Fashion
Theola Wong, Lead Designer for Reebok’s Lifestyle Team, Boston, USA
Fashion Design Graduate
Lead Designer for Reebok’s Lifestyle Team – Boston,USA
Theola Wong may be petite but her career is hitting stratospheric heights as the Lead Designer for Reebok's Lifestyle Team at their head office in Boston. A powerhouse of talent, this Blanche Macdonald Fashion Design grad leads the team of Reebok designers responsible for their Skateboard line, which includes the DGK collaboration with Stevie Williams and the inhouse Reebok Skate collection, the dance-inspired street fusion line for women named Rhythm, and the "Bringbacks", Reebok's perennial classic collection of old school favourites.
And as if that hasn't kept her busy enough, add 20,000 miles of travel in the past six months with trips to New York, attending Paris Fashion Week, and travelling to Russia where Reebok is opening new stores.
A former designer for Dish and action sport companies United Riders and Options NFA, Theola was headhunted by adidas in Germany who now own Reebok.
Word obviously travels fast when you are the ultimate pro Theola is.
Her design savvy is inspired by street artist and music environments, sports, new technologies, her ability to feel each cities' vibe and being open to creative challenges as well as business challenges.
"Vancouver is a global presence," she says when it comes to chatting about fashion, music, art and culture in this city.
It was on a fast and furious trip to Vancouver that BMC caught up with her. Theola took time out from her busy schedule to talk to the Design and Merchandising students about her incredible career path. A BMC home girl, she has kept in constant touch with her Instructors at Blanche Macdonald since graduating.
"There are so many areas of this industry other than design [pattern making, production, etc]. It was good to learn about them all at Blanche Macdonald in order to really figure out where to sink my teeth in. It's been almost 8 years since graduating and I still keep in contact with the school. They have been unfalteringly supportive and enthusiastic about each of my endeavors," says a very grounded Theola Wong.
Reflecting on Theola the BMC student and Theola the successful designer, BMC's Career Director, Joy McLean says:
"Trend forecasting was never an activity for Theola. It was a way of life. She softly and continuously reached out and took on board all the treasures people and life have to offer. This is one of the wonderful characteristics that her instructors saw that made it immediately apparent that she would be special to the design world.
Her skateboarding and it's culture, the CBC, art and music of all types, business, computers and family, she uses so many ingredients to produce her special recipe for life and success. Theola's high standard of work and personal ethics was always apparent. Her commitment and accountability are commendable. It is a pleasure to stay in touch and support her climb to such deserved heights!"
