George Brown College’s annual student and professor-led fashion event, Threads, was held on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. This year, the virtual event consisted of two components: a two-hour networking session and an awards ceremony. 

Throughout the awards ceremony, over 40-students were acknowledged for their academic and extracurricular efforts within the GBC community. 

The Dialog has reached out to some of the students who won awards.

Claire Hung 

Throughout the awards ceremony, Claire Hung, a second year international student from Taiwan, has found herself winning two awards: second year student achievement and excellence in marketing. 

Amidst the challenges and the pandemic she experienced throughout her studies, Hung is happy with what she has accomplished. 

“When I received the award and saw my name, I felt a sense of accomplishment,” said Hung. “It feels like all my hard work has been recognized and rewarded.” 

Throughout her studies at GBC, Hung has participated in the YMA Fashion Case Study Competition within the Merchandising and Marketing category, and the StartGBC PitchIt event. The events have intrigued her interest within the field of product development, marketing, e-commerce, and merchandise planning. 

On top of this, Hung says that she feels the curriculum was practical and resembled current events, despite the remote delivery. 

“I like how our professors designed projects that we may need to do when working in the industry,” said Hung. “In addition, some professors used current news in the world and I really enjoyed how they combined knowledge with current problems.” 

As an about-to-be graduate who is looking to dive into the industry, Hung hopes to learn more about work culture within Canada. 

Chul (Han) Sunwoo 

Han Sunwoo, a graduating fashion student, was the winner of the Luigi Ferrara Scholarship. Despite his efforts within the program by attending the YMA Case Study Competition, he never expected to win an award. 

“I am proud of myself,” said Han. “Actually, [I had] zero expectation since there were so many other qualified students in the program. This award will be a great motivating force for me and I will continually demonstrate excellence to uphold George Brown’s values in my future career.” 

His favourite part of the program was the emphasis on creativity, which he was able to demonstrate throughout his internship opportunity. 

“Despite the pandemic, I was extremely lucky to land an internship as a marketing assistant,” said Han. “This is where I learned and absorbed so much new experience and [it] helped me understand the current Canadian fashion/art industry more.” 

In the future, he emphasizes that the communication and leadership skills he gained within the presentations and coursework will be important for his career within the industry. 

“Presentations are inevitable in this program and although they can be stressful, I can definitely understand why such practices will benefit us students [in the] long run,” said Han. “As for leadership, I got to be a group leader for our final grad project and this was a whole new experience for me. As much as I enjoyed it, I really learned what it takes to be a good leader.”

The program also opened his eyes to the environmental issues within the fashion industry, which he continuously advocates against. 

“I am disappointed by the fact that for an industry that’s accountable for one-third of global warming, not many fashion leaders have stood up against climate change,” said Han. “The program actually taught me what sustainability means in fashion and transformed me into an environmentally-conscious shopper.” 

Sarah Jill Decoste 

Sarah Jill DeCoste is a fashion design student at GBC who was one of the semifinalists for the MAKECanada Challenge and a participant in the Titika challenge. Ever since she was a child, she wanted to pursue fashion and worked resiliently towards her goal. 

“I’ve always loved fashion. It was my childhood dream!” said DeCoste. “However, as time went on, I developed a passion in science and I was originally supposed to study Kinesiology at Acadia [University].” 

However, similar to other designers within the industry, she suddenly realized that she should pursue fashion, as it combines with her passion within the sciences. 

“I love how [fashion] goes beyond design and I’m able to combine my passion for science within the industry.” 

Decoste decided to sign up for the MAKECanada challenge in order to apply the skills which she learned throughout the program. Some of these skills include drafting, sewing, time management and leadership. She is thankful of the resources which were offered to her in order to complete the challenge. 

“Although these projects are independent, there are a ton of resources and help from ambassadors, so it truly has been eye opening working alongside people who are established within the industry,” said Decoste. 

For the MAKECanada challenge, Decoste planned to create face masks by using an algae-based bio textile. In total, three versions of masks were created: one created similarly to the ones designed by fashion companies, another for those who wear head coverings like hijabs, and one for those who have beards or wear head coverings such as turbans. 

Decoste says that her inspiration for creating masks was a result of her experiences, not only from the news, but daily encounters as well. 

“I’ve heard a lot of complaints surrounding masks, but it wasn’t until I saw an Uber driver struggle with the mask,” Decoste said. “He was wearing a turban and had a beard, and although he chose to wear a typical mask, he was constantly adjusting it and it seemed very uncomfortable.” 

She then realized the limitations of the mask in terms of design, which led her to create prototypes for her new concept. 

