“It Was Worth It”: Fashion Design Grad Zarin Rashid Flew Halfway Across World To Participate In EMERGENCE 2019 Fashion Show

The time commitment for Zarin Rashid to successfully complete Toronto Film School’s Fashion Design Diploma: 18 months.

Duration of her flight from Bangladesh to Toronto to attend TFS’s EMERGENCE 2019 fashion show: 20 hours.

The longevity of memories at getting a front-row seat to watch the fruits of her hard work and creativity strut down the catwalk: A lifetime.

“It was worth it for everything I had put in for this collection and…all the hard work that went behind it,” she said of travelling nearly 12,500 km to witness her designs being showcased on the runway at Artscape Wynchwood Barns during the May 27 fashion show.

“I’m very emotional right now, but yeah, it felt amazing.”

Rashid was one of 34 TFS fashion design grads who got to fulfill their lifelong dream of seeing their designs brought to life at EMERGENCE 2019, which featured 144 cutting-edge creations ranging from ball gowns and bodysuits to capes and corsets.

Before the show, TFS Senior Director of Education Paula Shneer lauded Rashid and her fellow designers for all the “hard work, commitment, and passion” that went into making EMERGENCE 2019 such a success.

“They really did live in the studio for 18 months,” she said of the participating TFS Fashion Design grads. “Most students enter the program without having sewn or created a pattern – well, wait till you see their fantastic accomplishments.”

The three looks Rashid had specially shipped from Dhaka to Toronto for the EMERGENCE fashion show included a white brocade jacket paired with a white knit dress; a white bustier with flying scarf and knit pants; and a blush kimono over a blush bias slip dress.

“I had three pieces, so it was sort of a collaboration of my culture with the western culture. I tried to bring Bangladesh to Toronto,” she said.

“There were some modern cuts, but I also had very intricate hand embroidery done, which is back from my country.”

Shortly after wrapping up her TFS studies ­– which included a work placement with TFS instructor and acclaimed Canadian designer Christopher Paunil – in December 2018, Rashid returned home to her native Bangladesh.

There, she’s been on the fashion fast-track – securing a director position at Dhaka-based outerwear manufacturing company, TRZ Garments, as Head of Research & Development, and establishing a unique branded presence on Instagram.

But she hasn’t stopped there.

“I’m getting into the fitness industry – I’m coming out with a line of healthy meal plans that I just launched right before coming,” she said. “And I’m also trying to open my own boutique (in Bangladesh), where I will definitely carry on whatever I learned in school.”