AN ILONGGA fashion student was awarded the Alice Mitchell Whitley Award in one of Canada’s Top Fashion schools.
Ysa Dan Mari David Fajardo is a second-year undergraduate, BDes Fashion Design, at Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University.
The Alice Mitchell Whitley Award has been established through the bequest of the late Alice Mitchell Whitley, a talented seamstress.
The award comes with a financial grant to students who exhibit leadership, design and service to the School of Fashion. Each year, one student entering the second, third and fourth year will receive the award.
The Fashion Awards Night was held on March 2, 2023. The professors, undergraduate and graduate students, friends, and other attendees gathered that night to congratulate the awardees.
Ysa Dan Mari has been involved and participated in many events and organizations that have helped her connect with amazing people and grow and mature.
She is a part of the executive committee for her fashion event planning, organizing a fashion show for this April.
In her first year, she took Fashion Design 1 and designed a tunic dress. Fajardo said, “My tunic design aims to promote design diversity and inclusivity. The design is intended for all women, including type 1 diabetics.”
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Fajardo was diagnosed with T1DM (Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus) at the age of five and mentioned that “it is not easy to take care of someone who injects themselves all the time. I sometimes find it nerve-wracking to inject myself out in public and get side eyes from people especially when I have to move my top and expose a little bit of my skin.”
For years of having T1DM, Fajardo is inspired to design clothes that are low-key and diabetic-friendly.
She was encouraged to participate as a presenter in the Fashion Design Diversity Dialogue global collaboration with RMIT University ‘22 – Australia showcasing her tunic dress.
Fajardo participated in a dynamic and exciting fashion orientation event with short runways and entertainment with fellow participants and friends, Kristi Low and Kenta Ogura.
Ysa Dan Mari is a former Iloilo Scholastic Academy student (in Iloilo City) and North Toronto C.I. Secondary graduate. She is the granddaughter of Panay News founders Daniel Gumban Fajardo, and Maria Santillan Fajardo./PN
