Yorkdale Shopping Centre is proud to support the 2024 Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA). As proud sponsors of this year’s Digital Fashion Creator of the Year Award, we honour individuals who excel in spreading fashion’s vision across the world.
The nominees for this award embody creativity, innovation, and storytelling, making a significant impact in digital fashion and inspiring others. To gain a deeper understanding of their journeys, we asked each nominee about their inspirations, career-defining moments, and how they stay true to their style while adapting to trends.
Meet this year’s Digital Fashion Creator of the Year nominees:
Isabelle Allain
@izzipoopi, is a Canadian content creator and writer featured in Elle Canada, specializing in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Known for her work with luxury brands, Allain combines her writing expertise with a passion for fashion to create engaging content.
- What inspired you to start your journey in the digital creation space?
- I always dreamed of working in the fashion industry, and I did. I worked for Elle magazine, for stylists, producers and I loved it all. But, I’ve always wanted to explore my own vision. I felt like content creation was the best outlet for that.
- Can you share a defining moment in your career that shaped your creative direction?
- Working with my dream brand, Loewe. I had the opportunity to visit their factories in Madrid to shoot content with them. They treated everything with a touch of humour, and it really strengthened my vision of fashion content. I realized it doesn’t have to be so serious and you can add your personal touch to it.
- What advice would you give to aspiring digital creators looking to make their mark?
- Be authentic, and don’t look at what other people are doing. Find what makes you unique and run with it all the way.
Dorian Who
@dorian.who a Tehran-born designer, creative director and founder of the Toronto-based brand DORIAN WHO. Known for her avant-garde streetwear and commitment to sustainability, she won CAFA’s Emerging Talent award and was a finalist for the Amiri Prize. She has been featured by the likes of Forbes, Vogue, WWD, ID and Elle Canada just to name a few publications.
- What inspired you to start your journey in the digital creation
- It started very organically for me. I was posting my personal style while working full-time in retail and job hunting. I needed to add some fun to my life, so I started sharing my outfits and my design on Instagram. Within 2-3 months, I started receiving international press, and I decided to keep that part of my life going!
- Can you share a defining moment in your career that shaped your creative direction?
- Yes, when I started collaborating with photographers, I realized I didn’t just want an ordinary photo—I wanted everything to be perfect! The lighting, the background, the styling. I began enjoying the process of putting ideas together and promoting brands, hoping that one day I would work with them. I think the defining moment for me was when I launched my first collection and took on the entire creative direction for my campaigns. Working with over 50 people on set really shaped my vision and solidified my creative direction.
- What advice would you give to aspiring digital creators looking to make their mark?
- I believe we live in a time where anyone can become a digital creator, but authenticity is key. People connect more when influencers are real and genuine. It’s important to remember that being a digital creator is a full-time job and not an easy one. Consistency plays a big role in building your presence and making an impact, so stay committed and true to yourself!
Lexson Millington
@lexsonator originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, pursued engineering at the University of Guelph Humber before discovering his true passion for fashion and storytelling. Influenced by his musician parents, Lexson blends 70s revival with New York funk in his personal style. His work has been recognized by DAZED, Essence, and ET Canada, with collaborations including Dior Beauty, Burberry, Levi’s, and Zara.
- Can you share a defining moment in your career that shaped your creative direction?
- I remember the first time one of my styling videos went viral on TikTok. The comments I received were so supportive and insightful. It felt like I was starting to build a community of people who also wanted to express themselves more through fashion. To this day I am still finding new ways to educate and inspire my fashion community.
- How do you balance staying true to your unique style while keeping up with evolving trends?
- What works for me is incorporating parts of a current trend I like and testing it out with my personal style. If I love it, it sticks, and if I don’t It’s gotta go. This way you’re never really wavering from trend to trend because you are slowly experimenting with the style you have established over time.
- What advice would you give to aspiring digital creators looking to make their mark?
- To all aspiring digital creators out there, remember to be yourself and to stay consistent with sharing what you’re passionate about because it will pay off.
Liv Judd
@livjudd is a fashion and beauty influencer who has worked across all media for more than two decades. Her sophisticated signature style has led her to work with brands such as Mejuri, Michael Kors, Anthropologie and David Yurman, just to name a few.
- How do you balance staying true to your unique style while keeping up with evolving trends?
- Years of looking at fashion and beauty has definitely helped define my personal style which leans toward elegant. My eyes tell me what me what I like and my fashion & beauty industry friends give me a nudge and additional inspiration along the way.
- What role does collaboration play in your creative process?
- Incredibly important otherwise you create in a bubble and nothing new is learned from that. I listen and watch and digest what people say and do and create. But I also listen to my gut as to what feels right and what feels like me.
- What advice would you give to aspiring digital creators looking to make their mark?
- Don’t give up. Be inspired and inspiring. Be yourself. Listen to your audience. Stay consistent — this is so key. Create beautiful work and people will find you. Have fun! Most importantly, never take any of this for granted. It is an extreme privilege to be able to call myself a content creator and know that women follow my journey and my advice daily. I wake up everyday feeling very, very grateful for the community on each platform.
Mei Pang
@meicrosoft is a first-generation Canadian of Malaysian descent, shifted from studying art at OCAD to creating bold makeup looks online in 2015. Known for her shaved head and tattoos, she’s modeled for Rihanna, worked with major beauty brands, and appeared in top publications like Allure, PAPER, and DAZED Beauty.
- What inspired you to start your journey in the digital creation space?
- I decided to dive in full time after losing my corporate job. My father always told me to try everything once plus since I’ve always been on the Internet as a viewer (Tumblr, myspace, etc) I thought there would be no better time.
- How do you balance staying true to your unique style while keeping up with evolving trends?
- I only do things that I want to do. Makeup and art is one of my sources of pure joy so I want to celebrate that. Plus it’s blatantly obvious when I force myself to film/produce work that doesn’t feel genuine. I can’t hide anything from my face.
- What advice would you give to aspiring digital creators looking to make their mark?
- Don’t niche yourself down too hard too quickly. And don’t be afraid of failure.
Celebrating its 11th year, the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) represents the most exciting leading and emerging talent, currently shaping the Canadian and global fashion industry. Vicky Milner, the co-founder and President of CAFA, remarked, “Now, in our 11th annual edition, we continue to be so proud of the community we’ve built and amazed by the calibre of talent we have here in Canada. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to spotlight these noteworthy people and brands and bring Canadian arts and fashion to the global stage.”¹
Congratulations to CAFA and good luck all of this year’s nominees. To learn more about this year’s other CAFA nominees or to purchase tickets here.
Stay tuned with live updates @YorkdaleStyle from the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
¹ “2024 CAFA Nominees: Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards,” The Kit.
