About Sunday Best Interviews

Sunday Best: From the Pew, to the Runway, to the Ball. A podcast by TMU students.

These interviews were initiated through the conceptual work and research of Makayla Parsons and Isla Cowan from the MA Fashion program at Toronto Metropolitan University. The interviews were further developed by Isla and Anusha Kuhanathan. Amaiah Alexis-Simeon and Mya Moore, from the undergraduate program of the School of Fashion worked with Isla and Anusha to build out interview themes and questions. The sound engineer was Malik Fortier from the BA Media program at Toronto Metropolitan University. nigel lezama saw an opportunity to enhance visitor experience with the perspectives of fashion trailblazers featured in the Sunday Best exhibition and guided his students’ work on this project .

The Black Style in Context team would like to thank Mic Carter, Jeffery Kong, Kirk Pickersgill and Iris Simpson for their time and generosity of spirit.

We hope that you find these interviews as inspiring as we did.

This project was made possible by the generous support of the Ann KM Fashion & Social Impact Initiative Fund and the Centre for Fashion and Systemic Change. We would also like to thank Finley Braithwaite for opening the Allan Slaight Radio Institute to us, where the interviews were recorded.

Team

nigel lezama

i am an associate professor of fashion studies and inclusion in the school of fashion at TMU. my research centres the cultural practices of Black, PoC and queer people and communities to highlight the political stakes that demarcate autonomy, resistance, and reproduction in relation to dominant culture and its practices. my recent publications focus on luxury and luxurious practices in the 20th century, fashionable Black figures in 19th century France, and on fashion curation as a way to decentre and decolonize museums and art galleries. as a teacher, i am inspired by projects like this one, where i can work closely with students and see them discover their unique voices and help them uncover their creative paths. for me, these sunday best interviews provided a beautiful opportunity for intergenerational connection and public-facing scholarship. 


Isla Cowan

Isla Cowan is a textile artist, fashion designer, researcher, and recent graduate of the MA Fashion program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Isla is drawn to textiles for their capacity to carry emotion, discovering that working with fabrics that have had previous lives allows her to experience this profoundly. Her recent research and design focus explores processes of transformation of discarded materials into wearable objects, thereby renegotiating perceptions of value of these overlooked materials. By engaging with “waste" generated through accelerated cycles of fashion production, Isla seeks to challenge conventional ideas of worth and material hierarchy. Her design process is guided by the properties and possibilities within each textile, leading to experimental construction methods that emphasize both craftsmanship and intention. Ultimately, her practice is grounded in articulating the value of overlooked materials and prolonging their lifecycles, an ethos that shapes how and why she creates.

Anusha Kuhanathan

Anusha Kuhanathan holds a Bachelor of Design and Master of Arts in Fashion from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her Major Research Paper, “Fashioning Hybrid Subjectivities: An Ethnography of the Dress & Self-Fashioning Practices of Sri Lankan Tamil Women in Toronto”, examines the nexus between fashion and migration, with a focused look on the role of dress and self-fashioning in shaping the experience and expression of hybrid identities. Her work aims to expand research on minority groups to challenge monolithic systems of belief that overlook the inherent complexities of racialized identities and redress the totalizing gaze of western academia. Her research interests include women’s lived experiences, identity formation, and diasporic fashion practices.

Amaiah Alexis

Hi! My name is Amaiah Alexis. I am a 21-year-old multidisciplinary Caribbean artist born and raised in Scarborough. As a visual arts alumni of The Remix Project 19.0 and a fourth year, Black Fashion Student Association member in design at Toronto Metropolitan University, I continue to adapt my craft through a variety of art forms within my Grenadian /  Guyanese culture by focusing on traditional / digital mediums and textiles. Art to me combines personal identity with symbiosis,  helping each other build communities of structure. I love to make black art and music; I sing in many events across the GTA. My R&B / Electronic EP ‘Surrender’  is out now and is in my instagram bio @amaiahalexis and @maimaisunne. I enjoy photographing models, doing their makeup,  and styling them with my wardrobe. Growing up always participating in community-based organizations, I have a strong appreciation for learning together and exploring new perspectives in life. 

Mya Moore

I am an interdisciplinary creative pursuing a Bachelor of Design at Toronto Metropolitan University, with a concentration in Fashion Communications and a minor in Sociology. With an emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, I am passionate about contributing to a more equitable and progressive fashion industry. Drawing on theoretical approaches to fashion and sociology, alongside a deep interest in understanding and challenging social issues, I aim to create with intention and on a deeply conceptual level. Through my work, I hope to positively impact the lives of others and build meaningful communities through fashion.

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Malik Fortier

Malik Fortier is a media student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Born in Ottawa and raised in Niagara, Fortier always gravitated towards the stage, screen, and studio. In high school, he was an anchor of the school's news broadcast, and now at TMU, he's furthering his passion for unscripted entertainment via multi-camera and audio mediums. A big fan of Reality TV, Fortier co-hosts and co-produces the podcast ‘Reality Rangers’ to recap the biggest reality shows of the moment. An ardent curiosity for everything art-related fuels his love for gab. You can often find him at theatres, galleries, and music festivals. Fortier enjoys discovering new emerging local artists from various disciplines, especially those with fresh stories that are yet to be shared to the masses. 

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Zaneta Ambassa

As a multidisciplinary Black nonbinary artist, finding myself also means others are seen when I create. Topics such as race, gender, and sexuality are important to how I create and think about the world around me. The majority of my work explores the concept of the self and its relation to reality. As a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University with a degree in Fashion, I have learned the process of understanding identity and the body through dress. I express the plethora of thoughts in my head in creative ways, because words can’t always translate.

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