Hayley's Got Game

Canadian designer Hayley Elsaesser is struttin’ through The 6ix with her clothes.

Hayley Elsaesser is a very busy woman, and rightfully so. I felt blessed that she had time for me whilst hectically prepping for her fourth World Mastercard Fashion Week show – which was a last minute decision – in Toronto last March. Elsaesser is a Canadian designer based in Toronto. Like many designers, she started from the bottom.

For the longest time, Elsaesser knew that fashion was her thing. “Ever since I was a kid I loved putting together fun outfits. And for some reason I’ve always been drawn to unique and out of the ordinary clothes,” she says. “It was always what I would spend my allowance on, and my first job was working retail. I’ve always loved fashion.”

According to Elsaesser, she started making her own clothes as a teenager out of necessity living in a small town of Cambridge, Ontario. Eventually, she decided to move to Australia and study fashion at Queensland University of Technology to broaden her inspiration and creativity. “I found the style [in Australia] to be more fun and exciting,” she says.

This proved to be a great move for her. After she graduated and launched her label in 2013, she immediately debuted for Australia’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in early 2014. Later that year, Elsaesser went back home and also had her first show in her hometown Toronto, in which she won Fashion Magazine’s Best Emerging Designer award.

In the three years since her label launched, Elsaesser has built a reputation for herself. Her use of vivid colours and incredibly quirky prints like glowing poodles, deadly slushies, and eight balls wearing cowboy hats on a variety of silhouettes are just a few examples of Elsaesser’s wild imagination. This has led to a cult following and a rise of a brand that only keeps growing.

In addition, her shows have consistently wowed and are always one of the most anticipated shows in Toronto’s World Mastercard Fashion Week. Already, Elsaesser has strongly made an impact in the Toronto fashion industry; and she continues to keep going.

On top of the cult following, Elsaesser’s clothing has caught the attention of celebrities, especially Katy Perry who has numerously worn Elsaesser’s clothes including Madonna’s Bitch I’m Madonna music video. “It is a bit surreal. The first time I saw Katy wearing my clothes at Coachella it took a few minutes to sink in,” she says. “It’s really amazing to see someone that you would never dream would even know your name wearing your stuff on multiple occasions,” she adds.

“For me though, it’s actually more exciting seeing normal people in real life [wearing my clothes]. That’s a huge treat for me.”

Elsaesser’s motto is more is more. She believes that fashion is a powerful tool to bring out one’s bright side and to not be afraid of who you really are. “Growing up I was incredibly shy and used fashion as somewhat of an icebreaker. It was also a great way of showing my unique personality without having to speak,” she says. “I love how fashion has such an ability to bring people together, give a person more confidence, and just be so transformative. I think people who wear fun and bold clothing have more fun, but also attract positivity!” With her label, Elsaesser hopes that her clothing lets her customers make their own statement, expressing individuality.

As we all know, diversity has been an on-going issue in the fashion industry. The problem is always addressed, but rarely any significant action is taken. Elsaesser is one of those rarities.

Besides the bright colours and prints in her clothing, Elsaesser is also known for diversity in race, size, gender, and age on her runway. One of her models is her aunt, who is in her 70s. “To me [diversity in fashion] just means a realistic expression of our city and my customer. Diversity is celebrating more than one idea of beauty rather than one cookie cutter,” she says. Elsaesser herself does not have a size two figure and she confidently sports rainbow highlights in her jet-black hair. She does not give a damn.

            Like a true Canadian, she takes pride in where she comes from. Toronto fashion, however, is known for its neutral and dark clothing, thanks to the minimalism movement that the country has fully adapted. Elsaesser does not only believe in individuality and diversity, but with her label, she is breaking those Toronto fashion stereotypes. It is no question that Elsaesser’s clothing is the complete opposite of minimalism.

