In 2013, Andrea De Ocampo was working on a Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta, but her true love was always fashion. At 16 years old, she won first place at Western Canada Fashion Week, but, as a university student, she was still unsure of what path she’d take. Then, a mentor saw her work and said something that’s stuck with her to this day: “You belong to New York. Not Toronto, not Vancouver, not Paris, not London. Your style, your aesthetic [is] New York.”
Fast forward to today, and De Ocampo has brought her New York fashion sense to Edmonton in her popup museum, De Ocampo Fashion House: Time Capsule, at the Foundry on Whyte Avenue. “When you make it to the event, you see the venue — the exposed brick, the tight stairwells, the intimate space, the rustic floor, windows, and black frame. It’s New York,” De Ocampo says.
The event features De Ocampo’s New York-inspired runway collections, including pieces she designed at 16, which are also available to purchase. This is not only a fashion show event but a popup museum.
All these years later, De Ocampo says that “Fashion is where I feel like I belong. You need to believe in yourself and give it your best shot. Just then, maybe others will begin to believe in you too.”
De Ocampo Fashion House: Time Capsule will take place on June 19 at Foundry on Whyte. The doors will open at 3 p.m.
