{"id":1820,"date":"2023-11-06T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2023-12-19T12:32:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T20:32:41","slug":"fashion-and-technology-alumni-spotlight-jean-okada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/2023\/11\/06\/fashion-and-technology-alumni-spotlight-jean-okada\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion and Technology Alumni Spotlight: Jean Okada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-gray-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:100\">Meet Jean Okada, Design Director for Outerwear at Aritzia as she shares her experience and passion since graduating from the Fashion and Technology program here at The Wilson School of Design.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Via <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/742311816\">Wilson School of Design Vimeo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">The Wilson School of Design&#8217;s Bachelor of Design, Fashion Design &amp; Technology program has an international reputation for building tomorrow\u2019s fashion leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">We have the longest-running four-year degree program in Western Canada. Many of our graduates hold innovative positions in local apparel and design companies in place well before graduation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cI find inspiration through nature, through culture, music, creative communities. Inspiration is&nbsp;everywhere.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><cite>Jean Okada<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WSD\/Fashion Design &amp; Technology Jean Okada\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/742311816?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy name is Jean Okada, and I went to KPU Wilson School of Design for Fashion Design&nbsp;and Technology. I&#8217;ve been designing in the industry for 18 years now. I&#8217;m currently the&nbsp;Design Director for Outerwear at Aritzia. I design the puffy jackets and I also do some freelance costume design.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI discovered my passion for fashion design pretty early. I&#8217;ve always loved sewing, and creating patterns.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;KPU Wilson School of Design really set me up to work in the industry and be adaptable in the job market.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"574\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-2048x1149.png 2048w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102005-816x458.png 816w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;There are lots of ups and downs in the industry, of course. There can be some long nights. There can be last-minute changes and lots of different feedback. You know, the program really helped me to manage my time. That&#8217;s such an important skill.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the biggest things I got from this program was learning the business side and the technical aspects of fashion design. On the business side, the big takeaway was presenting and selling your ideas and concepts. On the technical side, presenting your sketches in a technical way to communicate your ideas.\u201d<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"570\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-1536x855.png 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-2048x1140.png 2048w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-09-03-102046-816x454.png 816w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cDesign is visual storytelling. It&#8217;s expression. It&#8217;s composition.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I love so much about my job, but one of my favourite things is creating the direction from season to season and how to keep things fresh and exciting for the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe design industry is constantly evolving and there&#8217;s gonna be roles and exciting opportunities that don&#8217;t exist yet. So don&#8217;t be afraid to create these possibilities, connect with people, take risks, and explore your creativity in this program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">To learn more about the Fashion and Technology program visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kpu.ca\/design\/fashion\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"www.kpu.ca\/design\/fashion\">www.kpu.ca\/design\/fashion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"542\" src=\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-1024x542.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-1024x542.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-768x407.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-1536x813.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-2048x1084.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/files\/2022\/09\/WSD_Primary-Logo_Black_CMYK_1_dual-KPU_ws-1-816x432.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Jean Okada, Design Director for Outerwear at Aritzia as she shares her experience and passion since graduating from the Fashion and Technology program here at The Wilson School of Design. Via Wilson School of Design Vimeo The Wilson School of Design&#8217;s Bachelor of Design, Fashion Design &amp; Technology program has an international reputation for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2548,"featured_media":1825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":222,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,19],"class_list":["post-1820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wilson-school-of-design-blog","tag-alumni-spotlight","tag-fashion-design-and-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1820"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2026,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions\/2026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/wilsondesignloop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}