Fashion Alumni Stories

Elle Yazwin Yip
Graduate, 2024
Fashion Management Program

"The Fashion Management Program at GBC played a huge role in kickstarting my career and landing a job after graduation. The internship gave me real, hands-on experience that helped me build my portfolio and connect with people I never thought I’d have the chance to meet. Even after graduation, the support from professors and alumni has been truly invaluable."

Andrew Coimbra
Graduate, 2013
Fashion Techniques and Design

“Having experienced the fluid conceptual learning of OCADU, it was great to learn technical skills at George Brown Polytechnic's Fashion & Technology program that I was able to apply to real-world experience."

Designer Andrew Coimbra began his career in Fashion Design by studying Material Art & Design at the Ontario College of Art & Design University before moving onto The School of Fashion & Jewellery at George Brown Polytechnic. With a strong background in fine art and pattern cutting and garment construction he made an exceptional impact early in his career. Experience working with prominent Canadian labels Pink Tartan and Philip Sparks proved to be a solid base for his enriching internship with internationally renowned label Proenza Schouler, in New York City.

Una Ilarde
Graduate, 2022
International Fashion Management Program

"Starting in a new country was always going to be a complex experience to navigate, but I’m happy that I chose George Brown Polytechnic as the starting point to my journey here. Beyond the academics, I truly found a good group of fellow students to learn with and grow alongside.

Even in the midst of COVID, George Brown professors and staff made the effort to keep things involved and relevant for us. In fact, I particularly enjoyed the summer co-op program as it allowed me to get exposed to the wider job market that’s still related to my field. All in all, if you put in the work, you’ll find new ways to learn that can take you even further."

Gargi Ghugare
Graduate, 2015
Fashion Techniques and Design

“Going from not knowing how to use a sewing machine to coming up with a 15-piece collection right out of school that showed in Vancouver Fashion Week is all credit to my alma-mater”

For Gargi Ghugare, entering George Brown's two-year Fashion Techniques and Design program was a way to shift careers from covering fashion to creating fashion. Formerly an art director for Shaw TV’s “Fashion & Lifestyle,” Ghugare decided she wanted to get even closer to her love of clothing and design. The only trouble was that she had never even used a sewing machine. “I needed to learn the technical skills that would allow me to unleash my creativity,” she says. [Read Gargi Ghugare's story...]

Joao Guedes
Graduate, 2013
Fashion Techniques and Design Diploma

“I wanted to be challenged and be able to draft patterns well.”

An early career working in graphic design for advertising gave Joao Paulo Guedes a head start on the creative side of designing menswear looks. It was the technical know-how to put them together—and to make a career out of it—that he was looking for when he came to George Brown Polytechnic’s Fashion Techniques and Design program in 2011.

“I never knew how to sew until a couple of months before I enrolled at George Brown,” says the Brazilian expat, who threw himself into the work of learning how to draft patterns and put pieces together. [Read Joao Guedes' story...]

Jeremiah “Miah" Mills
Graduate, 2011
Fashion Business Industry

“As a mature student, I really valued being back in a classroom environment”

During his second year as an industrial design student at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Miah Mills started to make bags and satchels for himself as a hobby. Very soon, his friends were asking for custom-made creations of their own. “I realized that I was very passionate about this and that I should get an education in how to run a fashion business,” says Mills, who wanted to learn craft and entrepreneur-specific skills such as pattern drafting, sewing, marketing and business planning. At George Brown Polytechnic’s two-year Fashion Business Industry program, he found them all. [Read Miah Mills' story...]

Eileen Zhang
Graduate, 2008
Fashion Business Industry

“Draping classes taught me more practical ways to design clothing”

In 2009, Eileen Zhang launched Titika Active Couture, her own line of athletic wear for women that in just under six years has grown to include eight Ontario boutique locations and an online sales service. The success of her fashion line is due in part to Zhang’s sleek take on modern active wear, in part to her previous experience as a business owner in China and also to the specialized industry expertise she gained as a student of George Brown Polytechnic’s Fashion Business Industry two-year diploma program. [Read Eileen Zhang's story...]

Camille Prins
Graduate, 2008
Fashion Business Industry

“ I feel so lucky that I got into George Brown”

If you were a fan of Project Runway Canada then you’ll recognize Season 2 contestant and George Brown grad, Camille Prins. Selected as one of Canada’s most talented up-and-coming designers, Prins calls on her boundless energy and creativity when designing for her label, Dutch Blonde. She also credits the technical skills she learned at George Brown. “My education played a pivotal part of my career,” she says. [Read Camille Prins' story...]

Megan Lott
Graduate, 2002
Fashion Techniques and Design

Megan Lott has wanted in a career in fashion since high school. After studying sewing at Central Tech, she registered in George Brown Polytechnic's Fashion Techniques and Design program in 2000 and immediately took to the intensive work environment and the focus on the craft of fashion.

"In analyzing other programs I've found most of them don't focus enough on the technical side of fashion," Megan explains. "I think it's crucial for any designer to go through a program like George Brown's in order to understand what's technically possible. Especially because it's such a competitive industry, you should at least know the basics in all areas whether you're going to be a pattern-maker, sewer, illustrator or designer." [Read Megan Lott's story...]

What other graduates said...

"I came to the "Fashion Management" program at George Brown Polytechnic having already completed a 4-year University degree in Business Administration. The "Fashion Management" program which includes participation in the "College Creations" student store and an "Industry Internship" has genuinely challenged me for the first time in all of my previous educational endeavours. I am convinced that this program has prepared me well for a Management career in the Fashion industry."

Patricia Chung, Recent Graduate

"Graduating from the George Brown Polytechnic "Fashion Management" program provided me with the necessary competencies to obtain immediate employment in the Toronto Apparel industry. Applying the knowledge I had gained at GBC allowed me to attain a number of upwardly progressive job opportunity in the industry. This eventually made it possible for me to accomplish my ultimate ambition which was to become an entrepreneur in the Apparel industry."

"Today I own and operate one of the largest Apparel Manufacturing companies in Ontario; "Tang Apparel Inc" as President and CEO with over 150 direct labour employees and over 15 million in annual sales."

James Tang

"George Brown gave me the professional competencies I needed to start my career in the apparel industry. The intense curriculum covers all aspects of marketing, merchandising, manufacturing and management. The additional 320 hours of practical work experience in the industry were also a big help in securing a job immediately after graduation."

Katryn Nowina, Graduate