Fashion & Garments

Living every fashionista’s dream

Megan Szanik is the owner, visionary, creator and proprietor of espy. With a career spanning more than 20 years in all realms of the fashion industry she has truly lived every fashionista’s dream. Megan’s vivacious and bold energy is hard to miss and she definitely knows how to make an entrance. Her ultimate desire alongside her team of professional stylists is to show you how amazing you look, and to make you truly feel your best, one styled outfit at a time. Standing at the helm of a multi-million dollar independently owned business, Megan and the stylish espy team have to date raised more than $500,000 for charitable causes close to their hearts, racked up thousands of followers on their social platforms, and proudly sold more than 60,000 pairs of jeans to their adoring retail fans.


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Igniting a culture of self-love for women across the globe

Colette Hamon grew up as a farm girl in an all-French-speaking town. Those days, her world revolved around wheat farming and the Catholic Church. Entrepreneurship, business growth, love, intimacy, gender roles, psychology – none of them were topics orbiting in her universe. After moving to the “big city” and earning her MBA, Hamon worked her way up the corporate ladder and saw success. But none of it fueled her fire. She founded BraTopia after recognizing a gap: the “big players” who dominated the lingerie industry were creating spaces that were not fit for the modern woman. They created discomfort, whereas Hamon wanted to promote self-acceptance and self-love. None of the brands served the woman she was or the woman she wanted her daughter to be. She has three children, two dogs, and no lack of interesting stories with regards to her life’s adventures.


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Reviving a Legacy: How This Entrepreneur Built a North American Luxury Suit Brand

Zahir Rajani is the visionary entrepreneur behind The Sartorial Shop, a rapidly growing men’s luxury garment brand. The Sartorial Shop, originally a family-owned business that first opened in 1984 in New Westminster, British Columbia, has been transformed under Zahir’s leadership. After the store closed in 2010, Zahir re-opened it last year, with a fresh new direction and modern approach, in New Westminster’s historic downtown. In June of this year, Zahir rebranded the business to The Sartorial Shop, relocating the flagship atelier to Vancouver’s vibrant downtown.

Under Zahir’s guidance, the brand has quickly expanded from a local presence in Vancouver to a North American powerhouse. The Sartorial Shop has also secured partnerships with some of the most prestigious fabric mills in the UK and EU. Notably, it is the only Canadian company offering the Florentine Cut, an exceptional suit style made exclusively in Florence, Italy.

Prior to founding The Sartorial Shop, Zahir spent over two decades in senior executive roles. As Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending at the Onni Group, he was responsible for driving over $200 million in annual revenue. He has also held high-level positions at Redstone, showcasing his expertise in financial strategy and leadership.

Today, Zahir is passionate about sharing his entrepreneurial journey and inspiring others to pursue their passions. Through his story, he hopes to motivate others to take bold steps toward their dreams, just as he did when he made the leap from a corporate career to revive his family’s legacy in the world of men’s fashion.


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Conquering fears to achieve online success

Calgary entrepreneur Tammy Phan is the Founder and owner of luxury consignment platform Luxe Du Jour. Since 2016, Luxe Du Jour has cultivated a vibrant community of over 40,000 ‘bag addicts’ engaging in the buying, selling, renting and restoration of luxury bags and accessories. Luxe Du Jour has two corporate offices in Calgary, Alberta and Irving, California, along with additional subsidiary international locations in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Luxe Du Jour started in 2016 with the intent to bring sustainability to the luxury market. Luxe Du Jour promotes a shop, rent, revive approach to circular fashion, extending the life of luxury items while striving to offer the lowest consignment rates in North America. Luxe Du Jour has expanded its services through Luxe Bag Spa, Luxe Bag Rental and the new app, providing a one-stop shop for clients.


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A vision of helping women feel great about themselves

Nancy Nasr is the Founder of Think Stunning, a boutique located in Southcentre Mall that offers Women, Baby, and home accessories made and designed by women. In 2017 with a vision of helping women feel great about themselves with fun and stylish accessories, Think Stunning became a brick-and-mortar store. Each accessory is carefully curated and crafted, and it tells a story written by the incredible women she has had the privilege to collaborate with, each bringing a unique touch to its collections. Think Stunning has overcome many challenges, and has moved with resilience to adapt to different markets. In essence, Nasr is creating a movement by giving women a platform to shine and offering exceptional products.


