Downtown store hosts friends & family sale for community looking
Snag a deal or update your wardrobe at an upcoming event.
George Brown’s Fashion Management students are opening the Downtown store to the public with a ‘Friends and Family’ sale. With this, students and the larger Toronto community are invited out to shop for student-curated fashion and experience the program’s hands-on retail project.
The Downtown store, now known as Downtown Class by the decision of students, has been around for more than a decade. Each year the fourth-year students reopen the store to the public, offering up a new concept to keep those looking for a great deal or new fashion find.
While the sale is nothing new, taking place at least once per semester – with an occasional sale taking place during the spring/summer semester – Jade Castro, Fashion Management student, notes that things change up each year.
“The [overall event] results from all our efforts, the curated merchandise that our buying team gets and basically to do some fun shopping and support. (everyone is invited) also works as networking because in past occasions we had received alumni and fashion industry individuals,” said Castro. “We will have some fun activities, jewellery making, photobooth, food and beverages and of course: a lot of clothes, accessories and jewellery that you can shop.”
Each term, students take on full responsibility for the store, from branding and merchandising to marketing and operations. Because of this, the store evolves constantly, with every cohort introducing new ideas, themes and creative direction.
Open to everyone, the event also aims to raise awareness about Downtown Class, as many students across campus are still unfamiliar with the store. Organizers say events like this play an important role in building community and connection within George Brown College.
As the semester comes to a close, the current team will pass the project on to the next group of students, who will bring their own concepts and ideas to the space.
The Friends and Family sale runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on March. 26, 2026.
If you miss out on the deals, the store is still open throughout the remainder of the semester, Fridays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The store remains closed on Thursdays and operates for approximately 10 weeks of the term, starting around weeks three or four.
