MAKECanada™
Design Challenge 2022

George Brown College's Centre for Arts, Design and IT (CADIT), in collaboration with Robin Kay, are pleased to announce MAKECanada™, a multidisciplinary, innovative clothing and jewellery design initiative to inspire our students for the regeneration and reshoring of the Canadian Fashion Community.

Registration for the 2022 Challenge is NOW closed.
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MAKECanada™ Design Challenge 2022

Meaningful

Clothing and jewellery with purpose

Aware

Economic and Regenerative Sustainability

Key

Disruption crucial to driving positive change

Essentials

Fashion's new function

MAKECanada™ is calling all inspired Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology students at George Brown College to ignite a movement toward a “clean” fashion industry by submitting design concepts that are ethical, sustainable and innovative in setting new expectations and reforming our relationship with fashion–holding designers and consumers accountable for the entire lifecycle of goods, from production to waste management.

Design Challenge Phase 1

Jan 25

January 25, 2022
Official Competition Launch

Mar 14

March 14, 2022
Deadline to submit Design Packages

Apr 1

Apr 1, 2022
Announcement of Semi-Finalists

MAKECanada™ for Change in Canada

In a global race to net-zero and toward a cleaner future for all, the fashion industry has a significant role to play.

Amidst the consequences of fast fashion, green-washing, and social media influences shaping consumer behaviour, the fashion industry has been slow to move away from environmentally, socially, and economically unsustainable practices.Exploitative supply chains using toxic and resource-intensive, synthetic materials have been keeping costs low and production high. Constant streams of new trends and styles render items easily discardable and replaceable– ending up in landfills and oceans.

It's time to clean up our act.

Emerging are innovative, ethical, and sustainable practices, designing for the entire lifecycle of fashion. From production to waste management: moving towards non-toxic and organically sourced materials and dyes, reducing carbon footprint through localizing the supply chain, and finding new ways to disassemble, reuse, recycle, and even compost alternative textiles.

To support this growing momentum, MAKECanada™ envisions an innovative Canadian grassroots movement where we challenge the fashion industry by responding to the following questions:

Can we take a holistic approach in design to be accountable for the full lifecycle of the products we create?

How can design shape consumer behaviour to extend the active life and wear of goods purchased?

1

Objective One

RESHORE:
Cultivate the Canadian fashion industry by creating unique, impactful designs to inspire an international audience.

2

Objective Two

RETRAIN:
Be creative and imaginative in the use of materials, textiles and technology.

3

Objective Three

REGENERATE:
Show an innovative approach to incorporating social, economic and environmental sustainability within the design.

Submission Details & Deliverables

Eligibility Criteria

  • Participants must be a student enrolled in their 2nd or 3rd year of a Fashion, Jewellery or Design program at the George Brown College's Centre for Arts, Design and Information Technology.
  • Participants can apply both individually and as multidisciplinary teams. For team registration, please designate one member to complete the registration process and provide the names and student numbers of all team members.

Note: All challenge communication will be done through the email provided by the registered student. The registered student/account will be responsible for uploading the final submission package.

Design Criteria

  • Final designs should be able to retail at a maximum of $200 per unit with an anticipated production run of 25-150
  • Final products will be sold at the School of Design’s INStore and should be tailored to their market and audience.

Submission Package must include

  • 150-word Biography: Tell us about yourself and your design practice. You can write individual or team bios.
  • Design Documents: Up to six images of drawings, renderings or technical illustrations to explain your concept, its construction, materials and technology.
  • 250-word Design Rationale: Tell us about what inspired you, who the beneficiaries are of your concept, what issue or challenge does it address, what makes it relevant, sets it apart, and important to current fashion and/or jewellery concerns around CLEAN in the realm of Canadian fashion. What will be its social impact?
  • 500-word Trend and Market Analysis: Show us your research around the origin and foundation for your idea. Who is your target market and audience? What trends and disruptions does this product answer? Who would your competitors be? Provide examples of similar products and their price points.

