Twelve-year-old Anya Upadhyay’s newest fashion collection, WEAR FOR CHANGE, will be featured in CW Family FunDay’s fourth annual fashion show
FERGUS ― A Grade 7 student from JD Hogarth Public School is hopeful her newest fashion collection will inspire her community to remember where their clothes come from and change their buying patterns to prevent excessive textile waste.
Twelve-year-old Anya Upadhyay, also known as Designs By Anya, was inspired to create her fashion brand, WEAR FOR CHANGE, about five years ago, shortly after her family moved to Fergus, when she noticed how many clothes were getting thrown away into the landfill, which she thought was “a waste.”
Learning to machine sew from her mom, who studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Upadhyay began purchasing clothes from the local thrift store and tried to breathe new life into the old pieces by combining them.
One of her first pieces was a jean skirt made out of skinny jeans.
“I’m basically trying to say that you don’t need to always be buying new clothes to be cool and stylish,” said Upadhyay. “You can and should give your old clothes a second chance.”
Participating in the fourth annual CW Fashion Show at the upcoming CW Family FunDay Festival this Labour Day weekend, Upadhyay’s upcoming collection aims to empower youth and spread awareness about the importance of sustainable fashion.
Featuring six pieces and one “grand finale,” Upadhyay said each piece is intended to represent a different person and personality, ranging from bright colours to classic streetwear.
Most pieces take about a day to create, although more complex designs can take up to three.
“I have one piece that is more dark and moody, there’s another one that feels more energetic, and another one that I would say looks chilling,” said Upadhyay.
Excited to challenge the community to “wear for change,” Upadhyay said she wanted to be in the fashion show because it felt like a great opportunity to challenge herself and encourage the community to step away from fast fashion, while getting to be creative and think up a whole new fashion line.
“It (making clothes) feels like walking- I just go with the flow and see how it turns out,” said Upadhyay. “It’s also just something I really enjoy overall.”
A member of JD Hogarth’s Equity and Inclusion Club, Upadhyay has participated in several initiatives, including raising awareness about the Community Food Cupboard at the Faith Lutheran Church last winter and said she’s always been passionate about creating change in the community.
“It’s fun meeting all the different people and it’s great knowing that I can help through the events as well,” said Upadhyay. “It’s also just really fun.”
Upadhyay’s dad, Asutosh Bilas, said it’s “very heart-touching” to see his daughter explore her passion and all the new skills and confidence she’s developed along the way.
“Children have the best imaginations, and when I watch her making all of these things, it makes me feel so proud and happy as a father,” said Bilas.
A first-generation Nepali-Canadian, Upadhyay said one of her biggest inspirations is Prabal Gurung, a renowned Nepali American fashion designer currently based in New York City, and she’d definitely like to pursue fashion as a future career.
“He made it all the way from Nepal to New York to the Met Gala and now he’s everywhere,” said Bilas. “She likes his story- how this boy from Nepal has achieved so much, and she’s hoping to follow in his footsteps.”
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
