“Fashion, like any other cultural medium has its own language. I like to consider myself a Fashion Linguist because I study, decipher and clarify its meaning for others.”
Toronto born and raised Elizabeth Oliveira, majored in French Linguistics, minored in Portuguese Literature, and studied Anthropology at the University of Toronto before discovering a specialized fashion academy which caught her immediate attention on a study-abroad trip to Porto Portugal. She immediately left her academic studies behind and enrolled in an eleven month intensive design course in Portugal (1994-5).
Returning to Toronto in 1996, she cut her fashion teeth with Crystal Siemens for three years as a design assistant, production manager, cutting room supervisor and public relations representative at the Toronto Fashion Incubator which boasts relationships with designers such as David Dixon and Noel Cristostomo. She also attended Trade Shows with Siemens’ collections in New York at the Javitz Centre. Based on her European training and extensive experience, Elizabeth founded “Labl Studio” in 2002 offering a combination of alteration, textile and design services
unique to her brand. With the success of Labl Studio, Elizabeth decided to make her services more readily available to the public by establishing her express service shop “Labl Style Lab” in 2010. In addition to managing her continually expanding business, Elizabeth has also been the exclusive designer for Aveda “Congress” since 2003 and also functioned as a concept designer and stylist. Cabaret Vintage Clothing has contracted Elizabeth as their exclusive clothing repair and reconstruction specialist since 2005. In 2009, she began designing the Cabaret dress collection. As their sole designer, she reinterprets vintage dresses and reconstructs their silhouettes to suit modern proportions in a budget conscience way. Some of Elizabeth’s well known clients include:
Shania Twain; Aveda founder, Horst Rechelbacker; Creative Director of Aveda, Antoinette Beenders; David Adams, Creative Hair Colorist for Aveda and Founder of Red Chocolate; Top Editorial Hairstylist, Peter Gray; Ray Civelllo of Civello Salon and Spa; Collega International in Canada; Film Maker, Kathy Prosser; Singer/Songwriter, Amanda Zellina; and International songwriting legend, Ron Sexsmith.
