Michelle Ross
TORONTO-BASED DESIGNER CELEBRATES NEW COLLECTION WITH WEBSITE REVAMP
Story by Alison McKibbin
Photos by Gobhi Theivendran
Styling: Dana Goldenberg (Ford Artists)
Makeup & hair: Wendy Rorong (Plutino Group)
Model: Lauren B. (Elite Model Management)
Michelle Ross, a Toronto-based jewellery and apparel designer, is cultivating a growing following for her stunning, one-of-a-kind creations, attracting attention from fashion lovers and magazine editors alike. A graduate of both the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and the London College of Fashion, Ross majored in textiles and women’s wear.
Impressively, Ross is a self-taught jeweller who has been producing exceptional creations since she was seven-years-old. As she recalls, “I started out assembling beaded headbands and necklaces for family members and friends.”
Ross describes her pieces as “contemporary fashion jewellery”, which she constructs using “many different metals, semi-precious stones and found objects”. These luxury components include chains sourced from Paris and pieces she happens upon while scouring London antique markets. Ross intends for her jewellery to possess a wide-ranging appeal, imagining her customers to be “anyone from 20 to 70-years-old, who are fashion forward but not necessarily following every single trend. They appreciate hand-made, luxury pieces that are not mass produced.”
Ross remains hesitant to define a theme for her collections, which are instead successful due to the large amount of variation that exists from one piece to the next – there is literally something for every discerning taste and age. Her current ‘Eden’ collection features concoctions of dangling chain mixed with pearls and crystals in the jewellery line, and garments of beautiful construction and interesting detail in a neutral palette. Heaven on earth indeed.
She credits her time spent in London, a city she describes as “faster, edgier and more eccentric”, for pushing her creative limits and forcing her to work outside of her comfort zone (especially while interning for London fashion darling Erdem Moralioglu). “The experience was so technical, it pushed me out of my comfort zone but also allowed me to see the potential I had.” With such a lovely and varied array of work to choose from, Ross’ potential is hard for anyone to deny.
