Fashion Designer Stephanie Connell

1) What have you been up to since you graduating from Fanshawe?

Since Fanshawe, I have found myself by gaining a lot of experience working in the industry. It really is amazing how much you can learn from experience. I have gained more of my knowledge mainly on the business side of fashion. It’s very important to have a balance between design and business to make success for your brand.
In addition, I have been continuing developing my own label. I’ve focused towards celebrity and event dressing. Currently I am in production for my new website launch as well as some important designing for some of our Canadian VIP’s.

2) How would you describe your philosophy about the art of fashion?

I enjoy the way this question is worded, “the art of fashion”. I strongly believe that fashion is art. A form of art is described as the following, “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”. With fashion, not only is this statement true for the designer but for the customer as well. That’s the beauty in fashion; it is an art form for all parties.

3) Where do you look for inspiration for your designs?

Inspiration many times can be pulled from anything it just is a matter of your collection mood and what triggers your emotions as a designer/artist. I find many times I relate to visual arts and other designers to get my mind in motion.

4) What public figure do you look to for inspiration?

Alexander McQueen is the most influential designer for me. He is limitless and creates such innovative looks that maintain a balanced look from colour to fabric to silhouette. Such high fashion with endless innovation is something I look up to and I want to amount to at some point in my life. I hope to create pieces that touch others the way that McQueen’s work does for me.

5) What led you to decide to pursue a career as a designer?

Growing up I always was an artistic child and found my interests in all art forms from visual to drama to fashion. Once I hit high school I had a full sketchbook of random clothing designs. By graduation I had the opportunity to create my own prom dress from design to production and I enjoyed every part of it. I knew after that point that fashion was my career path. Making my choice to what school I would pursue my education at was a huge choice and I felt Fanshawe was serious about my success which was very important to me. The program introduced so much knowledge and opportunity to me and little did I realize how much was involved in the fashion life and it made me want it even more. Sometimes people are lucky enough to land in the career path that they love without even knowing why they love it and luckily it has happened for me.

6) What reactions do people generally have to your designs and creations?

Generally the feedback I receive is positive. In a business like this you have to understand and respect that you can’t satisfy everyone… but of course I will continue to try 

7) When you are creating a piece, what goes through your mind?

What the piece will look like when it’s finished. In all sections of the process before the design is finished the designer already has a vision of what it will look like and of course we have to be able to let the fact go that it might not be what we envision in the end but no matter what we keep in mind what we are trying to achieve.

8) What do you like most about fashion design?

My ability to be free with expression and passion through my designs and knowing someone will have interest in making it part of their lives is what makes me love the world of fashion. Nothing is more rewarding than knowing that my work has touched someone through my fashion.

9) What do you like least about fashion design?

Being a perfectionist makes it difficult to let in to the fact that not everything can be the way you envision to be perfect. Letting yourself give in will make things perfect in the end. Design is a world of wonders and you have be ok knowing you can’t win the battle against the fact that anything can happen.

To see more of Stephanie Connells work, visit her website at www.sfconnell.com

Bayan Peterson

You might not have heard of Canadian fashion model Bayan Peterson, but with the amount of projects in print, digital and television appearances she’s been involved in, you’ve most likely have seen her. She has worked for companies like TAG EFFIGI for their giant in store banners and catalogue, Vie Magazine, Nueva, Parasuco, Beyond the Rack, and Kohls Department Store in the U.S. as well as countless fashion shows on both sides of the border.
Born in Quebec, the beautiful intellectual has lived all over Canada and overseas learning five languages in the process. She comes from a multi-ethnic background. Her mother is Persian and her father is Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and French.
Bayans first passion would have to be horseback riding. She began horseback riding at a very young age and still does at her home near Toronto. Before her venture into modeling, Bayan planned on going into teaching; tutoring for a few years in remedial learning for dyslexia. Although she enjoyed the experience, she didn’t feel that was her true calling. It was during that time when the modeling and fashion world called and she began her career as a well sought after model.

