Enigma of Fashion and Philanthropy Unveils at UTSC Charity Fashion Show 2025
This year’s captivating theme was Kairos, where “fashion transcends time – capturing the essence of opportunity, innovation, and elegance in every design.”
Designer label Yvesigner at UTSC Charity Fashion Show 2025 hosted in Hart House Gallery. (Photo By: Vyusti Shroff // The Underground)
As excited footsteps made their way through the elegant Hart House corridors, light classical music, luminous lighting, and the wholesome chatter had already set the right tone for the memorable night to follow.
The UTSC Charity Fashion Show(CFS) hosted its second annual fashion show on March 1, 2025. The student-run non-profit organization is dedicated to bringing together fashion and philanthropy.
CFS channels its charitable spirit into supporting UNICEF, promoting and safeguarding the well-being of children worldwide. This year's showcase was dedicated to providing support to UNICEF’s fight against malnutrition among children around the world, and all proceeds will be donated to that cause.
Their website highlights their vision to “envision a community where fashion becomes a powerful force towards positive change.”
This year’s captivating theme was Kairos, where “fashion transcends time – capturing the essence of opportunity, innovation, and elegance in every design.”
The fashion show drew a large crowd of students, sponsors, and well-wishers alike, some of whom were in for their first taste of the red carpet glam.
The audience at UTSC Charity Fashion Show made their own mark with extravagant outfits. Many fashion influencers were present to celebrate the night dedicated to fashion. (Photo By: Vyusti Shroff // The Underground)
Walking for Rotman Fashion Commerce, Charlene Djogs showed off the intricate designs on her outfit inspired by African Culture as she mentioned that more than aesthetics, fashion stands for representation, art, and culture. Patricia Dolor, in her article published in Now Toronto on the city’s fashion culture, reinforces this sentiment and writes “Fashion is not just clothes – it’s culture, climate, career, and community stitched together,”
This is evident in the way various countries and states have very specific traditional attires that embody their cultures. An example is the Kimono in Japanese culture, a timeless symbol of beauty and elegance, which is worn during significant events like weddings and tea ceremonies.
Through the course of time, the meaning and the significance of fashion have evolved and expanded. Anna Swatski of FashionInnovation, a company that combines fashion and technology to promote sustainability shares “Fashion is currently undergoing a transformation, driven by technology that enables new materials, more efficient production processes, and disruptive business models such as digital commerce and circular fashion.”
The UTSC Charity Fashion Show also adopts a sustainable and inclusive approach to fashion. By partnering with designers who use recycled fabrics and unique, unconventional designs, CFS plays its part in helping the fashion world adapt to the need of the hour that lies in minimizing impact on the environment and breaking down conventional fashion and beauty norms.
The designs that made appearances at the show include: Summer Zhang, Yvesigner, Xinyu Luan, Rotman Commerce Fashion, Haven Liu, ABO, and Sagradesa.
Haven Liu line up for the night. (Photo By: Vyusti Shroff // The Underground)
The Rotman Commerce Fashion Group is a student-run fashion business club at the University of Toronto, thriving on the values of education, networking, and community within the fashion industry.
Their mission is tailored towards fostering connections among fashion students while also promoting the knowledge of fashion, its resources, and opportunities. Their designs showcase African multicultural attire, celebrating cultural identity while promoting diversity.
The creator of Yvesigner, a clothing brand specializing in modest wear in Toronto, mentions in their Instagram post about the Charity Fashion Show, “I embraced a gothic, ethereal, and dark romance aesthetic, stepping away from the playful hues of my past shows.”
In conversation with Erum, the mind behind Yvesigner, she revealed the brand has grown and adapted over the years, but has always kept modesty as its core element.
“For the Charity fashion show, we built on the same idea, using unique colours for each outfit, symbolizing the evolution of how modesty is seen and expressed in fashion as we know it today,” Erum said.
As the flowy fabrics smoothly fluttered with the confident steps on the runway, they extravagantly achieved their vision to portray the passing of time as fashion evolves.
Designs from Summer Zhang were chic, modern, and elegant, a slight contrast to the gothic theme embraced by Yvesigner. Each design told a different story of how fashion tells the story of identity, belonging, and representation.
‘Sagradesa’ stood out with their unique blend of contemporary designs and intricate details of nature and simplicity. All born out of reclaimed textiles, each piece echoed the brand's mission to revolutionize the fashion industry to be minimally harmful to the environment.
Summer styles in a unique blend by Sagradesa, created from reclaimed textile for UTSC Charity Fashion Show. (Photo By: Vyusti Shroff // The Underground)
The display of creativity, futurism, and philanthropy came to a mellow end as everyone took their carefully planned shots at the red carpet and made sure they had built some valuable new connections as they walked out of a memorable night; waiting for the third edition of the CFS to kick off next year.
