Jennifer Nguyen
Contributor
Emily Woudenberg is a second-year student at York and Sheridan College who has found a love in fashion design.
At 20 years old, Woudenberg has already showcased her work at Fashion Alternative Week (FAT) two years in a row, Ottawa Fashion Week, and most recently, the Textiles Blog Fashion Show. In a sit down with Woudenberg, I got the chance to talk to her about her success and hard-work in the fashion industry as a young Canadian fashion designer:
Nguyen: When did it all start for you?
Woudenberg: Well, I started at art school, I took four years of art in high school (it’s a regional arts program) at Cawthra Park S.S. I enjoyed a lot of the computer work and I did a lot of video. Once I got into graphic design, I didn’t find the education satisfying. It wasn’t challenging enough for me. So I made it challenging by making a huge fashion collection with my friend Anastasiya who’s at Ryerson (fashion design) to show at Alternative Fashion Week and from there it just snowballed.
N: Have you always wanted to be a fashion designer?
W: Not really. In high school the kids that were going into fashion design weren’t my sort of people. I don’t like people with drama. But I realized, when it comes down to this industry, no one’s really talking about what you’re doing or anything like that, that’s why its not a big deal anymore since there’s not many people who I don’t want to work with. There are a lot of people who are mature and very easy to get along with.
N: We’ve talked about all these experiences you’ve had with fashion, but what are some obstacles that you had to surpass in order to get to where you are now?
W: Everyday there’s something different I have to deal with. On any given day, it’s a different job where I have to do different things. I try to put myself in situations where I’ve never done that before so I learn to deal with it. I also face a lot of problems with my age. I don’t want my clothes to be young designer clothes, I don’t want to be labeled and branded as a young designer.
N: Talking about school, how similar are graphic and fashion design?
W: In terms of education I haven’t taken fashion classes, but I do see that fashion design and graphic design are similar because they are both “design”. It’s very old-fashioned to think of graphic design as just “graphic design”. Design, I think really covers different fields.
I think that if you can graphic design and communicate aesthetically then I think you’re allowing yourself to speak aesthetically through clothing as well.
N: Your last collection at FAT was absolutely beautiful. I loved it. It got so much attention from the media, more than you’ve probably ever had before, so what inspired you? How did it come together?
W: It’s very much an overtime thing. I’ll start with one dress, and say “oh I really like that” and I’ll pull off another dress and try to make it cohesive between the two as much as I can. I’m still trying to make a collection that I find myself in so every time I make a piece it’s like “does this speak to who I am?”
N: What is some advice that you can give to your fans and readers about being in the fashion industry?
W: Manage your time – every second of it.
Emily’s Unforgettable Facts
– Emily also has her own jewellery line which you can buy at ukamaku.com
– Drake was spotted at Emily’s show “Penrose” at Fashion Alternative Week.
– Emily has read every single book about beads at the Mississauga Central Library.
