Catherine Addai
Catherine Addai is a Ghanaian-Canadian fashion designer and founder of the women's clothing brand Kaela Kay.[1]
Career[edit]
Addai has a degree in health informatics. She worked as a decision support consultant while working on her fashion line. She launched the label in 2013 while on maternity leave with her daughter Makaela.[2][3]
Early in her journey, clothing alterations and fittings were completed in Addai's basement in Mississauga.[4] With no formal training in design, fashion, she hired seamstresses from Toronto to help her learn the trade.[2] She quit her consulting job in 2017 to work on her brand full-time. In 2019, Addai opened up her first brick-and-mortar boutique in North York.[5] The brand is named after one of her daughters.[4]
She works primarily with Ankara fabric, a West African fabric method of dying cotton material, and experienced some "cultural resistance" to her designs initially.[5][4] Celebrities including Busy Philipps and Tracy Moore have worn her designs, exposing them to a wider audience.[6]
In 2019, Addai was one of six female Canadian entrepreneurs highlighted in a digital video series Startup and Slay.[5]
Awards[edit]
In 2018, Addai was given the People's Choice Award for Fashion Designer of the Year from ByBlacks.com.[7] Addai was also named African Fashion Industry Awards Ladies Wear Designer of the Year three separate times.[5]
Personal life[edit]
Addai was born in Ghana, lived in Amsterdam until she was three and moved to Canada when she was seven.[3] Now based in Toronto, she is a wife and mother to three young children.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ Levy, Joel (2021-12-20). "Homegrown Business: Catherine Addai of KAELA KAY". Toronto Guardian. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ a b "Digital Series Celebrates Ghanaian-Canadian Fashion Designer". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ a b "Ghana-born Catherine Addai on turning her passion into a successful clothing company with "hustle and heart"". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ a b c Post, Colin McClelland, Special to Financial (2020-10-30). "Adapt, endure and expand: How Black entrepreneurs are handling the challenges posed by the pandemic". Financial Post. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Jonah, Sabrina (October 20, 2019). "'Modern, eclectic, chic': Toronto fashion designer marries high-fashion with African heritage". CBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ "20 Black-Owned Businesses To Support in Toronto & The GTA". Style Democracy. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Administrator. "2018 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List". byblacks.com. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ^ Shannon, Michaella (March 7, 2022). "11 women share the pearl of wisdom they're reflecting on in this moment". CBC News. Retrieved June 20, 2022.