CREDIT: ALEX ALLAN
Chloe Nguyen (left) and Mayumi Brilhante (right) sitting at the Fashion Fits booth in Fanshawe’s F building.

Fashion Fits is a student-run fundraiser to help raise money towards the fashion design program’s end of year fashion show, Unbound. Gently-used clothing and accessories are available for purchase, and the Fashion fits team will also help make alterations.

Students from the program, Mayumi Brilhante and Chloe Nguyen are working with Fashion Fits through a co-op over the summer months. Brilhante and Nguyen are both helping out to run the booth at the London Oxford St. campus in the F building hallway every Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. until August 9.

This is the first year both Brilhante and Nguyen are working for this co-op.


“We take the donations of clothes, fix them and replace what needs to be replaced and then put them on our racks we have set up,” Brilhante said.

But it’s not just second-hand items up for grabs.

“There’s some warmers on the racks that are not second-hand and were made by one of our professors,” Brilhante said.

There are also other accessories from scrunchies and tote bags.

“We will use any remaining scraps of fabric to re-use it for our scrunchies and we find that it’s a very sustainable way,” Nguyen said.

Both Brilhante and Nguyen have a strong passion for fashion design and repairing clothes that people have donated. Brilhante is from Brazil and mentioned that she got her inspiration from her father who is also a fashion designer back in home.

“I’ve always seen my dad working with theatre and with fashion, so I’ve always had that interest for fashion,” Brilhante said.

Nguyen, meanwhile, comes from Vietnam. She said that her parents were unsure about a fashion career. Nguyen stuck with her passion when she was figuring out what she wanted to do in life.

“Since I was young, I’ve always loved sewing and embroideries. I also painted a lot too and that’s why I thought this program was best for me,” Nguyen said.

They both love the creative work that comes with refurbishing the donated pieces of clothing. They have noticed the creative aspect comes out a lot from the kids’ clothing.

“Every summer we receive kids coats for winter and we need to repair them and give them back,” Brilhante said. “As long as they’re wearable, we can be as creative as we want with them.”