When asked if she was bothered that in comparison to other fashion cities, Toronto is considered boring when it comes to fashion,

            “Yes, this really frustrates me. This is the reason I decided to go study fashion in Australia where they love colour and to have fun with clothes. I spent a semester studying fashion in Vancouver and I was told my clothes weren’t commercial. Clearly this wasn’t correct, and I knew it. I think [in Toronto] people are often afraid to be the first, and are more focused on following trends. I can really respect people who aren’t afraid to stand out and be different.”

            Toronto is such a diverse and colourful city; it should be represented that way in fashion. When asked if she wishes to bring a colourful, livelier, and fun side to the Toronto fashion industry, “Absolutely,” she says. “I think it’s about time some colour is injected here. The label has been so well received here I think it’s only a matter of time!”

Elsaesser now runs her flagship store on 695 Queen Street West, a very suitable location for her label. The store’s spunky atmosphere perfectly represents Elsaesser’s world. Ombré fixtures, bright yellow insect printed wallpaper, a neon sign of her name, eight ball cushions, stuffed dogs wearing Elsaesser sweaters, and a wide range of music from Drake to Nirvana to ABBA and Blondie blasting all day.

The store, in addition to her staff always bring a warm welcome and treat you as if you’re like family or a friend who they haven’t seen in ages. Elsaesser’s label is only three years old, and already her game plan has proven to be a winning one.

Cookie Cutter Bloggers

Isn’t everyone tired with looking at cookie cutter style from these fashion bloggers on social media? Do you notice some of the styles have such close resemblance that you can’t even recognize who is who? Sadly, this is the case and it’s very boring and bland. Nothing in their style makes it interesting when it is supposed to be exciting, questionable, and fun to look at.

There is one problem from a random viewer’s perspective like myself and maybe you as well.  Did you know some of these famous fashion bloggers are sponsored by a great number of brands with different styles?

These trendy fashion bloggers are wearing sponsored products no matter whether they like their style or not.  Brand sponsorship money can be lucrative and enticing.  Some fashion bloggers would quit their normal jobs or schooling to pursue on marketing themselves even further to build their portfolio.

A majority of fashion bloggers, I am certain that they do have fashion sense, understanding, and knowledge in fashion based on their own-curated taste, which is a pleasure to see for normal people. I mean that’s how they became famous, right? But after they gain more popularity and when being reached by these sponsors, it’s not easy for them to refuse free products and the money, even though the fashion brand’s images, styles don’t go along well with their own unique style. That’s how the fashion bloggers’ world works these days; you get paid to wear clothes.

With social media, they became more famous all over the world and they are considered as celebrities in the fashion circles.

There is one fashion blogger that I absolutely enjoy looking at her style, written articles and learning so much about fashion from.  It’s Leandra Medine who is a founder of the website “The Man Repeller”.  She’s also a writer, a fashion blogger and a considered a game changer in fashion industry. Her blog has become an inspiring fashion website that post a lot of content to read, see and even a podcast that’s fashion- related. I particularly like that she has a good sense of humor and quirkiness about fashion that is always treated so seriously.

Leandra Medine definitely has her own style that is very unique and distinctive. I would say she is such a genius at mix-match. Her outfits are never boring but fun and stylish at the same time. She has different ways of putting things together and they always turn out very nicely. What I like about her is that she doesn’t just feature the products or items from sponsors meaninglessly; she is the woman who speaks up her voice and tells the public her honest and critical opinions on fashion trends.

According to the interview with Marie Claire, September 10. 2015. She claimed that she wants to connect with her readers through fashion. “I think fundamentally Man Repeller is a voice for women to connect with; they can come and try it on for size and be a part of it, and if it works for them, they take it with them. Of course the site is going to be bigger than I am, that's realistic if we're talking about Man Repeller as an attitude and not just the pastime of a single person. A really good piece of advice that I got from a friend was, don't cater your instinct to the people around you.”

She also gave an advice to fashion newbies who try to incorporate bolder pieces into their wardrobe "That comes down to confidence, which is also about honesty. So don't integrate anything into your wardrobe that's going to make you feel hugely uncomfortable when you leave home. Get the comfort thing down first–baby steps. If you love a huge shoulder-padded jacket, but you know you can't leave home without it because it's just going to make you feel uncomfortable, try putting tissues inside one of your shirts first. Ease yourself into the pool." This pretty much sums up what she thinks about fashion. She always tells you shouldn’t think about what others feel about how you dress, but be your authentic self.