Phase 1:
Judging Criteria

  • Economic & Regenerative Sustainability

    Can the project be made using sustainable practices? Will it be affordable to a wide range of customers?
  • Innovation

    Does the project innovate in the realm of fashion and jewellery sustainability? Does the project utilize innovative production technologies?
  • Potential Impact

    Will the project be able to reach a point of social impact, and does it have the potential for a positive impact on individuals, communities, and/or societies at large?
  • Design Creativity & Feasibility

    Is the design creative and does it address the theme at hand? Is it easy to produce and wear? How well does your market analysis align with your retailer’s (School of Design’s IN Store) market and audience?
  • Functionality & Meaningfulness

    Is the design purposefully solving a real problem? Is the project submitted going to have meaningful impact once fully completed?

Make your Mark with MAKECanada™

Semi-finalists will be matched with community ambassadors to help develop their designs from prototype to product.

Working with the experts at the Fashion Exchange, our industry partners, and material and fabrication experts, finalist teams will explore cutting-edge production technology to present a working prototype.

All prototypes will be showcased in a series of culminating events, both live and online, where our judges will choose the final designs to put into limited productions.

In Fall 2022, the final MAKECanada™ products will have the opportunity to be sold on GBC campuses and at the School of Design’s INStore, both at the store and through their e-commerce platform.

9
Semi-finalists
9
Prototypes Presented in Summer 2022
Finalist designs go into Small-batch Production

Make your Mark with MAKECanada™

Semi-finalists will be matched with community ambassadors to help develop their designs from prototype to product.

Working with the experts at the Fashion Exchange, our industry partners, and material and fabrication experts, finalist teams will explore cutting-edge production technology to present a working prototype.

All prototypes will be showcased in a series of culminating events, both live and online, where our judges will choose the final designs to put into limited productions.

In Fall 2022, the final MAKECanada™ products will have the opportunity to be sold on GBC campuses and at the School of Design’s INStore, both at the store and through their e-commerce platform.

Benefits to you

  • Access to and use of the FX, a vibrant hub for fashion education, design, production, entrepreneurship, engagement and cutting-edge production technology.
  • Opportunities for training and guidance with FX staff and industry professionals.
  • Exposure for you and your designs across a range of promotional events and social media.
  • Experience leading the product design, development and production with industry professionals.
  • Network with leading professionals and manufacturing experts in the fashion industry.
  • Semi-finalists will be awarded $200 CAD and the opportunity to prototype their ideas and be mentored by an industry partner.
  • Winners will receive an amount of $500 CAD.

Challenge Timeline

Phase 1

Student Competition Winter Semester

Early January 2022
Competition launch & registration portal opens.

March 2022:
Registration closes.

March 2022:
Deadline to submit design packages.

March 2022:
Judging committee meets.

March 2022:
Semi-finalists announced.

Phase 2

Prototype Production Winter semester

Spring 2022:
Semi-finalists matched with industry professional for mentorship to develop concepts Production of Prototype in partnership with the FX & key industry partners.

Spring/Summer 2022
Prototypes showcased at a series of events; final judging to select Finalists for Phase 3.

Phase 3

Student Competition Winter Semester

Small Batch Production Summer semesterSummer 2022:
Production of winning design(s).

Summer/Fall 2022:
Opportunities for purchase across GBC campuses and at the INStore both on campus and online.

Phase 1

Student Competition
Winter Semester

January 25, 2022
Competition launch

March 14, 2022
Deadline to submit design packages

March 14-18, 2022
Judging committee meets

April 1, 2022
Semi-finalists announced

Phase 2

Prototype Production
Winter semester

March - May 2022
Semi-finalists matched with industry professional for mentorship to develop concepts

Production of prototype in partnership with the FX & key industry partners

June 2022
Final judging to select Finalists for Phase 3

Phase 3

Small Batch Production
Winter Semester

June - October 2022
Finalists will work with FX staff and jewellery production partners to lead the production process of their winning design(s)

November 2022

Opportunities for purchase across GBC campuses and at the INStore both on campus and online

Make your mark with MAKECanada™ 2022

Enroll

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