Perspectives in Fashion

Fashion Art Toronto and Fashion at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University, have partnered to present Perspectives in Fashion, a series of critical conversations with industry leaders, creatives, and thinkers on the ideas shaping the field of fashion. Taking place on Saturday, November 28th, the series brings together trailblazers in size-inclusion, race, and creativity to share the work and perspectives defining the future of fashion in Toronto and around the world.

This talk spotlights the changing perceptions of the fashionable body. Dr. Leila Kelleher, author of Plus Size Patternmaking for Womenswear and head of an international luxury fashion brand for fat bodies, is joined by Carole Reynolds, president of Sutherland Models, and Lesley Hampton, artist and fashion designer from Temagami First Nation.

This panel features Dr. Julie Crooks, head curator of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the AGO, whose current exhibition Sunday Best introduces the Toronto public to the diasporic influences of Black style. Gordon Shadrach is a Canadian painter whose portrait work explores the experience of Black men and the perceptions they are subject to in dominant culture. Black self-fashioning is the visual tool he uses to challenge viewers to see the beauty of his subjects. Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD University, is a leading thinker focusing on the Black experience in design.

Dr. Leila Kelleher is a fashion scholar and designer specializing in size-inclusive and sustainable fashion. With a PhD in Biomechanics, her research applies interdisciplinary methods to advance equity in apparel design. She co-founded the Size Inclusion in Fashion (SIF) Lab while a faculty member at Parsons School of Design and is the author of Plus Size Patternmaking for Womenswear (Bloomsbury, 2026).

Carole Reynolds is the owner of The Sutherland Network, an inclusive multi-faceted agency representing models and talent. Sutherland embraces size inclusivity and works tirelessly to promote all bodies to their clients.

Lesley Hampton is a Toronto-based Anishinaabe fashion designer and member of Temagami First Nation whose work champions mental wellness and body neutrality through an Indigenous worldview. Shaped by her international upbringing across Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic regions, Australia, England, Indonesia, and New Caledonia, Lesley brings a global perspective to her creative practice, using fashion as a catalyst for reflection, conversation, and community building. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 Local: Toronto and named the number one Canadian brand to watch by VOGUE, Lesley has collaborated with the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs, appeared as a guest judge on Canada’s Drag Race, and shared her expertise in Indigenous entrepreneurship and diversity in fashion at institutions including Parsons School of Design and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Dr. Julie Crooks, head curator of the Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the AGO, whose current co-curated exhibition Sunday Best introduces the Toronto public to the use of style and self-fashioning in Black diasporic communities, from the 1880s to the present.

Gordon Shadrach is a Black Canadian painter whose work explores the semiotics of clothing and its impact on culture. In particular, his interest lies in the intersection and codification of race and fashion. Shadrach’s portraits of Black men utilize fashion—contemporary or historical dress—in order to create narratives which pull viewers in to explore the biases embedded in North American culture.

Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD University and author of Design Social Change, is a designer, researcher, and educator who practices design through critical and anti-hegemonic lenses with a focus on equity, social justice, and the experience of those who are often excluded from design research. Lesley-Ann’s research highlights the work of designers outside of Europe and North America and promotes critical awareness by introducing critical theory concepts and vocabulary into the industry.

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The Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University, 80 Gould Street, Toronto, Canada

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