This is why Leandra has been honored in Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business" and Business Insider's "Most Inspiring Innovators and Entrepreneurs Under 40," and twice named to Forbes' "30 under 30."

As a fashion student, she is the best example and the most inspirational person in fashion industry and I attain so much information from The Man Repeller website. I strongly recommend to all fashion students to read her site at lease once a week.  Her website contains so much information that is helpful, informative but fun as well. Every time when I read about her article and gives me the feeling how this person loves what she does and that could be the best feeling in one’s life. 

This is a Women`s world. The power of women entrepreneurship.

As the time goes by very fast and the graduation is at the door, students start to make their plans about further pathway in career. Thankfully, these days women can have everything on their plates: to be a mother, wife and a successful businessperson at the same time. This article is about experiences and advices for women  how to start your own business and where to get inspiration for it.

From the local view, there is one very motivational story about two women that started their business and opened a fashion store together even without knowing each other’s last names. The store name comes from the location : The Store on Queen. It is located downtown Toronto in a fashion blooming location. The store owners are proud of their story and empower others by their successful experience, as well as promote women designers from North America.

Another example of prosperous businesswoman is a founder and chief of Nasty Gal company, Sophia Amoruso. She started her own business when she was young and became one of the most influential women along with a role model status for many young entrepreneurs. She published a book called Girl Boss to navigate females through the stages of business path. After some time, the book turned into the foundation with its own movement to support women around the world at their starting points of becoming successful.

Last year, the “Intern” movie was released with Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro in main roles. This movie shows what is happening after an online fashion website was founded and is being run by a young entrepreneur. It gives an idea that the hardest part is not about starting your own business, but about managing it after and keeping further growth perspective.

Fortunately, there is an endless amount of useful internet resources for young women that want to be their own boss. One of the most trendy websites fulfilled with career advices for young females is careergirldaily.com. This website has immaculate database of tips, advices, inspirational guides that every female needs on the start of her business path.  As well, careergirldaily.com is not forgetting for other aspects of life like fashion, lifestyle and beauty.

Facebook groups are also great for getting support at any stage of your business life, connections and sharing ideas with others. There is a group of female business owners called Savvy Business Owners, where members are sharing their tips, chatting and learning with each other and call themselves as ladypreneurs. Another one group called Female  Entrepreneurs Collaborate is full of support, inspiration and knowledge to share from it`s 9000 members. The Creative`sCorner  is a community focused group and an amazing place for everything about empowering, engaging and creativity.

Along from the internet, books are still a great source of knowledge for young business starters too. For example, the Stop Chasing Influencers book, written by Kimanzi Constable & Jared Easley, is an amazing piece for making your own business dream to come true. It explains and guides you through the activities necessary for set up and continuous growing of your business. This book is available in paperback and kindle versions on Amazon.

Another one book called Hack the Entrepreneur by Jon Nastor is a must have fulfilled by ideas and tips for starters. The author of this book can be that mentor that you were looking for but never had. This book contains mini courses of self-confidence, strategic and tactical thinking, creativity brainstorming and much more that makes it investment worth. This book is available in paperback and kindle versions on Amazon.

Luckily, nowadays women power in a business world is stronger that have never been before. Women around the world have a choice to start their own businesses and nobody can stop them anymore. There are endless sources to get the information, financial support from foundations and a good advice at any moment of the own business pathway if needed. This is a women`s entrepreneurship world now too. This is what it calls a game changing.

