Meet designers Katie Vasquez, Tom Lychy, Zoe MacDonald, and Heidi Wilson, who are balancing full-time studies with runway shows and design showcases across B.C.
Over the summer, these designers dedicated countless hours to completing their collections for Kelowna Fashion Week, where their Fall 2025 designs were seen by hundreds of attendees. This year’s runway theme, “Levitate” set the tone for four days of events held from September 18–21, 2025. Kelowna Fashion Week featured runway shows, a designer pop-up shop, professional photoshoots, workshops, and a sustainable fashion conference.
Their creative momentum hasn’t stopped. The students recently brought their work to the local community once again at the Hycroft University Women’s Club event “Legacy in Fashion” this October. Presented in collaboration with fashion historian Ivan Sayers (Society Museum of Original Costume), the event highlighted exceptional pieces by the students from the KPU Wilson School of Design.
Glue
Second-year Fashion and Technology students Katie Vasquez, Tom Lychy, and Zoe MacDonald are the designers for Glue.
In an interview for Kelowna Fashion Week Magazine, they discussed how their collaboration came together. “The three of us each had our own paths that led us to fashion and design.”
“Meeting in our first year studying fashion at the Wilson School of Design, we connected over a shared desire to challenge ourselves creatively. [We] began designing together under our collective project ‘Glue’ after realizing that our three unique perspectives allowed us to create work elevated from what we could do alone.”
Glue organized an additional fashion show to showcase this collection in Vancouver. They say “Glue is a space where we elevate each other and create work that is unique to the melding of our three unique design styles.”
Our first collection “The Freak Show” is all about being unapologetically oneself, or in this case ourselves.
“We drew inspiration from circus/freak show imagery and the collection tells a story that follows moving from a dark to bright emotional space. As creatives it’s not odd for our life decisions and our path to be questioned or met with negativity from others. To us, we see being weird and different as a badge of honour that everyone should be proud of… stay weird and be a part of the freak show!”
Discover more from Glue here
Editorial photos by Jon Flowers
Jade McBride
Heidi Wilson is a fourth-year Fashion and Technology student and the designer for Jade McBride.
In Kelowna Fashion Week Magazine, Heidi shares how she started designing: “I first became interested in design after discovering the work of Alexander McQueen, my fashion idol, when I was a teenager; however, I still didn’t really start pursuing design seriously until my Junior and Senior years in high school.”
“During that time, my sewing teacher, Jodi Reed, encouraged me to apply for a fashion design program in university which motivated me to develop my portfolio and sewing skills.”
Now, I am heading into my fourth and final year of the Fashion Design and Technology program at the Wilson School of Design this fall while simultaneously developing my own brand, Jade McBride.
Jade McBride is defined by its romantic yet rebellious aesthetic.
This year’s collection “Atlantis Reborn” fuses oceanic beauty with sleek technological edge. Each piece embodies contrast – fluid yet structured, organic yet futuristic – challenging viewers to imagine a world in which nature and innovation truly move as one.
Discover more from Jade McBride here
Photos by Jon Flowers
