International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually March. 8.
This year at George Brown College (GBC), Alumni Relations partnered with the School of Fashion and Jewelry to host a panel discussion and scarf design competition.
This year’s theme, designated by the United Nations, was #inspireinclusion. It refers to the importance of creating an environment where women are recognized and actively included in all aspects of society and the economy.
“Inspire inclusion means diversity, elevating women by forging change, creating inclusive work culture. It means [promoting] an advanced gender party in all environments, inspiring women to pursue their goals,” said Rosa Fracassa, associate dean of the School of Fashion and Jewelry.
The panel discussion featured women entrepreneurs, who shared their experiences at male-dominated workspaces, alongside their interpretation of inclusivity.
The panelists included Rokhaya Gueye, community partnership coordinator & Ontario chair for the Carpenters’ Regional Council of Ontario; Filomena Da Costa Teles, chef and GBC professor and program coordinator of the Culinary Arts-Italian program, and Dianne Finnigan, founder of the Dirty Seahorse.
Also taking place was the introduction of the winner of the scarf design competition.
“This year we decided to do a second edition of the scarf [design competition]. So, we posted the competition to our fashion students and one of them won the competition. Her scarf embodies the different careers that women are not traditionally in. Inclusivity you can see in her design, that’s part of the reason why her design was selected,” said Fracassa.
Pooja Upehskumar Patel, winner of the competition, is a student with in the fashion school.
Patel’s says the inspiration for the winning design was taken from everyday life.
“The main inspiration behind my scarf was women around me. So, I’m showing that women are everywhere right now,” said Patel. The competition has a special theme of spring, which shows in the colour palette of the final design.
“The colors are from the sunset because it gives me positive energy.”
The scarf was produced by the fashion exchange production team. It featured dye sublimation on recycled polyester, highlighting their commitment to sustainability and circularity in the process.
The scarves are available in two sizes and students can visit or purchase them from the Casa Loma bookstore.