A Man About Gown: How Christopher Paunil is changing the face of Toronto Fashion

Calm, cool, and collected. Hardly the first words that come to mind when asked to describe the expected atmosphere at a designer’s studio the week before his very first Toronto Fashion Week runway show. Yet, as I enter Christopher Paunil’s bright, serene, open concept studio in the Artscape-Regent Park neighbourhood of Toronto, this is exactly what comes to mind. The studio is spacious and sunny, with a table of plants and succulents surrounded by comfy chairs, a large drafting table, a lone intern at a sewing machine and several racks of the very gowns that have earned their place in the prestigious Kleinfeld’s Bridal Boutique.

With a philosophy as clean and simple as his work space, “meticulous design and production for the contemporary woman”, Christopher Paunil, established in 2010, was “created to make women feel their most beautiful and powerful, from their big day to any day of the week.” Paunil achieves this feat by putting himself in his customer’s shoes, asking himself what he would want to wear, what features he would want to accentuate and others he may want to conceal. He finds inspiration in designers like Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier, and Victoria Beckham’s early designs that helped define her brand. From his bridal collection and ready-to-wear line to the custom gowns and evening wear he specializes in, Paunil’s designs are classic, the silhouettes flawless, and the details as meticulous as promised. Using laser-cutting and figure-flattering shapes with movement, Paunil’s designs are fashion-forward, while remaining elegant, classy and undeniably “Christopher Paunil”.

Paunil achieves this high level of quality by doing all of the pattern-making himself, remaining extremely hands-on throughout the entire production process, though not without the help of a small, but mighty, team surrounding him. Paunil has two interns and a business partner, Chalo Barruta, who is with him every step of the way. Paunil is quick to praise Barruta as a true partner, without whom, he would not be where he is. Barruta is very hands on with the financial and business side of things which is, admittedly, Paunil’s least favourite part of the job. His most favourite? Viewing the finished product, and seeing a satisfied customer looking and feeling great in one of his designs, which is particularly special when that piece happens to be a wedding gown.

Growing up, Paunil watched his Grandmother sew, until his mother eventually taught him how to use a sewing machine. Though he was a natural, sewing remained a hobby until the end of high school when he was still unsure of what to do next. Always interested in fashion, he decided to apply to school for design, the only problem being his lack of portfolio. In a move that can be described as somewhere between MacGyver and Lagerfeld, he began to deconstruct and take apart pieces of clothing from his own closet, using them as pattern pieces to make his own clothes, which he showcased and used during the application process. A graduate of the George Brown Fashion Design Program, I ask him what the most important thing was that he learned at school. “Pattern-making would be the most important technical skill I learned, but I also learned the importance of sticking to deadlines. Deadlines are really important in the real world. If you have an order worth $10,000 and you don’t have it ready in time, you’re out $10,000, they will cancel the order and you have now ruined a business relationship because, chances are, they will not be placing another order with you again.” After his first semester, Paunil’s GPA was not where he felt it should be, which he saw as a wake-up call to pull up his socks and start taking school more seriously. He stopped missing classes, worked hard and made sure he met deadlines, ultimately graduating with an impressive GPA, and ready to take on the world. Deadlines are equally important day to day, as there is always a team waiting for you. If Paunil does not produce the designs and patterns on time, the team cannot grade, cut, and sew, which throws off the entire production schedule and can affect the buying season and trade shows.

Even in the face of deadlines, stress, and adversity Paunil is measured, unruffled, and relaxed, the kind of person you would want in charge and running the show. He does not demand respect, but rather commands it, with his logical and rational outlook. “Getting stressed and freaking out is not going to fix anything or make the situation any better” he says reasonably.

So if the last minute preparation for his inaugural runway show at World Mastercard Fashion Week is not enough to get a rise out Paunil, what does? Interestingly enough, the topic comes up at the very end of our interview. I ask Paunil what else he wants the public to know about him or his line. He thinks for a moment and responds, “I don’t want to get too political, but the lack of diversity in the fashion world makes me angry. We had a model casting with about 150-200 girls and there were barely any ethnically diverse women. Bring me women of different backgrounds and I am more than happy to cast them, and do!” He adds that this is simply his own personal experience of flipping through magazines and being disappointed by the inherent lack of diversity, “I flipped through a 400 page bridal magazine counted exactly two black models, and one was from my campaign.” From lookbooks to runway, it is important to Paunil to show a diverse group of models, at his debut show in fashion week more than half of his models are ethnically diverse, and he is committed to doing whatever he can to ensure we see a range of more relatable faces in fashion.

