Twelve VCC fashion design grad students will showcase their grad collections on the runway at VFW FW26 on Thursday, April 9th at 5:30 p.m. Purchase your Tix HERE!
The collections presented by VCC’s Fashion Design & Production Diploma students draw on a wide range of influences, including Coast Salish, Colombian, Chinese, Filipino, and South Korean cultural heritages. Additional inspiration spans the unexpected, from marionettes to the anatomy of a blister, resulting in garments that are both conceptual and wearable. Sustainability and longevity are central to several collections, reflected in thoughtful material choices and responsible production practices.
“We are delighted to see our students showcase their hard work and talent at Vancouver Fashion Week,” said Sarah Murray, Fashion Program Coordinator at VCC. “These collections represent the culmination of two years of intensive, hands-on training. Presenting their designs on a professional runway provides invaluable real-world experience as they prepare to enter the fashion industry.”
2026 Designers -
Ana Júlia Veronka
The Marionettes translates a reflection on society and human behavior into fashion. Conceived as a five-look narrative, the collection explores power, control, vulnerability, and liberation, constructing a visual dialogue about the forces that shape identity. Each design embodies a character, forming a story that examines the tension between conformity and authenticity.
At its core, the collection questions how identity is influenced by social norms, authority, fear, and internalized expectations. It presents five symbolic figures. The Sheep represents passive conformity, following established norms without resistance. The Puppeteer stands for authority and the systems that orchestrate behavior. The Fearful recognizes injustice yet remains silent, choosing safety over confrontation. The Self-Oppressed internalizes pressure and suppresses individuality to meet accepted standards. In contrast, The Liberator rejects imposed expectations, embracing authenticity despite the discomfort or isolation that may follow. Through these archetypes, the collection explores how identity can be shaped, concealed, negotiated, or ultimately reclaimed.
Designed to embrace the body, the pieces adapt to a range of silhouettes without being confined to a specific gender. The construction respects natural curves, angles, softness, and strength, allowing the garments to contour and support rather than impose. By blending conventional sizing references and avoiding rigid categorization, the collection proposes clothing that responds to the body itself, not to predefined labels.
Materiality becomes the primary language of expression. Stretch sheer mesh and structured wire form the foundation of each piece, creating garments that both reveal and contour the body. The transparency of the mesh symbolizes exposure and honesty, transforming vulnerability into visual strength. What is often hidden becomes visible, reframing fragility as empowerment. The wire introduces structure, embracing and defining the silhouette while translating emotional tension into physical form. Rather than restricting movement, it supports and traces the body’s natural lines.
Constructed without traditional closures, the garments rely on elastic and wire for support. This technical decision reinforces the conceptual framework: instead of forcing the body to conform to clothing, the pieces adapt to it. Structure and flexibility coexist, mirroring the balance between control and freedom explored within the narrative. Lace appears as both ornament and symbol, juxtaposing delicacy with the rigidity of wire. This interplay reflects the emotional complexity embedded in each character: softness intertwined with strength, vulnerability coexisting with resilience.
Through minimal materials and experimental construction, The Marionettes invites reflection on the invisible strings that influence behavior and self-perception. More importantly, it proposes the possibility of transformation: that control can be questioned, that imposed structures can be reshaped, and that the same strings that once restrained us can become tools of self-expression.
Ana Maria Cilima
anamaria.cilima@gmail.com
Ana Cilima is a fashion designer who views fashion as a language of the soul, a way to express strength, grace, and inner light through form, color, and movement. Rooted in her Colombian heritage, her work conveys warmth, rhythm, and emotional depth. She designs to honor women in their authenticity, creating pieces that illuminate the beauty and individuality of each woman, recognizing that true beauty lies in our hearts and in the confidence we embody when we feel comfortable in our own skin.
Her REFLEJO collection is inspired by the Spanish word “cielo,” which means both sky and heaven, a double meaning that reflects the connection between what is above us and what lives within us. When the sky is reflected in the water, watching it feels like taking a deep, calming breath, a reminder of the beautiful peace felt when we are reflections of God. In her designs, through the balance between clean lines and those full of movement, she seeks to reflect harmony and peace. Accompanied by fabrics that respond to light, the collection embodies the spiritual depth, serenity, and unique beauty that resides in every woman.
anamaria.cilima@gmail.com
Ana Cilima is a fashion designer who views fashion as a language of the soul, a way to express strength, grace, and inner light through form, color, and movement. Rooted in her Colombian heritage, her work conveys warmth, rhythm, and emotional depth. She designs to honor women in their authenticity, creating pieces that illuminate the beauty and individuality of each woman, recognizing that true beauty lies in our hearts and in the confidence we embody when we feel comfortable in our own skin.
Her REFLEJO collection is inspired by the Spanish word “cielo,” which means both sky and heaven, a double meaning that reflects the connection between what is above us and what lives within us. When the sky is reflected in the water, watching it feels like taking a deep, calming breath, a reminder of the beautiful peace felt when we are reflections of God. In her designs, through the balance between clean lines and those full of movement, she seeks to reflect harmony and peace. Accompanied by fabrics that respond to light, the collection embodies the spiritual depth, serenity, and unique beauty that resides in every woman.
