Jason Meyers' Advice to Fashion Students

Jason Meyers is an accomplished Canadian designer having been singled out by Fashion Television as “One to Watch” right out of school and making it to the top three in Season 2 of Canada’s Project Runway. But the best part? Jason Meyers is also an Academy of Design alumni so I had the privilege to interview him at his studio last week.

How did your education at the Academy of Design prepare you for working in the industry?

Well, the instructors there are supportive even now, but for me going to the Academy was a conscious decision – I needed to learn how to make clothes. When I went to the Academy I left my first career as a financial advisor. I wanted to make clothes and the best school in the shortest amount of time was the Academy and they equipped me with the tools I now have to make clothing. But in the end you need to go out, learn the industry, the markets – all that.

In what ways do the Academy instructors continue to support you?

I have a relationship with a couple of the instructors: if I need interns, or they come to shows for support and that’s great. For me the design program was just to learn to make clothes and I had to do that to get my business off the ground and for that it was amazing. But there was one instructor there named Ron Catahan, he was the best instructor ever. He’s not with us anymore unfortunately, but he was amazing – he was a really important piece to me in moving forward and he was very supportive. The instructors believe in you and just try to show you the way, and it’s always good coming from a school where they’re industry professionals rather than just ‘teachers’, so they give a lot of experience in terms of their past knowledge.

What is the job market like out there for grads of the fashion programs?

Tough, really tough, and it’s tough being Canadian. With my brand I’ve always designed higher end clothing, like dresses for extravagant events, but I’m rebranding my collection now to be more wearable and street; still high-end but more everyday and that’s important, that’s a whole learning process. You go to school and it’s like, ‘This is amazing, I’m making clothes.’ But then you come out of it and you need to figure out where the market is, who’s going to buy what – I’m trying to drop my price point and keep the quality. And I mean that’s directly related to what H&M and Forever 21 are doing, you can buy a dress for $30, but you’re only going to wear it once. As a designer you have to make the price more feasible for the general public.

Hope Jason’s words of wisdom hope all you fashion students soon to graduate or just thinking about the future, and be sure to check out his website: http://www.jasonmeyers.net/


-Hallae Khosravi