I, for one, will be sitting in the front row, watching this game-changer change the face of fashion in Toronto, and eventually the world, one…well…face at a time.

Business of Fashion: How to be a Game Changer

Starting out in the fashion/retail industry can be tough because of course you want to make a good impression while still taking something away from your experiences. Many of us start out as interns and part time employees, which can make it tough to leave a lasting impression on your employers. Knowing what your employers are looking for can be difficult in its self, what attributes are most important to them and their company. I met with Juliana Miranda to discuss just this.

 Juliana Miranda did not start out wanting to work in the fashion/retail industry she just happened to fall into. Ms. Miranda studied Political Science at York University and from there went on to work at a trading and consumer show company called MMPI where she worked for nine months in the Communications Department. Ms. Miranda was head hunted to work for a company called Octo where she took on a Human Resource roll. From there Ms. Miranda was able to make her way into the Fashion industry. The Chief Talent Officer at Octo was hired to be the president of Holt Renfrew and six month later he hired Ms. Miranda to work in Human Resources at Holt Renfrew. After three years of working in Human Resources at Holts Ms. Miranda was transitioned into the Special Projects team and from there to exclusive services. Talking to Ms. Miranda I could tell she had a broad knowledge not just of the fashion industry, but also of how a retail company should operate and what they look for in terms of employees skill sets.

What attracted Ms. Miranda to the fashion industry was the business of retail and what retailers are looking to achieve “It was important to me not only to look at fashion and the industry as a business, but understand the strategic direction of a retailer”. Ms. Miranda has always been interested in fashion, but never wanted to pursue the creative side of the industry and was more interested in the “business of fashion”. With her personal love for fashion and mind for business Ms. Miranda was able to navigate her way into a career path she truly loved and has been able to succeed within Holt Renfrew.

With Ms. Miranda’s wide range of experiences within a retail company and years of experience, I then inquired about what make an invaluable employee and how to be a game changer within your industry. She explained that there are a few key things to always do when starting out in the industry; “never have blinders on when going into a new job, have an open mind.” If you limit yourself to one specific job you will never learn the functions of other jobs within the company. This will limit your opportunities to learn and grow. Skills that will help you leave your creative stamp on them is “being a creative thinker, thinking outside the box, pushing the boundaries and not always adhering to the status quo.” When working within a company there will always be templates and certain ways to do things. However, if you want to leave your mark and better the way things are done then you need to find ways to push the status quo, but doing so respectfully.

Early on in Ms. Miranda’s career something that was beneficial to her was knowing what questions to ask, “knowing how to look at something through a critical lens, meaning is there a smarter way of doing this?”. It is important going into a role and observing how everything works and understanding why things are done a certain way and from there evaluate what can be improved. If you are able to do this you can then leave your mark and make yourself invaluable to a company. If you are able to make something your own this will show your superiors you are passionate in what you do and that you are going to put in the time to make it perfect.

When starting out in your career you should always be asking yourself where do I want to be, what are the steps that will take me there and how do I accomplish those steps, but still keeping an open mind. When starting your career you will change career paths several times, which is good and why you need to keep an open mind and continually ask yourself these questions. “One should always be eager to learn and take all opportunities as a learning experience even if you don’t see how your role at the time is going to benefit you in the future.” Even if you are in a job that is not necessarily the one you want it should be used as a stepping stone to the dream job you are striving for because every skill you learn can be applied in other fields even if it is just understanding how another field operates.

Ms. Miranda’s key piece of advice being a game changer is “always be eager to learn, take on new challenges and don’t be scared of a little risk”. Always seize opportunity and this is what will make you remember-able to people you work for or with. These key skills can take you to the next level and allow you to leave your mark, which in turn will open a lot of doors for you while navigating your career path.