Roots and OCAD U Partner to Bring Emerging Student Talent to Life Through New Design Collaboration

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roots, the premium outdoor lifestyle brand, announced a new collaboration with OCAD University to support emerging design talent and bring student creativity to life. The collaboration began with a student design contest launched during OCAD U’s GradEx, giving current students the opportunity to showcase their work and develop an original design in collaboration with Roots.

Following an initial review of student submissions, Roots shortlisted three students whose individual creative styles and approaches stood out. The finalists were then invited to develop original design concepts for Roots, with Shina Kang selected as the winning student.

“We’ve always believed in the importance of supporting Canadian creatives and giving the next generation of talent meaningful opportunities to bring their ideas to life,” said Leslie Golts, Chief Marketing Officer, Roots Corporation. “This collaboration is so special because it gave us the chance to bring a new perspective into our design process, while giving Shina the opportunity to work alongside our design team and experience what it takes to translate her vision into a finished product.”

Following her selection, Shina spent a day at Roots Head Office working alongside the design team, gaining an inside look at the creative and production considerations involved in bringing artwork to life as a finished product. The experience offered Kang an opportunity to work directly with industry designers, learn more about the product development process, and bring her own creative vision to a Roots product.

The collaboration officially launched this week on September 8 as part of OCAD U’s back-to-school street fair, where students had the opportunity to shop the collaboration firsthand. The partnership reflects Roots ongoing commitment to championing the next generation of Canadian creative talent.

You can shop the pieces from the collection online at shopocadu.com now.

About Roots
Established in 1973, Roots is a global lifestyle brand. Starting from a small cabin in northern Canada, Roots has become a global brand with over 100 corporate retail stores in Canada, two stores in the United States, and an eCommerce platform, www.roots.com, that serves many international markets. We have more than 100 partner-operated stores in Asia, and we also operate a dedicated Roots-branded storefront on Tmall.com in China. We design, market, and sell a broad selection of products in different departments, including women’s, men’s, children’s, and gender-free apparel, leather goods, footwear, and accessories. Our products are built with uncompromising comfort, quality, and style that allows you to feel at home with nature. We offer products designed to meet life’s everyday adventures and provide you with the versatility to live your life to the fullest. We also wholesale through business-to-business channels and license the brand to a select group of licensees selling products to major retailers. Roots Corporation is a Canadian corporation doing business as “Roots” and “Roots Canada”.

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