By Tristan Forde

When the doors to Transmission Studios in downtown Toronto opened, attendees were presented with a lineup of paintings from various artists. That night, the versatile space had been transformed into a curated art exhibit and runway show by Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) fashion design alumnus, Adriana Elcena with the name ‘Drift & Depart – A Museum of Escapism.’ Upbeat music filled the room as DJ Prvphet Zay controlled the speakers.

This was Elcena’s second-ever fashion show but her first one outside the confines of TMU.

She made her fashion design debut during her final year at TMU with the school of fashion’s annual Mass Exodus showcase. She designed “The Caribbean Renaissance,” a line of clothing inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, intertwined with Jamaican and Vincentian heritage.

This time around, Elcena took inspiration from a painting she made. She blended her Caribbean heritage with themes of 1960s flight attendants—with crochet embellishments to the articles of clothing.

“I came from a space of wanting to go into a new season and a new part of my life,” said Elcena. “I knew when people want to escape, some people want to go on a flight or go on a plane.”

She said she went through the process of elimination with around 100 sketches and went straight into the production process without outsourcing anything.
Elcena reached out to her fashion industry network to seek support for her exhibit.

Among them was second-year TMU fashion communication student Candice Bonair, who she met at The Remix Project—a professional arts training program for creatives in the city that she is currently involved in. Bonair was the public relations coordinator for the event, managing and organizing operations, conducting social media marketing and overseeing media and sponsorship outreach.

Alongside Bonair, a plethora of other colleagues, alumni and friends came together to support Elcena. Quite a few of the models had previously met or worked with Elcena.

Classmates and friends aside, she also received the full support of her family during her journey as a designer. Along with watching the show, her entire family were busy helping keep things organized during the event.

Elcena’s mother, Teshia Cadogan said, “She has always wanted to be a designer and this is not an easy field. It’s very competitive but she’s set her sight on her goals.”

Cadogan added, “She’s put in a lot of work, lots of tears, lots of late nights…she’s going to do great things.”

In spite of venue changes and models dropping out, Elcena said she persevered and was shocked by the turnout for the event.

“I was kind of nervous at the start of it and it showed me that if I can do this then I can do more,” said Elcena. “I’m very appreciative of all my friends and family that came out.”

Bonair said it’s important to have a plan and to be prepared for it to fall through. She said setbacks are inevitable but urged everyone to stay resilient. “Try. You never know what could happen. We pulled this off and it was crazy. So yeah, just bet on yourself and don’t give up.”

When reflecting on her time spent as a part of TMU’s fashion program Elcena recalled her favorite professor Caron Phinney who she personally connected to as they were both Black women.

“As a Black designer you do have to work ten times harder than everyone else, I’m not going to sugarcoat that,” said Elcena. “[Phinney] helped further push me as…a Black designer in the space, especially as a woman.”

With a lineup of all Black visual artists at the exhibit to support the runway show, attendees noted how important it is to not only support local designers and artists but also to support young Black talent.

TMU journalism alumnus and model in the runway show Akosua Yeboah said, “Toronto has so much talent, especially Black talent. I feel like we’re definitely underrepresented in every facet of media.”

“I love the idea of a future where more Black talent is recognized,” she added.