participated in several events and showcases including the Abbozzo Gallery (external link)  and York Lions Stadium (external link) . 

Just recently this October, the company opened their first ever pop-up shop at Stackt Market (external link) . Assinewe Jewelry designed a tote bag with Poyomi Mcdizzle, which was also sold at the pop-up.