Andrea De Ocampo – Stylist Competition 2022 winner
written by
Nicole Lachance
Andrea De Ocampo has been designing clothes since she was old enough to hold a pencil. In 2011, a relative noticed her innate talent and suggested that it was time for her to turn her dreams into a reality. This is how, at age 15, she showed her first collection at Western Canada Fashion Week in the fall of 2011.
Andrea takes her inspiration from strong personalities; her design ideas are driven by people who walk to the beat of their own drum. She says that she was never the cool kid at school, and it was important for her to create a brand where people like her can find things they want to wear. Inclusivity is important to her; no one is excluded from her brand.
For the time being, Andrea refers to designing as her passion project. She earned two degrees in Human Ecology from the University of Alberta, and she is enjoying success and satisfaction at her corporate job with an international company. This enables her to bring her design philosophy to life, by making the 9:00 to 5:00 her runway.
Her signature piece is the De Ocampo jacket: Slightly oversized, classically tailored, yet soft. She loves fabrics that are luxurious but simple, such as silk, chiffon and satin. Andrea strives to create luxury pieces that are timeless (yet affordable, with prices starting at $600 for a good jacket), luxurious, and high quality. She always adds a quirk, for example in a piece with structure she will add silk for flow and movement, and a soft embellishment.
People can special order her clothing by direct messaging her on Instagram @deocampofashionhouse for made to order sizing.
Dov Alexander began his creative career in Vancouver. Having attended film school, he lived in Vancouver and worked as a set designer for television and movies. Then, in August 2019, he suffered an electric shock, and had a major epiphany: His welder boots saved his life. Fashion literally saved his life, and the rest is history.
The main philosophy of Dov’s fashion brand is that he upcycles by taking thrifted items and making them into new works of art. On his website at www.dovalexander.com he describes himself as a “loud upcycling artist,” and this description makes sense. His signature is his use of bold, bright colours and unexpected textures.
Sustainability is his focus, and he tries to use every scrap that he has. He wants to be the in-between of the thrift store and the landfill. Women’s jackets and shoes are his signature pieces, but he upcycles furniture too. What he produces depends entirely on what items he can source to upcycle, so it makes sense that the sizes vary based on what items are available to thrift.
As fashion inspiration, Dov cites Jeremy Scott and Alexander McQueen. There is irony in his designs, and he tries to incorporate political statements in a fun and subtle way. No two pieces are alike, and each product will have a hidden message, for example, where if you flip up the jacket collar you might see a message in writing that describes the hours spent painting, or the cost of the piece.
For the moment, Dov is primarily making women’s clothing, but he says that he would like to make more men’s pieces. Designing is his full time job, and there is no limit to what he could or would do. He essentially upcycles whatever strikes his imagination.
Dov already has one celebrity client: The hyper pop singer Ely Otto has been photographed wearing one of Dov’s custom jackets. This has helped Dov to get noticed by the art and fashion crowd, and his designs are gaining momentum. His line is carried in three Calgary boutiques: Thrift Couture, Shoe Muse, and Get a Dose of Happiness in Bankers Hall. For Dov, this is just the beginning.
Joanne is not your typical designer: She is between a Master’s Degree and a PhD in Neurosciences. Although she still works in health care, her passion is fashion. Her line, which began in 2000 as a jewelry line, is called Gypsy Eyes Prairie Skies.
In 2013, Joanne presented her first fashion show as an emerging designer at Western Canada Fashion Week. That collection was made up of pieces produced with recycled fabrics and materials, so sustainability has long been a part of her design process.
When discussing the fashion industry, Joanne says that it is important to her to see real women represented in the fashion industry; women of all ages, sizes, shapes and ethnicities. She loves fashion, and describes clothing as art that we put on the body.
She is passionate about encouraging people to get back to dressing up, in this post-pandemic time. When the pandemic started, people got practical, we lost a part of ourselves when we started wearing pyjamas all day long instead of dressing up for work and other events. Now is the perfect time to kickstart ourselves.
Joanne believes that fashion can change your life. If you wear the right shade of red, beautiful lingerie or the perfect pair of shoes, this can change the way you feel about yourself, and you can go out into the world wearing a fabulous outfit and create a magical day for yourself.
We need to take this opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves. As an example, Joanne cites people in their 90s, who still get their hair done, groom themselves nicely and put together a nice outfit to leave the house. She believes that you need to have enough pride in yourself to present your best foot forward. When we dress up, we can really live, and exciting things can happen.
Her design inspiration comes from designers like Chanel and Dior, from historical period clothing, and from television shows like Sex and the City or Gossip Girl, where the characters wore great outfits and inspired us to experiment with our own fashion sense. When you wear an amazing outfit, you can reinvent yourself, and no one will know if you grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. We all need something to aspire to. Fashion inspires people to want more, to do more, and Joanne hopes that her designs will inspire people to go beyond the world they know, and to reach for more.