George Brown College's Centre for Arts, Design and IT (CADIT), in collaboration with Robin Kay, are pleased to announce MAKECanada™, a multidisciplinary, innovative clothing and jewellery design initiative to inspire our students for the regeneration and reshoring of the Canadian Fashion Community.
MAKECanada™ is calling all inspired Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology students at George Brown College to ignite a movement toward a “clean” fashion industry by submitting design concepts that are ethical, sustainable and innovative in setting new expectations and reforming our relationship with fashion–holding designers and consumers accountable for the entire lifecycle of goods, from production to waste management.
January 25, 2022
Official Competition Launch
March 14, 2022
Deadline to submit Design Packages
Apr 1, 2022
Announcement of Semi-Finalists
In a global race to net-zero and toward a cleaner future for all, the fashion industry has a significant role to play.
Amidst the consequences of fast fashion, green-washing, and social media influences shaping consumer behaviour, the fashion industry has been slow to move away from environmentally, socially, and economically unsustainable practices.Exploitative supply chains using toxic and resource-intensive, synthetic materials have been keeping costs low and production high. Constant streams of new trends and styles render items easily discardable and replaceable– ending up in landfills and oceans.
Emerging are innovative, ethical, and sustainable practices, designing for the entire lifecycle of fashion. From production to waste management: moving towards non-toxic and organically sourced materials and dyes, reducing carbon footprint through localizing the supply chain, and finding new ways to disassemble, reuse, recycle, and even compost alternative textiles.
To support this growing momentum, MAKECanada™ envisions an innovative Canadian grassroots movement where we challenge the fashion industry by responding to the following questions:
Can we take a holistic approach in design to be accountable for the full lifecycle of the products we create?
How can design shape consumer behaviour to extend the active life and wear of goods purchased?
RESHORE:
Cultivate the Canadian fashion industry by creating unique, impactful designs to inspire an international audience.
RETRAIN:
Be creative and imaginative in the use of materials, textiles and technology.
REGENERATE:
Show an innovative approach to incorporating social, economic and environmental sustainability within the design.
Note: All challenge communication will be done through the email provided by the registered student. The registered student/account will be responsible for uploading the final submission package.
Semi-finalists will be matched with community ambassadors to help develop their designs from prototype to product.
Working with the experts at the Fashion Exchange, our industry partners, and material and fabrication experts, finalist teams will explore cutting-edge production technology to present a working prototype.
All prototypes will be showcased in a series of culminating events, both live and online, where our judges will choose the final designs to put into limited productions.
In Fall 2022, the final MAKECanada™ products will have the opportunity to be sold on GBC campuses and at the School of Design’s INStore, both at the store and through their e-commerce platform.
Semi-finalists will be matched with community ambassadors to help develop their designs from prototype to product.
Working with the experts at the Fashion Exchange, our industry partners, and material and fabrication experts, finalist teams will explore cutting-edge production technology to present a working prototype.
All prototypes will be showcased in a series of culminating events, both live and online, where our judges will choose the final designs to put into limited productions.
In Fall 2022, the final MAKECanada™ products will have the opportunity to be sold on GBC campuses and at the School of Design’s INStore, both at the store and through their e-commerce platform.
Early January 2022
Competition launch & registration portal opens.
March 2022:
Registration closes.
March 2022:
Deadline to submit design packages.
March 2022:
Judging committee meets.
March 2022:
Semi-finalists announced.
Spring 2022:
Semi-finalists matched with industry professional for mentorship to develop concepts Production of Prototype in partnership with the FX & key industry partners.
Spring/Summer 2022
Prototypes showcased at a series of events; final judging to select Finalists for Phase 3.
Small Batch Production Summer semesterSummer 2022:
Production of winning design(s).
Summer/Fall 2022:
Opportunities for purchase across GBC campuses and at the INStore both on campus and online.
January 25, 2022
Competition launch
March 14, 2022
Deadline to submit design packages
March 14-18, 2022
Judging committee meets
April 1, 2022
Semi-finalists announced
March - May 2022
Semi-finalists matched with industry professional for mentorship to develop concepts
Production of prototype in partnership with the FX & key industry partners
June 2022
Final judging to select Finalists for Phase 3
June - October 2022
Finalists will work with FX staff and jewellery production partners to lead the production process of their winning design(s)
November 2022
Opportunities for purchase across GBC campuses and at the INStore both on campus and online