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Effecting industry-shifting growth and success in the retail space

Emily Hosie has a track record of effecting industry-shifting growth and success in the retail space through her tenure at fashion powerhouses, TJ Maxx, Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off Fifth, and Holt Renfrew. A dynamic millennial mom, Emily recognized a huge void in the baby gear retail market that was ripe for innovation, within a legacy industry in need of an update. Her solution for the industry was Rebelstork – a certified B Corp and purpose-driven company dedicated to creating a marketplace that connects brands and retailers to parents across North America. Her innovative AI-powered ecosystem enables frictionless movement of overstock, open box (store returns), and quality used baby gear between buyers and sellers. In four short years, Emily has brought her vision of a re-commerce and circular economy to life across two countries. To date, Rebelstork has saved over 180,000 pieces of baby gear from ending up in landfills and instead into the homes of parents across North America at a fraction of the original retail price.


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The challenges of moving from a service-based to product-based business

Victoria Marshman is a passionate and driven entrepreneur, marketer, community leader, and dance educator. Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, she has operated and scaled two 6-figure companies since 2015 and has helped raise over $250k for local Canadian charities through charitable events. Recently, Victoria has Co-Founded Mave & Chez: a luxury ergonomic slipper brand designed for women, by women. The brand successfully launched on Kickstarter in October 2022, with over 425 pre-orders, and was selected as a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter. The brand has already scaled to 6-figures in just a few short months in the market. Catch Mave & Chez on the next season of Dragon’s Den this fall.


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Persevere through trials and tribulations to reach success

Karly Gramlich is the Founder and CEO at Upper District; a Canadian-based sustainable luxury fashion and accessories brand. She describes herself as unapologetically unconventional. Despite growing up as a farmer’s daughter and miles away from the luxury scene, her ambitious personality took hold and Upper District was born. She sought to outfit those who have worked relentlessly to achieve their goals, despite an unconventional background. Those who have worked tirelessly through trials and tribulations, only to persevere and reach success.


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Profits and Purpose with Jennifer St. John

Founder and Head Designer at MARNIE & MICHAEL, Jennifer St. John, has been involved in art and design since her earliest days. In 2020, Jennifer launched her business, along with a mission to start a mental health initiative and began a retail shop during the peak of the pandemic, taking a risk that has paid off. With an online shop and six retail locations, Jennifer creates and hand sews her own line of high end leather bags and accessories and devotes up to 15% of all profits to mental health initiatives. She just completed her first successful mental health annual fundraiser and fashion show, with proceeds donated to RVH hospital Foundation.

Jennifer’s mom was untreated and undiagnosed with mental illness for her first fifty-two years of life. Growing up in this very unstable environment with her sisters, no one talked about mental health and everyone around her was distracted by her mom’s unhealthy coping strategies. The only constant in her life was instability and shame. The name, Marnie & Michael, is in honour of her parents and her mother’s journey – now she is determined to be a part of the conversation and space that is changing the stigma!


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Supporting Staff for Success

Tammie Hunter was raised on Vancouver Island and as an adult lived in several communities around BC before settling in Nanaimo near her family. After exploring a few careers, she discovered later in life that being an entrepreneur is the most rewarding and engaging. She often says she wishes she had known what being a business owner was like earlier on in life.

As an artist she has had a very successful career selling her art in several galleries and art shows over the past 20 years. Since she started LegArt Apparel her art has taken a backseat. But she’s itching to get back into her studio to continue her lifelong dream of being a serious artist.

Tammie started LegArt Apparel in 2014. Since then, it has grown to be one of the top apparel companies in Canada in its particular style of clothing, mainly leggings. The company has grown from the original box of 100 pairs of leggings in the basement to over 4,000 pieces of inventory in a large warehouse and storefront in Nanaimo.

After almost 10 years in the industry, Tammie has gained much experience, having learned mostly through trial and error what it takes to be successful in the apparel industry. Through many ups and downs, hard work both mentally and physically, and learning with a team of dedicated employees and mentors she feels it’s time to implement an exit plan that will set her successor up for further success. The next three years will bring new challenges but she is up for it!


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