Quintessential

NBCCD’s 18^th Annual Fashion Show drew more than 600 guests to the Fredericton Convention Centre. This year’s show, Quintessential, featured lines from seven accomplished alumni of the NBCCD’s Fashion Design program along with eight first-year designs and the debut lines from the Fashion Design class of 2016.

The College’s Annual Fashion Show, started in 1999 by then-instructor Ellen Woolaver – now a Department Head in the NBCCD administrative team – has become a cornerstone of Fredericton’s fashion industry and an opportunity for established and emerging designers to showcase their work to industry members, media, and fashion enthusiasts from across the region. Many of Fredericton’s top designers have featured collections in past shows and each year, NBCCD’s graduating Fashion Design students debut their first full lines at the show. The Fashion Show also doubles as a fundraiser, with all proceeds going to scholarships for students in the Fashion Design program.

“The Fashion Show gives you an understanding of working with people you don’t necessarily know, the way you would with clients, and many of us go into client-based work once we graduate. It shows you how long it takes to create your garments and what the value of your work really is,” said graduating Fashion Design student Lee Goguen.

“From day one in first-year Fashion Design, you learn about designing, sewing, pattern drafting and manipulating patterns into your designs, so that by the time you get to the fashion show in second year, you are equipped to create a six-design line for the runway. There are ample opportunities for you to explore different methods and techniques you may want to incorporate into your work.”

NBCCD’s Fashion Design program teaches students industry-relevant skills from illustration and pattern drafting to draping, tailoring, and corseting, all in a setting where students learn to design and create custom, made-to-measure pieces. In a world of mass-produced and one-size-fits-all, the College of Craft and Design celebrates the one-of-a-kind. Along with the one-on-one attention students receive from dedicated, world-class instructors in a small classroom setting, this experience working with real clients to make individualized pieces gives NBCCD’s Fashion Design graduates a competitive advantage in the industry.

“We take pride in giving our students the attention they need to excel as students in the studio and the skills they need to succeed in the fast-paced world of the fashion industry,” said Joanne Venart, head of NBCCD’s Fashion Design program.

“The invaluable experience that our annual Fashion Show provides helps set our graduates up for success in the area of their choosing.”

Alumni from the College’s Fashion Design program have gone on to careers in television, film, and theatre across Canada, including costuming for TV series’ The Flash and Once Upon a Time and for Cirque de Soleil, Theatre New Brunswick, and the Stratford Festival. Many go on to be successful entrepreneurs, designing and creating garments for various industries and markets. Jaclyn Wilson Couture, Sherry MacFarlane Fashion Designs, Virtuosew, Steam Petal, and Lux Costume Design are just a few of the many successful businesses that have been launched by NBCCD alumni. Other alumni have gone on to careers as sample makers, pattern drafters, stitchers, stylists, visual merchandisers, and alterationists.

To find out more about NBCCD’s Fashion Design program, visit our Programs.