PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dressing U By Yasmin Tabi
These young fashion designers are making their mark.
Shelli Oh's line of clothing reflects her personality-a fusion of spirituality and fashion. Oh, 27, is a Canadian clothing designer with a background in fashion design and production management. Her clothing line, Harebell, was born on Dec. 24, 1997, in Toronto. Her fashion concept stems from her love for faery lore and ancient mysticism, and her "passion for the connection between the natural world and the magical realm."
Unlike many designers, Oh didn't get a big break in the industry. She began as a pattern drafter, then turned to sample sewing, technical design, production assistant, marker maker and grader. Now that she's creating her own designs, she puts in 12- to 18-hour days, shifts broken by her other interests such as yoga, writing and climbing.
Oh runs her business the same way she clothes一reminiscent of her spirituality-but it's a business.Her retail clients receive a gift the theme of the season, a marketing maneu part of the "faery gift campaign."
She uses pastel and earth tones that blend together in her pieces, which range from sleeveless tie tops to long skirts. "I like to emphasize texture and delicate details or trimmings to create a balance between sheer rawness and delicacy to evoke an ethereal quality." Oh said she strives to establish strong sense of femininity with the Harebell line.
Oh explains, "Inspirations come from traditional faery lore and memories of ancient times; that's where the feminine spirit and mysticism of the designs are born. I wish to give glimpses of this magic, and in turn share the energy and joy I experience through it." This ethereal take on clothing has made a favorable impression on the fashion world. Harebell has been received warmly at trade shows in New York as well as in boutiques across Canada and all over the world.
Oh's plans for Harebell are ambitious: she'd like to expand into Japan and Europe using the Internet as her international launching pad. "The Internet is like a passport around the world! It's made international exposure for our company as simple as pushing a button through our web site." (harebell.com)
School: Ryerson Pol program for fashion Shell never had: B Celebrities Oh wow Clare Danes, Katie F Cameron Patton
nonsignificant nonprofit talent.
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More designers profiled on page 4