“I’ve been checking the markets and there isn’t a mask designated to those with head coverings or facial hair, so I decided there needed to be a change.” 

As of right now, Decoste is still working on her designs for the Titika Challenge which will be submitted in June. 

After graduation, Decoste hopes to work as a sportswear designer and develop her own textiles for activewear.

“My biggest aspiration would be to innovate fabric to better everyday life- even if it’s just for one person,” said Decoste. 

Soumi Choudhury 

Soumi Choudhury is a first-year student in the Fashion Management program. Before joining GBC, Choudhury completed a degree in Economics from Delhi University. She says that receiving the award was a surprise and accomplishment for her. 

“I felt extremely elated on receiving the award!” said Choudhury. “For me it was the biggest acknowledgment of my hard work.” 

Although entering a practical program during a pandemic was difficult, Choudhury still felt the interaction between the professors and the students. 

“The classes are dynamic as we get to share our inputs and opinions with our teachers and peers via the chat option,” Choudhury said. 

Moreover, she says that an online program can elevate her oral and written communication skills due to presentations and discussions. After all, Choudhury believes that the fashion industry is driven by change. 

“Change is the only constant and the fashion industry operates on this philosophy,” said Choudhury. “[Even if] I have a desk job, I would still be learning about new trends, new customer behaviours, and new technologies every now and then.” 

In the future, Choudhury hopes to work in the business aspect of the fashion industry and learn the different types of segmentations ranging from supply chain to merchandising. 

Stephanie Coombs 

Stephanie Coombs is a second-year fashion student within GBC who was a semi-finalist for the MAKECanada Challenge. She says that the competition has given her an opportunity to meet different individuals within the fashion industry while implementing the skills she learned in class. 

“Although the challenge is still in the early stages, I have gotten to know many skilled, kind, and talented professionals in the fashion industry, as well as other inspiring students,” said Coombs. “I will be applying much of what I learned in my product development and costing class to this project.” 

Throughout the challenge, she decided to refine her design made during another case competition: The Kent State Fashion Tech Hackathon. This competition occurred in January 2020, and she collaborated with four other students to design a piece of clothing that incorporates fashion and technology. 

“From devastating wildfires in Australia, to the ongoing spread of Coronavirus, and general decline of air quality all over, the kind of product that we wanted to create was clear,” said Coombs. 

The product which they created was suitable for the winter season, as it covered the neck and face of a person. However, the idea behind it was much more than protecting a person from the colder weather. 

“The beneficiaries of this are people who want to protect their respiratory system from external threats,” said Coombs. “It challenges the idea of what a protective garment can be and how it can evolve.” 

Moreover, the team decided to implement a tech element to monitor the air quality, while adding a filter infused with essential oil and a removable aluminum nose piece to wash between uses. 

“A programmed circuit will be implemented to emulate lights and sounds that inform the wearer of air quality, while other features can be programmed to monitor the vitals, such as the person’s heartbeat,” said Coombs. “This tech element will send push notifications to users’ phones.” 

Meanwhile, the purpose of the essential oil was to alleviate stress and anxiety to the user in the midst of a challenging period of time. In order to filter viral particles, internal invisible pockets for the nose piece were implemented. 

The experience has brought her ideas and career path together for the future, and one of her goals is to own a company. 

“I would love to have my own design team whether that be my own company or another large company I admire,” said Coombs. 

Archana Jaswani 

Archana Jaswani is a first-year student in the Gemmology certificate program at GBC. Although she first studied business at the University of Mumbai, she decided to re-enter school three decades later to diversify her career. Little did she know that she would end up receiving an academic award for her program. 

“I was elated to receive this award because I have returned to learning after a gap of about 30 years,” said Jaswani. “This is a totally new field for me and I wanted to diversify my career which has always been textiles and fashion.” 

As a former business student, Jaswani has a variety of experiences within the fashion business industry. Before moving to Canada in 2019, Jaswani has been a businesswoman for over a decade.

From 1998 and onwards, Jaswani has been an owner of Skytex Group of Companies, otherwise known as AUM Fashions, which is a fashion and accessories manufacturing company. From 1998 to 2009, the company was based in Dubai and then moved to India until 2019. However, the company still remains global with offices in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea, and India. 

However, Jaswani’s experience within textiles, jewellery, and apparel does not stop there. Other than manufacturing, Jaswani has experience in design in terms of different gemstones and appliques. 

“I want to use more gems in fashion and textiles for a niche market,” said Jaswani. “I love how fashion evolves with time even though the basics still remain entrenched in the form. The same goes for jewellery.”