Q. How and when did you get involved with modeling? What attracted you most to the profession?

Ever since I was about thirteen, I started getting scouted by agencies in random places - on the street, in the mall etc. But having moved around so much, and being so involved with settling into new environments, learning new languages, making new friends, that I never really felt like I had the time to put into it. But in 2009, I was vacationing in the Dominican when a photographer who was also there on vacation came up to me and told me I looked like a model and asked if I would like to do a shoot, just for fun. I agreed, and got a lot of great pictures, but I just thought that would be the end of it – just really nice vacation pictures. But, when I got back home, Toronto-based fashion photographer John Sayer White saw a few of the pictures that I had posted and sent me a message saying that I absolutely HAD to go and see his good friend Chantale Nadeau. Turns out, going to see her was one of the best decisions of my life. Chantale Nadeau is an absolutely incredible woman who runs an international model placement agency out of Toronto. She helps new models build a portfolio and get placed with an agency as well as continuing to support and guide them along their careers. Twenty-four hours after meeting Chantale, I was signing with Sutherland Models Toronto – who I am still am very happily with. And a couple months later, I signed with Folio Montreal and now I model full-time in Toronto and Montreal.

Q. What type of modeling is most interesting for you and why?

I fit into a weird middle ground between commercial and editorial modeling, making my work a lot more interesting since I am able to work in both categories. One day I’m shooting high fashion clothing for a magazine, the next day its bras for a catalogue, then adds for a store, an upcoming look book, or maybe something filmed instead – a TV commercial or event, or doing runway for Fashion Week… its always different, always changing, and there are always new looks to see, new trends, new ideas. So really what I love most about modeling is the variety of work I get to do.

Q. What personality traits do you think one should have to become a good model?

Perseverance and positivity. The harsh truth is that in this industry you are going to get rejected a lot. No matter how good you are, or how beautiful you are, you are not going to book every job you cast for, simply because each client is looking for some particular look that resonated with their material, and if you are not that look, you won’t get the job. The trick is not to take it personally or let it get you down. Keep a positive attitude and keep trying. Positivity lets you remain cheerful and professional on set, even in crazy environments and long hours. Not only does this show up in your pictures, but it also makes you more fun to work with. The key to a great shoot is a happy, positive team that works well together, and as a model, you are the focus.

Kohl's Commercial featuring Bayan 2010

KOHL'S - "EXPECTATIONS" from landis on Vimeo.

Q. You convey an elevated level of confidence in your work. Do you consider yourself a performer at heart?

First of all thank you, that’s very kind of you to say. My whole life I have always chosen a few things that were very important to me and thrown myself into them extremely passionately – kind of a ‘go all the way or not at all’ attitude. The funny thing is that I never really used to consider myself a performer – I always hated drama in school, I wasn’t a singer or a dancer or a cheerleader or anything like that, and neither was I ever interested in competitive sports. I wasn’t shy, if anything I was the opposite, I was very expressive and outgoing but in non-performance ways. So, coming into this industry with no background, I really had to open a whole new door for myself and learn how to let go and move and be free. It’s been quite an exhilarating and liberating experience and has really helped me discover a whole new side to myself. Ultimately, I would say that I consider myself to be more of an artist than a performer. A performer impersonated a character and carries that through a narrative. A model, like a painter, has a scene or a series of scenes that they bring to life by arranging a collection of artistic elements to create a perfect moment frozen in time.

Q. Who would you say have been the most influential people in your life? In what way?

I would say that my parents have been extremely influential in my personal life. They are both strong in their beliefs, and the most kind and honestly people you will ever meet. Having role models like that is invaluable. As a teacher, I got to see how important it is to do all the right things when raising a child and I guess I really appreciate everything they did for me. Not to sound cliché, but I really wouldn’t be who I am without them.
Professionally, I have been extremely lucky to work with so many talented, supportive, and amazing people. It’s so hard to single someone out, but if I had to, it would have to be Chantale Nadeau. She got me started, has supported me along the way and continues to show me how to be a better model all the time. Her energy, passion, and knowledge of the industry make her truly incomparable.

