Fashion students learn to survive in a changing fashion industry

Camille Lopez recaps the Mode Art Poster Exhibit

By Camille Lopez on
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The winning poster: flames creep up a woman in a long, formal brown dress, with her face to the sky

The third semester Fashion Arts & Business students hosted an event on November 24 called the Mode Art Poster Exhibit.  

Each student showcased their skills in InDesign and Photoshop to create a poster that exemplified the concept of ‘Survival’. The concept - which was also decided by the students – is inspired by the roller coaster experience we’ve all faced during the year 2020.  A headshot of Camille Lopez

Everyone in attendance at our event had a chance to vote for their favourite poster and the one with the most votes will be used to promote the annual Walk It Out fashion show at the end of the school year. 

Valuable advice 

I had the privilege of interviewing our special guest, Roger Gingerich, CEO of Canadian International Fashion Film Festival (CANIFF) and he shared some important tips for those of us wishing to pursue a career in the fashion industry.  

His number one tip was to know your audience. I couldn’t agree more, especially for us younger people who spend a lot of time building our brands on social media.  

He also told us to be open to teamwork and collaboration to network our butts off!  A headshot of Roger Gingerich. He is wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a green suit with a bowtie and is smiling slightly

I can understand how important collaboration with like-minded people can be, based on my own experience in the industry. Networking helps get your name out there and you never know when someone could be looking for you to get the job done. 

Future fashion 

We faced some learning curves during the planning process since this was the first-ever virtual Mode Art Poster Exhibit, but each team played a huge role in helping to make this event a success.  

With over 70 guests in attendance, we were able to appreciate the talents of our peers as well as enjoy some fun games in between each batch. 

The winning poster with was made by Saanya Anwar, who was able to integrate aspects of survival and fashion into her design. The winning poster shows a woman in a dress with flames climbing up her body against a dark blue/green background

The class is looking forward to the Walk It Out fashion show next semester on April 20, 2021  

We are hoping to take our experiences and show our audience how real-life events, both good and bad, can be translated into fashion and art. 

You can find all the poster submissions here! 

Special shout outs go to Qandeel Shah – student Project Manager of the Mode Art Poster Exhibit – for leading the class to such a successful event, and for being such a graceful host; and to Jennifer Reitano – Program Coordinator – for your continuous support and mentorship!