The George Brown grad brought down ‘Fire’ at Vancouver Fashion Week

Having your clothes light up the stage at one of Canada’s biggest fashion shows is a dream come true for many designers. For Rachelle Anne Roy, it’s just the beginning.

Since graduating with a diploma in fashion techniques and design in April 2015, Rachelle Anne Roy has since been busy making a name for herself and her brand in the fashion world.

Roy always had the desire to open her own fashion business. Following her graduation from George Brown, and after a six month stint at Fabricland, she moved to her home in Georgetown to work on her own clothing designs.

Roy started designing clothes under the brand name Rachelle Anne Wear or R.A.W. She applied to Vancouver fashion week under this brand name and her designs got accepted.

At Vancouver fashion week, her clothing line, Fire, lit it up. “The owner (of fashion week) came up to me after the shows and told me that shows like mine remind him why he does this for a living,” Roy said. Her collection was so well appreciated that she has been invited a second time to the next Vancouver fashion week in March 2017.

Since her success in Vancouver, she has been busy collaborating with a local artist and working hard to get her garments into boutiques in Toronto. She is also a part of Fashion Exchange, a program funded by George Brown to help budding designers, which started in November.

Staying humble, she believes her journey has just begun. “I always had a passion for fashion. I started off sewing in high school, I made my prom dress and it evolved into something bigger today,” she said.

Roy remembers her courses at George Brown as very hands-on. “I really appreciated it as someone who wanted to get a taste of what the actual fast-paced environment was like in the industry,” she said.

She advised current students to not get dejected by the school’s demanding pressure. “It seems so tough when you’re in the program but it pays off in the long run. The real world is no different. You’re hustling all the time,” she said.

Roy said that the school constantly kept emailing her with job opportunities and exciting events and is thankful for the immense attention the school gave her in shaping her career.

Her first collection at Vancouver fashion week was called ‘Fire’ and focused on the fire within us which is built due to stress. “If you don’t tame the flame it will consume you,” she said, adding that her next collection is called Ice and she wants her apparel to eventually be themed around all the four elements.