Eric Richards is one of the creators of WIL Studios, a new menswear brand that offers a new take on everyday silhouettes. WIL, an acronym for What I Like, is favoured by Daniel Caesar, who collaborated with the brand to create tour merch commemorating his week-long Toronto stop last year. V Magazine declared WIL Studio’s to be “Canada’s next Supreme,” placing Eric and his co-founder Rahul Madan at the forefront of Toronto’s emerging streetwear scene.
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Isaac Jahkel
Isaac Jahkel is a Toronto-based model repped by Elmer Olsen. Since first entering onto Toronto’s fashion scene, Isaac has worked with both emerging and established Canadian brands like Simons, Wil Studios, and Hendrix Roe.
Read MorePatricia Yeboah
When she isn’t doing marketing for York University or backstage at shows for Oscar de la Renta and The Collections, Patricia Yeboah is behind L’Ame Inconnue (Unknown Soul), a collective working to bring African designers to the forefront of the fashion industry and to expand the mainstream perception of African fashion, beyond just textiles. Staying true to her Ghanian roots, Tricia’s work with L’Ame Inconnue is setting the foundation for a borderless future for African designers.
Read MoreGeorge Jessel
in male, graphic designer, london, los angeles, uk, 2
George Jessel is a multi-platform designer who teeters between web design and interior design seamlessly. After working in marketing and branding, George studied interior architecture at Inchbald School of Design. Since graduating, he has worked on a variety of projects, from working on the fit out for Bloomberg’s London headquarters to larger scale residential refurbishment as well as commercial and hospitality design.
Read MoreKay Kash
Kay Kash is a DJ from Brampton and based in Toronto. Between gigs he works as a supervisor/manager and is one half of the youtube duo TKlove, where he films challenges, tags and vlogs with his fiancé.
Read MoreAndrew Coimbra
Andrew Coimbra is a George Brown grad who has catapulted his career as designer and creative director of his progressive namesake brand. After interning for Proenza Schouler, Andrew Coimbra began designing luxury outerwear and streetwear seen on Refinery29, Elle Canada and the Junos red carpet. His forward-thinking brand pushes industry boundaries with genderless pieces that he defines as having a “cool and refined ease.”
With a combined Instagram reach of 10k, each post on his brand’s account gets an average of 760 video views and 160 post likes.
Read MoreMonique Hinds
Monique Hinds is a master dot-connector. During the day, she coordinates membership and DJ Programming for Soho House’s Toronto chapter. Once she clocks out of her day job, Monique continues to hustle as a freelance DJ consultant, Event Producer and Project Manager.
Read MoreTalia Wray
According to Talia Wray’s Instagram bio, she is an “actor, queen of comedy, parts model, and food blogger.” As an actress, Talia’s credits include films like Everything’s Gonna Be Pink, Odd Mom Out and The Heist, as well as commercials for Marshalls and Adore Me. The Brooklyn-native also starred in Kendrick Lamar’s first music video, ADHD, directed by Vashtie.
Read MoreTanya
Where are you from?
St. Catherine’s, Jamaica. I live in Toronto now
What do you do?
I work for the Peel District School Board as a CYW. Dancing is what I do for fulfillment :)
What is your dream creative project?
Creating an amazing Start Up (funding, housing, education) program / package for homeless and at risk youth in the city from ALL walks of life.
Where are your go-to tunes for…
Rising? - 90s and early 2000s R&B
Exercising? - Trap Trap Trap... Nothing like some Migos while crushing the treadmill!
Partying? - Anything by Di teacha, Vybz Kartel
Where are your favorite places to…
Eat? - SIDCAR on College! Thank me later!
Dance? - Probably any dancehall party happening in the city..
Drink? - Jack Astor’s!
Is there something you really want to do in your city that you haven't yet?
At some point get over my fear of heights and ride the elevator up the CN Tower..
List three people that inspire you…
Lola Plaku
Lola Plaku, aka ILuvLola, is an industry insider who catapulted her career from fast food cashier to hip-hop journalist to artist development expert, supporting the careers of artists like Dej Loaf, Kehlani and Drake. After applying her OG industry wisdom to her role as manager for French Montana, Lola now takes care of marketing and brand development for Belly and Safe.