Uproar was born from a radical question: What would happen if clothing could function as a second body, one that can shift and transfer to adapt even more freely than your own? The Brands core innovation lies in the two parts. First is the solid foundation the garment, build to last with educational sourcing and prompt, craftsmanship and showing durability and longevity despite its transferable nature.
Charlene Yin
kwanyueyin315@gmail.com ~ @hicharlene_My graduate collection begins with the cheongsam, not just as a traditional garment, but as something tied to memory and identity. Growing up within Chinese culture, I’ve always seen the cheongsam as more than clothing. It carries a quiet strength, a balance of femininity, restraint, and confidence. I don’t see it as something frozen in history, but as a form that can continue to evolve, just as culture does.
This collection sits between past and present. I deconstruct elements like the mandarin collar, diagonal fastening and fitted silhouette, softening and reshaping them through contemporary cuts and subtle reconstruction. By adjusting proportions and introducing layering, I aim to create pieces that feel lighter and more adaptable to modern life. It isn’t about recreating tradition exactly as it was, but allowing it to speak in a new way.
Fabric plays an important role in how I express this idea. I was inspired by the red brocade that carries traditional Chinese motifs and paired it with black satin to express both continuity and contemporary presence. The tactile sensation of fabric against skin, the drape and weight of cloth, the precision of each seam, these details form my language. Craft, for me, is an act of reverence.
Throughout the process, I’ve realized that structure and planning don’t limit creativity, they support it. Experimenting with pattern cutting and reconstruction has helped me understand how to reshape something familiar without losing its essence. The cheongsam itself has changed over time, reflecting shifts in society and identity. In many ways, this collection follows that same spirit of adaptation.
At its core, this work is about connection, between generations, between heritage and individuality, between memory and the present moment. I hope the wearer feels a sense of quiet confidence, rooted in history, but free to move forward.
Ursuajessica10@gmail.com
Sunaru27 is inspired by complex emotions, storytelling, and intersectional studies, encouraging customers to consider the cultural and historical significance of their choices. The brand offers customers an opportunity to relive, reflect on, or change past feelings through thoughtfully designed apparel. By utilizing block printing, natural dye methods, second-hand materials, quilting, and organic textiles, Sunaru27 produces clothing with sustainability and care in mind, from soil to skin.
“Veil of Identity” is a fashion collection that explores the unspoken fight against racial and gender hierarchies through laborious techniques and sculptural silhouettes. Influenced by Asian staples for frugality, the garments shed light on the model minority household objects – plastic-covered couches, kitchen tables, and TV remotes. The Textiles and materials used will be found in either Canada or the Philippines: wool, cotton, antler, abalone, and silk. Using such materials to play with the idea of conformity within Canada, but having threads from the Philippines that evoke memory.
Prabhdip Kaur
prabhdip2@gmail.com ~ @prabhdipkaurbatth & @prabhe_vancouver
Prabhdip Kaur is a Vancouver-based fashion designer whose work focuses on emotional storytelling, comfort, and conscious design. Her practice explores how clothing can express personal narratives while supporting freedom of movement and confidence.
The collection is inspired by Prabhdip’s own romantic poetry and examines the different stages of love. Through fabric manipulation, beadwork, and expressive textures, each garment represents a specific emotional moment- from the first glance and quiet longing to confession, joy, fracture, and the echo that remains after love has passed. Elemental imagery drawn from the sky, night, stars, soft light, and nature is woven throughout the collection, reflecting shifting moods and inner states.
Sustainability is central to her design approach. She works primarily with dead-stock, natural, and up-cycled fabrics, making thoughtful material choices that reduce waste while enhancing the narrative quality of each piece. While the exterior of each garment tells a story, the interior is designed to feel soft, comfortable, and supportive on the body.
Through her collection, Prabhdip aims to create fashion that balances responsibility with self-expression- garments that carry emotion, memory, and meaning beyond the moment they are worn.
Saffron Thomas
As a Coast Salish designer, Saffron looks to the ocean as both a grounding force and a source of cultural connection. Ultimately, this collection is a ceremony of personal growth.
Deadstock and thrifted materials speak to the relics carried in by the tide, representing renewal and new purpose.
Elongated, column-like silhouettes move with the body like waves meeting sand. Sun-bleached shores inspire a beige and off-white palette. Translucent layers and restrained touches of colour reference the delicate beauty of shells.
Many of the materials used in this collection were gathered by Saffron through beachcombing Coast Salish land, while others were gifted by friends and family. This show is an offering back to the shores from which it came.
Like the ocean, this collection feels no need to prove that it’s Indigenous. It just is.
