ALYCIA IS A GTA BASED DESIGNER, STYLIST, & MERCHANDISER. SHE COMPLETED HER BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY AT RYERSON UNIVERSITY IN 2015 AND HER ONTARIO COLLEGE DIPLOMA IN VISUAL MERCHANDISING ARTS AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE IN 2017.
DURING HER UNDERGRAD, SHE WORKED PRIMARILY WITH THE MEDIUM OF COLLAGE ART. WORKING WITH MATERIALS MAINLY FROM VINTAGE MAGAZINES, SHE BECAME VERY INTERESTED WITH THE WAY WOMEN WERE PORTRAYED IN THESE PUBLICATIONS. HER THESIS WAS A SERIES OF IMAGES QUESTIONING OUR OBSESSIVE SCRUTINY OF THE TEXTURES AND FORMS PRESENT IN THE FEMALE BODY, BY MELDING THEM WITH THOSE FOUND IN NATURE. SOURCING FROM THESE MAGAZINES, THE IMAGES EXUDE AN AESTHETIC ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADVENT OF THE MODERN HOUSEWIFE GONE SLIGHTLY AWRY. SINCE THEY WERE MADE PRIMARILY WITH MAGAZINES GEARED TOWARD WOMEN, SHE ATTEMPTED TO RECONTEXTUALIZE AND SUBVERT THE IMAGE’S ORIGINAL INTENT.
ITCHING TO STILL REMAIN IN SCHOOL AND LEARN MORE, SHE NEXT STUDIED A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FIELD WITH VISUAL MERCHANDISING. ALYCIA ENJOYS WORKING PRIMARILY IN GRAPHIC DESIGN, CREATIVE MERCHANDISING, AND FABRICATION. SHE BECAME INTERESTED IN THE FIELD WHILE WORKING MANY RETAIL JOBS DURING HER UNDERGRAD. BEING TASKED TO CREATE IN-STORE SIGNAGE AND ASSIST WITH WINDOW INSTALLATIONS AND MERCHANDISE DISPLAYS, SHE REALIZED THIS WAS WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO. WHETHER IT BE DECORATING AND STAGING HER OWN BEDROOM, HOSTING DINNER PARTIES WITH FRIENDS, OR EVEN JUST ADMIRING BEAUTIFUL SHOP WINDOWS, ASPECTS OF THE VISUAL MERCHANDISING FIELD WERE THINGS SHE HAD BEEN PASSIONATE ABOUT HER WHOLE LIFE WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT.