Get your style on

Calling all fashion icons and fashionistas aged 14–25. If the best part about coming home after school is the opportunity for an outfit change, then the AGO is the place to be from 4–6 p.m. on Tuesdays, now until June 12.

FREE After Three: Style Club is a hands-on artmaking series of (totally free!) workshops that has fun with the creative flare and expression of the fashion world. (See all FREE After Three events here, including breakdancing on Wednesdays and skateboard-building on Thursdays.)

One Style Club instructor Andréa Lalonde is a visual artist and the owner of Nouveau Riche Vintage. She has worked as a vintage clothing buyer in Montréal, an assistant for a film and television costume collection, and an artist-educator at museums and artist-run centres. And she is super-pumped about her upcoming workshops at the AGO on caring for vintage clothing (happening today - Tuesday, May 8) and styling your own fashion shoot (happening on Tuesday, May 15).

We spoke to Andréa to learn more about why she loves fashion and is excited to work with teens.

AGO: What makes fashion your chosen medium?
Andréa: I’ve always been interested in using objects and artworks to engage with people. I realize that many people are more willing to let their guard down and share by talking about clothing. I also love how vintage clothing can tell stories about social context and the people that made and wore them. Working as a buyer and in clothing collections, I’m able to handle very old objects that I never would have been able to touch in museums, let alone collect.

AGO: Why do you think vintage clothing appeals to young people?
Andréa: It can be radical to not always buy new, to care for your clothes and fix them instead of throwing them away. When I met with the AGO Youth Council, they were interested to hear about everything I do to care for and extend the life of my clothes. And I get that – I was also a creative youth who loved clothing and dressing in vintage.

AGO: Why are your upcoming workshops unique?
Andréa: What I love most about being an educator is how much I learn from young people. I’ve been working with young people for over 15 years, teaching visual arts, and this will be the first time I share my vintage collecting experience as an educator. I’m really excited about bringing these two passions together and about the conversations I’ll have with the group at the AGO.

AGO: What’s an easy tip that everyone can use in their day-to-day styling?
Andréa: Be playful. Combine eras and references. Choose pieces you love. Share your clothes. Host swaps. Loving your clothes and being playful is a really good way to get out of the cycle of buying disposable clothing that so many people get stuck in.

Find more info on all FREE After Three events here.

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