Samentha Burboz
samenthaburboz@gmail.com
Samantha Burboz is an emerging evening wear designer whose work blends sculptural silhouettes with emotional storytelling and refined craftsmanship. With a strong artistic background and a passion for handmade techniques, she approaches fashion as wearable art, carefully constructing each piece through detailed hand embellishment and thoughtful fabric manipulation. Her collection explores the balance between strength and softness through fluid black satin and rhythmic silver embellishments that move intentionally across the body. Though each look differs in structure and pattern, they are united by a cohesive material language and signature detailing, reflecting her vision of modern femininity that is bold, expressive, and elegantly powerful.
samenthaburboz@gmail.com
Samantha Burboz is an emerging evening wear designer whose work blends sculptural silhouettes with emotional storytelling and refined craftsmanship. With a strong artistic background and a passion for handmade techniques, she approaches fashion as wearable art, carefully constructing each piece through detailed hand embellishment and thoughtful fabric manipulation. Her collection explores the balance between strength and softness through fluid black satin and rhythmic silver embellishments that move intentionally across the body. Though each look differs in structure and pattern, they are united by a cohesive material language and signature detailing, reflecting her vision of modern femininity that is bold, expressive, and elegantly powerful.
Sonja Ledoux
UNRESERVED is a love letter to the version of myself that was told she was "too much". Its a collection dedicated to the child who was too loud, the one who took up too much space, and the one whose "weirdness" was actually her greatest strength.
Growing up we are often taught to compartmentalize our joy--- to save our best clothes, our brightest colors, and our boldest expressions for a "special occasion" that may neve arrive. This collection rejects that patience. It is an exploration or indigenous futurism that refuses to wait to be seen.
Unreserved is about the radical act of being visible. Its about wearing your heritage, your heart, and your "best" clothes on a Tuesday morning just because you exist. This collection is for the loud kids--may we continue to take up all the space we deserve.
Tamara Whitford
From a young age, I connected with fashion as a way to express myself and connect to my culture. As an Indigenous youth growing up in foster care, I often felt disconnected from my culture. Through fashion, I have been able to learn about traditional forms of textiles and build community with other Indigenous artists and designers.
This collection is inspired by the best part of going out: getting ready. A montage of different outfits, shoes, and clothes all over the floor, makeup scattered across the counter, music blasting, and the excitement and anticipation of a night out. It’s about having the freedom to choose who you want to be for the night and expressing it through fashion.
By playing with and incorporating Indigenous techniques and materials, I bring together tradition and contemporary style. This collection imagines a dream closet coming to life—playful, chaotic, messy, and full of magic. It celebrates creativity, identity, and the joy of self-expression, while also reflecting my journey of reconnecting with culture through fashion.
From a young age, I connected with fashion as a way to express myself and connect to my culture. As an Indigenous youth growing up in foster care, I often felt disconnected from my culture. Through fashion, I have been able to learn about traditional forms of textiles and build community with other Indigenous artists and designers.
This collection is inspired by the best part of going out: getting ready. A montage of different outfits, shoes, and clothes all over the floor, makeup scattered across the counter, music blasting, and the excitement and anticipation of a night out. It’s about having the freedom to choose who you want to be for the night and expressing it through fashion.
By playing with and incorporating Indigenous techniques and materials, I bring together tradition and contemporary style. This collection imagines a dream closet coming to life—playful, chaotic, messy, and full of magic. It celebrates creativity, identity, and the joy of self-expression, while also reflecting my journey of reconnecting with culture through fashion.
blisterproducts@gmail.com ~ @blistershoppe
What is a blister anyways? A Blister forms when repeated abrasion causes multiple layers of skin to separate, while the soft skin underneath prepares for battle. Once the Blister POPs, the affected area is stronger than ever before. The Blister Factory is a place that exists inside oneself where injury meets armour and turns to Glamour.
Vinnie Lee
E-mail: vinnie0lee@gmail.com ~ @vinnielee___
Vinnie Lee is a Seoul born fashion designer exploring fashion as a form of emotional and artistic expression. His work focuses on genderless silhouettes, refined construction and the relationship between body, space and feeling.
His graduation collection, Mediterranean Harmony, captures the quiet freedom and softness of coastal landscapes, blending resort ease with modern precision. Through his practice, he creates garments that offer both presence and liberation, inviting the wearer into a calm and immersive experience.
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About VCC -
VCC’s Fashion Design & Production Diploma mirrors the pace and expectations of the fashion industry. Students gain hands-on experience through a fast-paced production process while developing core technical skills and proficiency in industry-standard software, including Adobe Illustrator and Gerber CAD. At Vancouver Fashion Week, students present a self-directed final garment project that they design, draft and construct during the program. For more information, visit www.vcc.ca/fashion. Follow on IG at @vccfashion
Vancouver Community College (VCC) is one of British Columbia's largest and oldest public post-secondary institutions, offering over 140 programs across a wide range of disciplines, including health sciences, hospitality, trades, design, and the arts. With a focus on hands-on, industry-relevant learning, VCC is committed to providing students with real-world experience that leads to meaningful employment. Real learning for real change. For more information, visit www.vcc.ca/welcome.
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