Q. What would you say was the biggest mistake of your modeling career? What did you learn from that experience that you'll always carry with you that others might learn from?

Having Chantale Nadeau as my mother agent has been a blessing in my career in more ways than I can count. Whenever I have anything that I am unsure of, I talk to her and she helps navigate through whatever the problem is. I’d say that it’s because of her and my wonderful agents at Sutherland and Folio that I don’t really have an answer to this question.

Q. What advice can you offer aspiring models about realizing their dreams, and balancing work and life?

Staying grounded will help both in realizing your dreams and in balancing your life. Remember that you are a person and you are lucky to have a job like this. Don’t let it go to your head, don’t be a diva, and always treat everyone respectfully and professionally. Listen to the advice of other but always have confidence in yourself.
I find this job to be, in many ways, the best and the hardest job to balance with a personal life. It’s the best in the sense of not having to work a 9-5 job, every day doing the same thing. Call times are random and often not full day, so you get a lot of half days of work. However, the hard part is that you don’t have a schedule and for the most part, you don’t get your schedule until the night before so planning things in advance is hard unless you book out. I think the trick is good communication with your agency – tell them the times that you want to try and be able to be free but have them still call you if a big job comes your way. A good agent will be your guide. You should to be able to trust them, to feel good about talking openly with them and to know that they have your back.

Q. What's next for you?

I’m currently in the latest edition of Suhaag magazine out in Chapters. I recently shot for Book For Men by Sharp magazine. I have also shot the Fall/Winter 2011 Nueva campaign with Leda and St. Jacques in Montreal for the second time. I have some spring videos and ads for Winners coming out in March as well as catalogues for Wal-Mart, Sears and Zellers, a few TV spots coming out for Italian lingerie and Fall Wear and of course the Toronto Fashion Week is coming up soon.

Thank you Bayan for taking the time to speak with me.

Bayan is represented by Sutherland Models Toronto and Folio Montreal.

Managed by Chantale Nadeau.

CAISA Fashion Show 2011

The University of Western Ontario's student association CAISA is again bringing its annual fashion show on March 19th of this year at Centennial Hall in London. For the past 13 years CAISA has consistently pushed the artistic envelope by bringing talented fashion designers, artist, music, and finely executed choreography to the stage.

CAISA Fashion Show is one of the longest running fashion shows completely managed by UWO students in the nation. 2011 also marks the 9th year that they’ve been collaborating with its benefactor the “Childrens Health Foundation”; an organization dedicated to "raising and granting funds to support specialized health care and research for children and youth” throughout Canada.


Lo-Anne Chang is the Clothing Director for this years show. She is a 5th year Criminology Major at Western who got involved with the show in 2010. She had been an aspiring model for a number of years but she got her first break when she won the title of “Beauty of Malaysian Canadians 2009” at the Beauties of Asia pageant in Toronto. Since then she has mainly been doing volunteer runways and promoting London designers and fashion boutiques to get their name out to the public. Her role at the CAISA Fashion Show oversees all designer clothing featured in the show.


CAISA Fashion Show has always been proud of bringing a "non-traditional fashion show" to its audience, says Lo-Anne. In addition to showcasing various fashion designers in Ontario, its biggest attraction is having well-choreographed dance scenes performed by models.

Asked about what to expect this years show, Lo-Anne says; "Every year we put on an amazing show filled with a variety of talented acts. This year we're adding a storyline so that our scenes and performers all play a role in a larger picture and the audience really does have to stay alert throughout the show to see how it concludes. Keep your eyes open for our trailers that our coming out soon. You'll get a hint of what is to be expected."

Visit CAISA Fashion show on their website at www.caisafashionshow2011.com or their Facebook Page.

Canuck Fashionista

Coming soon!