As Lola’s following soars past 70k, each post received over 2k likes, with an overall engagement rate of 3.3%.
Read MoreMatthew Progress
in music, toronto, CLASH, 2, RHUM CORNER
Matthew Progress masterfully blends house and hip-hop to craft a unique sound that goes beyond Toronto’s signature moody vibe. As his haunting deep voice flows over bass-heavy beats, he gets personal on most tracks, giving listeners a glimpse into his insightful thoughts. His years of experience in the music industry could easily classify him as an OG but his constant reinvention makes him just as fresh and exciting as a newcomer.
Read MoreJimmy Prime
Jimmy Prime is an emerging rapper who has already made a huge impact. Drake has credited him for originally christening Toronto as The Six and his own music career has been gaining steady traction since his music leaked to an OVO blog over 4 years ago. Since then, Jimmy and the Prime Boyz have gradually been carving out own signature gritty sound in Toronto’s competitive hip-hop scene.
Stats: 28.8k on Instagram, 20.5k on Soundcloud
Read MoreSean Leon
In a post-Drake Toronto, Sean Leon goes beyond the city’s signature moody sound. His diverse sound teeters between grungy and bubbly and his persona is authentic and irreverent. Sean’s projects include CCWMTT and I Think You’ve Gone Mad, a song ‘Matthew in the Middle’ with vocals from his dear friend and collaborator Daniel Caesar, was featured on the soundtrack for HBO’s Insecure. Beyond his own music, Sean is the founder of the IXXI collective, which is responsible for launching and developing Daniel Caesar’s meteoric career and fostering other Toronto talent.
Read MoreJay Strut
in toronto, fashion, influencer, female, 2
Jay Strut is a blogger, content-creator and front-row staple at fashion weeks around the world. After years of well-curated and envy-inducing snaps of her lifestyle, she has amassed an impressive following and has secured her place as one of Toronto’s foremost fashion bloggers and influencers, with collaborations with HP, Google, Chanel and Versace under her belt.
Every photo from her international escapades gets an average of 1.1k likes from nearly 61k followers.
Read MoreSydney Beaumont
When she isn’t mixing drinks at Oak Island, Sydney Beaumont is a go-to model for emerging Toronto designers. She is a fresh face in the fashion scene but a staple in Toronto’s social sphere, with a bold look and effortless style that can easily be considered synonymous with ‘cool’.
Read MoreJahmal Padmore
Jahmal Padmore is a creative multi-hyphenate living and working in Toronto. In true millennial fashion, Jahmal’s day-to-day is filled with multiple projects for multiple clients, all while balancing his own creative career. With lululemon, Jahmal works as the community lead and with Tokyo Smoke, he produces podcasts. Meanwhile, his band miracles creates music music that merges R&B with synthy pop so that you can catch a futuristic vibe.
Read MoreJayemkayem
Jayemkayem is a DJ, writer, and marketing consultant committed to amplifying good music and underrepresented voices. After thriving through Toronto’s DJ scene she created her own community radio project Istolethesoul, which hosts pop-up broadcasts around Toronto. Between pop-ups she still spins her own well-rounded mixes around the city, where she plays everything from rap, trap and grime to drill, garage and bass.
Stats: 8691 Instagram followers.
Stacey Sexton
in female, dj, music, intersessions, 2
Stacey Sexton is definitely one of the coolest people to come out of CBS, Newfoundland. Once she’s done ‘slinging juices’ at a vegan restaurant and studying at school, she creates bold graphics and upbeat mixes. She is also part of the DJ collective Something Special alongside Karim Olen Ash.
Read MoreDre Ngozi
Whether or not you have heard of Dre Ngozi, you have probably seen her behind the decks at Toronto’s best parties or dancing with Miguel and Travis Scott in a music video. Her own mixes incorporate her eclectic, diverse music style and make it impossible to stay still. With collaborations with Absolut and Covergirl under her belt, she is quickly rising to the top of Toronto’s DJ scene and breaking the boys club that has reigned for far too long.
Read MoreVaughan
Vaughan is a Toronto-based DJ dedicated to creating space and visibility for women of colour. Through her work with Chippy Nonstop’s Intersessions, Karim Olen Ash’s Something Special, Vaughan is gradually working to disrupt the dominant male presence in music.
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