Mothers Day may have come and gone but we want to celebrate hard-working women every day. From designers to boutique owners, Canadian women are leading the way with innovative ideas and keen sartorial senses. These are five of our favourite brands run by women that are creating waves in the Canadian fashion industry.

Rightful Owner
The antithesis to fast fashion and the notoriously short lifespan of trends, RoseMcMahon’s clothing line for women celebrates the joy of playing dress up. Her quirky creations appear to be straight from the pages of a fairy tale about club kids and that is exactly what makes her collections so exciting. The Montreal-based designer emphasizes strong craftsmanship and creating wearable works of art, and we absolutely cannot wait to see what else she dreams up.

One of a Few
A staple of Vancouver’s trendy Gastownneighbourhood for over ten years, this boutique is exactly as its name suggests, a unique find. Michelle Rizzardo, owner, and creative director has crafted an aesthetic that is at once elegantly refined and effortlessly accessible. Her thoughtful selection of items comes through in each and every piece. On top of selling clothing and accessories made by local artists, they also carry a wide selection of well-known international brands, such as Rachel Comey, Creatures of Comfort, and Ganni.

Hayley Elsaesser
Hayley Elsaesser describes her aesthetic as “bold, colourful and busy.” The Canadian-born designer has a penchant for prints — as well as pastel hair dye — and her eponymous line has been spotted on celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Alessia Cara. She is also a steadfast advocate of inclusivity in the fashion industry; she has made a point of hiring models of all sizes, genders, ethnicities, and abilities, while simultaneously making efforts to combat tokenism. In 2015, she opened her flagship store in Toronto’s West Queen West neighbourhood.

Brother Vellies
Named after the velskoen, an African pre-cursor to the desert boot, this luxury footwear and accessories company is completely dedicated to ethical production practices. Toronto-native and founder Aurora James hoped to promote traditional African footwear styles and to create sustainable job opportunities for African artisans. She has definitely been succeeding, with the fashion industry taking a notice and awarding James the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund back in 2015. All of their shoes and bags are made of leather sourced from agricultural byproducts, showing that sustainability in fashion does have to equal a sacrifice in style.

Garmentory
Vancouver-based jumpsuit aficionado Adele Tetangco is the co-founder and seasoned curatorial eye behind one of the most exciting fashion tech startups in recent years. This border-straddling operation —they run offices out of Vancouver and Seattle — was created with the goal of connecting remote customers with emerging and indie designers, and the list is constantly growing. The very best part of the operation is the unique access they have provided to customers around the world. Now you can shop the collections of local shops in Nashville to New South Wales, all without ever looking up the cost of a plane ticket.

Inspirational Images
Image courtesy of One of a Few
Image courtesy of CBC
Image courtesy of One of a Few
Image courtesy of Flare
Image courtesy of Man Repeller
Image courtesy of The Coveteur

By Nicholas Gorgopa, Vancouver, @gorgopa

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