She is drawn to textiles for their capacity to carry emotion, discovering that working with fabrics that have had previous lives allows her to experience this profoundly. Her recent research and design focus explores processes of transformation of discarded materials into wearable objects, thereby renegotiating perceptions of value of these overlooked materials. By engaging with “waste" generated through accelerated cycles of fashion production, Isla seeks to challenge conventional ideas of worth and material hierarchy. Her design process is guided by the properties and possibilities within each textile, leading to experimental construction methods that emphasize both craftsmanship and intention. Ultimately, her practice is grounded in articulating the value of overlooked materials and prolonging their lifecycles, an ethos that shapes how and why she creates.

Isla Cowan is a textile artist, fashion designer, researcher and recent graduate of the MA Fashion program at Toronto Metropolitan University.

I have worked professionally in fashion design since 2019, when I launched my own fashion brand, Heavy Flow. The brand operated until 2024, when I returned to school to complete my MA in Fashion. During this period, I worked as Heavy Flow’s designer, production sewer, pattern drafter, manager, and more. Additionally, I have worked as a fabricator and design assistant for artists and designers since 2023.

  • Academic Assistant - Toronto Metropolitan University September 2025 - Present 

    Conceptual Fashion Designer - CANFAR for HIV Unwrapped, July 2026 

    Costume Production Assistant - TMU School of Performance, May 2025

    Founder/Designer - Heavy Flow, February 2019 - December 2024

    Design Assistant & Fabricator - Holly Chang, April 2023 - Present

    Fabricator - MASSIVart for Canada Goose, February – June 2023

  • Toronto Metropolitan University: Master of Arts in Fashion, September 2024 - April 2026.

    • Recipient of The Value Village Sustainable Fashion Graduate Award and The Creative School Graduate Development Award in 2026

    • Research focus on sustainability in design and consumer practices.

    York University: Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Gender, Sexualities, & Women’s Studies, 2010 – 2015 • Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

    • Awarded the Marta Danylewycz Essay Prize in 2014 

  • Material Dialogues Vol. 2, August - September 2026, Toronto, Assembly Gallery.

    HIV Unwrapped, (upcoming) November 2026, Toronto

    Re.Stance After Hours Showcase, May 2026, Toronto, The Combine.

  • Co-panellist: Creative Approaches to Managing Textile Waste, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Youth Council, October 2026

    Guest Speaker: Toronto Metropolitan University, January 2021, March 2025, September 2026, November 2026 

    Sewing Workshop Facilitator: The Community Arts Guild, April 2022 

  • The Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (juried), Toronto, 2019 - 2020