In honour of the weather getting colder and the semester feeling more overwhelming, we thought we would take this time to celebrate the amount of time we fashion students spend indoors. In our first ever issue of The Book, we featured four talented fashion creatives and their to-die-for work spaces. Three years later these students are in very different places, but the #interiorinspo we got from their rooms back then, are still giving us the feels now. So take a peek below at the spread we originally featured in print, written by Millie Yates and photographed by Bronwyn Marshall.
As fashion students, we spend much of our time in communal design labs, either on a Mac or behind a sewing machine. While this space is important to our education, it says very little about us as individuals. What of the homes and workspaces that our peers return to after the irons and monitors have been turned off? We interviewed four inspiring fashion students for The Book Issue 01 and took a peek into their personal spaces. Feel free to use these upper year student’s design chops to inspire your new dorm room and make it feel a little more ‘you’.
Nicola Place, Fashion Design Alumni | Class of 2017
Nicola is a recent graduate of the Fashion Design program and is from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. When we originally interviewed her for this piece in Issue 01 she was in third year, interning at the National Ballet School, and an aspiring dance costume designer. Talk about impressive. Being part of such a magical and creative team at NBS, her personal space lived up to our whimsical expectations. Polaroids, pinboards and loads of patterns are the way to emulate this creative’s super stylish enclave.
What are your favourite parts of your room?
“I like my record player and my cacti; I like having a wall of pictures of everything I’ve done. I have a lot of stuff from my grandmother. When she passed away I took her mirror, some of her bottles and incense holders. I love my trinkets, my room is full of them.”
What work do you do in your space?
“Any illustration work I get done at my desk. Sometimes I trace things on my window because the lighting is really good in here. As soon as the sun rises, I’m awake.”
Lindsay Clarke, Fashion Communications | Fourth Year
Lindsay is a fourth year Fashion Communications student from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her passion and killer eye for branding radiated off her walls when we entered her workspace. Hand painted art, a hyper-stylized gallery wall and heaps of past and current fashion magazines are just a few ways to take Lindsay’s DIY decor and make it your own.
Where are all the decorations on your wall from?
Mostly my own artwork. I’ve started putting up things from other brands because I’m really into branding, I like having pictures up for inspiration.
Do you create your illustrations in your room?
“I end up doing illustrations on the kitchen table.”
Fiona Torrens, Fashion Communications Alumni | Class of 2017
Fiona is currently a Fashion Communications Alumni, from London Ontario. She graduated this past spring as part of Ryerson Fashion’s class of 2017. When we stopped by her place on an early Saturday morning back in 2015, we were greeted with one of the most immaculate student spaces we had ever seen. (This sentiment still holds true today as one of the best student spaces we visited). Clean, polished and minimal, Fiona’s space perfectly complements her personal style.
How do you like living away from campus?
“I like the location because it’s not directly downtown. I can see trees here which I really like. I don’t like looking directly and somebody’s condo building [and] my walk is a nice time to start and end my day.”
What do you like about your space?
“My desk looks out a window. I don’t like looking at a wall while I work. Even if there isn’t much to look at, it’s still nice.”
How is living further away from campus different than living close to it?
“I felt like I was only a student.”
Lex Brown, Fashion Communications Alumni | Class of 2017
Lex Brown is a Fashion Design alumni from Hamilton Ontario. When we interviewed her for The Book 01 she was hard at work designing for her FAT (Fashion Art Toronto) show. We caught up with her (and her cat, Po) at her live in studio.
Tell us about the art on your walls.
“These [three canvases] were my grade 12 culminating project. This other canvas is new and unpainted. The frame is so large one piece of canvas wasn’t big enough to cover it so I wrapped multiple pieces around. Its important to have a space that is creative to do creative work.”
If you could change your space to better suit your needs, what would be different?
“I wish I had better lighting. Mine is terrible. I would also love a serger, but I would have to get rid of something else in order to fit it in.”
Original wording by Millie Yates.
Adapted to web by Naomi Brearley.
