Tristanne Lovetana, a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) creative industries alum, is a name you should look out for in the fashion industry. At just 23 years old, the up-and-coming fashion designer has made it to this year’s New York Fashion Week, debuting her collection of accessories titled “Panaginip,” the Tagalog word for “dream.”
Six years ago, Lovetana was just a girl with a dream—a dream she decided to make a reality. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched her own company, aptly named Lovetunay, a clever combination of her last name, “Lovetana,” and “tunay,” the Tagalog word for “real” or “authentic.”
And in everything she makes by hand, she infuses love and authenticity. Her identity is woven into the secondhand fabric of every up-cycled piece. Her brand draws inspiration from Filipino culture and the lived experiences of the diaspora.
Reflecting on what it means to be a Filipina-Canadian designer at New York Fashion Week, Lovetana says that, “Being able to have my pieces on a stage like New York Fashion Week means so much to me because I know there are people who can relate to that feeling of being from somewhere but not really from that place.”
She adds, “Everything I know about the Philippines is through stories I’ve been told from before I was born. I’ve always felt caught between two worlds—being raised in Toronto while trying to honour where my family is from.”
In many ways, her work became a way to bridge that divide and to honour her family in the process.
But Lovetana did not approach her career in a conventional way.
“I went about this in a non-traditional way when it comes to the fashion industry, which I feel proud of. I went to TMU, but I didn’t study fashion design, so there were opportunities through networking and school that I didn’t have.”
Completely self-taught, she began her path with curiosity and necessity. “I’ve always been into sewing and making things since I was little,” she says. “I used to thrift a lot, and I liked boys’ clothes, but nothing fit me, so I taught myself how to alter my own pieces, taking in seams and adjusting pants. That’s how I started.”
For those pursuing a career in the fashion industry, Lovetana is proof that you just have to want it badly enough; everything you need is always within reach.
“One thing I always say is to be resourceful,” she says. “I use thrifted materials and don’t rely on expensive fabrics. I make things from bedsheets and curtains.”
It is with this precise resourcefulness that Lovetana brought her one-of-a-kind pillow purses to the runway.
With dozens of designers showing, the event was divided into time slots, and Lovetana didn’t know exactly when she would present. And when show day finally arrived, everything moved “exactly how you’d imagine Fashion Week backstage.”
She showed up just minutes before, stepping into chaos and electricity, with models changing, stylists rushing, and final touches happening all at once.
In a matter of moments, the pieces she had carefully crafted were on the runway, carried by models and brought to life in motion. Then came a moment she hadn’t quite prepared for: walking out herself.
“I was nervous since I don’t like being in front of people, but I did it. Afterward, all the designers came out together. I saw my boyfriend and best friend in the front row and almost cried. It had been something I’d been planning for so long, and suddenly I was in the moment,” says Lovetana.
What had been months of planning and years of hard work unfolded in what felt like seconds. And just like that, it was over—surreal, overwhelming, and, in her words, “like a dream come true.”
At first, your ambitions may feel unattainable, your talents meaningless, and your work fruitless. You may find yourself waiting for the perfect moment, for a readiness inside you to suddenly appear.
But as Lovetana says, “Don’t wait until you feel ready. Readiness is an action, not a feeling. If I had waited, I wouldn’t have applied. I knew I wasn’t at the level I wanted to be, but applying pushed me to put myself out there. If you wait to feel ready, nothing gets done.”
Looking ahead, Lovetana is growing her scrunchie line and experimenting with pieces inspired by Filipino culture, her Canadian upbringing, and native flowers, all while exploring sustainable, up-cycled materials in her designs.
You can also find her hosting her first-ever hands-on sewing workshop in Whitby, Ontario, on April 25, where participants can learn, create, and connect. For Lovetana, it’s about blending artistry, heritage, and shared experiences one stitch at a time.