Biography

Olivia Rubens is a positive knitwear womenswear designer based between the UK and Canada. Rubens stands for every womxn who has battled their way to honouring themselves to the Nth degree, overcoming obstacles and ostracism. Meant to poke at human nature, Olivia Rubens’s work can often solicit the raising of an eyebrow, and is meant to be playfully thought-provoking, often through dark humour, nurturing impactful conversations about human behaviour. This is how Rubens also approaches her initiatives in social justice, working to help womxn, children and community in both Canada and in England. Olivia Rubens’s work is also ingrained within environmental sustainability. She collaborates constantly, and continually invests in research and innovation, working to link novel developments in bio design within her design practice, with a goal to design positive impacts for the planet and people. Rubens obtained her BA in Fashion Design from Ryerson University in 2015, worked within industry in Canada until 2018, and pursued her MA in Fashion Design Technology Womenswear at the London College of Fashion, obtained in 2020, showing at the Camden Roundhouse at London Fashion Week. She was just awarded with the Responsible Fashion Award with a mentorship from Fashion Revolution and 10,000 euros, and the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana Award with 5,000 euros in the International Talent Support 2020 competition, showed with Helsinki Fashion Week, including a climate positive garment, and has most recently been featured on Breakfast Television Toronto, Vogue.com, WWD, Vanity Fair Italia, Harper’s Bazaar Italia, and Teen Vogue.