Wilson fashion student wins award for sustainable capstone collection

Wilson School of Design graduate Naiomi Chin is the inaugural recipient of the TÉLIO Impact Award for her capstone project, Citizen Collective.

Chin graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s fashion and technology program. She debuted her 13-piece collection at the 2026 Wilson School of Design grad show.

“My collection is a capsule for the on-the-go corporate but fashion-forward girlies,” Chin says, who now works as an associate technical designer at Aritzia.

The collection includes a skirt, top, pants, and a jacket titled Phoebe Blouson.

The TÉLIO Impact Award was established by Canadian fabric wholesaler TÉLIO, in partnership with KPU. The $1,000 award recognizes a student who uses innovative and sustainable design practices.

Chin got the idea for her collection from her personal experience as a commuter.

“Whenever I want to wear my nice stuff out, and I’m standing on the bus, or walking to the bus stop or SkyTrain, it’s an hour-long sweaty commute,” she says.

“These clothes are not designed for the on-the-go lifestyle — and [Citizen Collective] was the perfect opportunity for me to fix that.”

The process for Chin’s collection involved researching trends, colourways, and competitor analysis to ensure her project would be marketable. From there, she sketched her designs and assembled the pieces.

“I wanted to make stuff that you could wear for multiple different occasions, but also last multiple seasons,” Chin says.

She adds that Lesley Pollard, an instructor in the fashion and technology program, mentored her through making her collection.

“[Pollard] really helped me develop this collection as a saleable, practical idea…. She really understood my concept, and I felt like it was really easy to bounce ideas off of her,” Chin says.

When she found out she won the award, Chin says she was happy and shocked.

“Instead of designing around a result, I designed around what I wanted, and it just happened to [include] sustainability,” Chin says. “What I noticed at Wilson was that all of these awards and opportunities really show up when you’re working and building things that are close to you and true to you.”

She hopes that her collection shows a different perspective on fashion and how it can support different people.

“In this case it was commuting, but how can clothes be used to solve other problems, like for people living with disabilities — how can clothes be more adaptable for them?” Chin says.

“I feel like the world is so aware of how clothes are beautiful and that they’re an expression of how you feel and your personality, but I hope this project opens more eyes to the practical side of fashion.”