Presenters

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  Paul King

  President - KenDor Textiles

  As KenDor’s President, Paul does much more than run day-to-day operations. With authentic enthusiasm, he simultaneously heads up the global sourcing and sales team. Paul has been working in the textile industry at KenDor for over 30 years and is often the first call for many industry veterans and new designers alike trying to find anything garment related.

  Paul is also on the board of the BC Apparel and Gear Association.

   

  Website

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  Sarah Power

  Brand builder and founder of Canada's most established platform for connecting Canadian apparel and accessory brands directly with shoppers. Since launching in 2014, INLAND has created opportunities for over 500 sustainably-minded labels to take their collections to market. In response to COVID-19, INLAND partnered with Hudson's Bay Company to launch an eComm platform including over 70 Canadian collections - and growing. Founded on the principles of promoting responsible design, advocating for diverse representation, and empowering local voices, INLAND continues to transform the notion of "retail" into a celebration of human-centered expression of identity and material culture.  

  Website

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  Ali Sami

  An alumnus of the Fashion Marketing program, with the Wilson School of Design at KPU, Ali started a career with Nordstrom upon graduation, and is now an Employee Relations Advisor supporting Nordstrom Canada and the Eastern United States. 

  Website

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  Luxi Mathi

  Luxi Mathi is a Tamil-Canadian entrepreneur, born and raised in the Capital of Canada with a drive to see others walk into their full potential. This had led her to establishing Luxi Management in 2016, a model and marketing management specialized in fashion. The opportunities in Ottawa, the well-known “Government City” were extremely limited in comparison to both the surrounding cities ona national level and surrounding countries on an international level. This was the initial moment Luxi had been exposed to the lack of cultivation in the Canadian fashion industry. Through her business, she has had the chance to work with models, creatives and entrepreneurs from small to large scale businesses, providing help to over a hundred local Canadian businesses. Combining efforts to better and further the fashion industry with Lidia Tesfamicael in 2018, Canada Fashion Network/Réseau de la mode du Canada was born, a nonprofit organization aimed to elevate fashion in Canada, protecting, educating and guiding fashion enthusiasts to pursue their dreams in fashion. Today, Luxi is working towards national and international recognition for the Canadian fashion industry, while continuing her passion to help empower entrepreneurs into the best version of themselves, promoting inclusion, diversity and equity.

  “Fashion is a form of art, and as Canadians, we have the fundamental right to exercise our freedom of  expression through the clothing we wear, create, design, sell and/or purchase. To successfully achieve  this, we have to create an environment that allows these individuals to succeed.” — Luxi Mathi 

  Website

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  Lidia Tesfamicael

  Lidia Tesfamicael is a Canadian designer born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. She studied marketing and fashion design in her hometown. She always was passionate about fashion, which led to her creating custom clothing with the local clientele. As much as she loved creating custom clothing, it was not fulfilling enough. Lidia wanted a label under “Lidia Daniel”. Through the process of working on her label, she found that there was not enough fashion research in Canada when analyzing buyers. Lidia continued to ask questions, and as she was doing that, she realized that many people had the same questions and concerns. The questions consistently revolved around the lack of funding, manufacturing, awareness, support from the government, and overall, there was a lack of a sense of “community”. In 2018, she built a team under the name Ottawa Fashion Network with her Co-Founder, Luxi Mathi-- gathering like minded people to push forward the industry. In 2019, Canada Fashion Network/ Réseau de la mode du Canada was registered. CFN is a non-profit organization on a mission to build a community for the Canadian fashion industry and strengthen the impact of Canadian fashion in the global economy. Today, Lidia is continuing working towards making an impact on bettering the Canadian fashion industry, while continuing her passion to design clothing and standing up for diversity, inclusivity and unity.
  

   

  “As a black woman, I wanted to create a platform and put my efforts towards creating equal opportunity for a better future in the fashion industry.” — Lidia Tesfamicael.

  Website

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  Michael Pope

  Instructor with the Wilson School of Design teaching in programs Fashion & Technology, Fashion Marketing and Foundations in Design.

  *AAG BC/Yukon Executive Committee Rep 2009-2018