Jeremy Laing is a Toronto designer whose collections are shown in international fashion capitals such as New York and Paris. He graduated from Ryerson University’s School of Fashion in 2002, and launched his own label three years later. He has since appeared in the pages of New York, the New York Times, Interview and the Vogue blog.
I’d been making clothes for myself, my friends and my family since I was a young teenager. I’d also painted all through high school, read a lot and studied fashion in the historical and contemporary contexts. I applied to the Ontario College of Art and Design for photography, and I applied to Ryerson for fashion design. I got a scholarship to Ryerson, which influenced my decision a little bit, but it was ultimately what I wanted to do. Ryerson has the best degree program in the country, and I wanted to move to Toronto. I came to the program knowing how to sew quite well and with knowledge of art history, fashion history and some principles of design. I wanted to work internationally, in the fashion world that you see on TV.
The program at Ryerson is particularly focused on the technical aspects of design, the production process, pattern-making, those sorts of things. There are a lot of Canadians employed internationally, especially in the UK, because they know how to make things. In the UK, the focus is much more on concept. One thing I did while at Ryerson was pursue an exchange program at the University of Westminster in London. That was one of the things that attracted me to the program: the opportunity to go abroad to gain more exposure and experience. That opened my eyes to a different kind of design education, and created the context for the middle ground I see myself operating in.
At Ryerson, you have to do a certain amount of placement hours before you can graduate. I did way more than I needed to. I interned at a lot of places, and volunteered all over as a way to round out my education, gain experience and make connections while still a student.
I didn’t really anticipate having my own line. I always saw myself working for an established house. I ended up interning for Alexander McQueen—who’d been one of my fashion mentors growing up—and then I did freelance work with the company for several seasons. As I gained experience and worked for other people, it became clear that I had my own work to do.
I started the company with a colleague from school. We both worked at the time, and I’d saved up some money. We started very small, just doing what we could with the resources we had and trying to grow every season.
