Since she was young, textile arts and community have played an important role in Serena Kealy’s life.
“I was first taught to sew from the kindness of a family friend. I inherited my knitting machine from a very kind older woman in my neighbourhood, and I go to her with all of my questions about projects,” she said. “Even though we have a 50-year age gap, we still have that bond.”
Textiles and crafts are woven into a history of community and activism that is distinctly feminine and Queer, forming bonds that have helped launch Kealy’s academic, professional and fine arts careers.
Now a fourth-year art history student at UBC, Kealy is also the designer and stylist behind Chalanse, her independent fashion label that has quickly gained momentum in Vancouver’s creative circles and beyond.
Juggling academia with the relentless pursuit of her artistic vision, Kealy is unshakeably disciplined, unapologetically ambitious and deeply committed to the craft of fashion design.
An ‘unspoken bond’
At its core, Kealy’s work is about more than just fashion — it is an extension of herself, a continuous thread stitching together her personal history, artistic vision and the communities she has built along the way.
Her meticulous craftsmanship and bold aesthetic choices reflect a designer who is both thoughtful and authentic.
By the time she started at UBC, Kealy had already begun building the foundation for her career.
“I was actually going to go to fashion school,” she said. “But it’s expensive, and I love learning, so I chose this route instead.”
In Kealy’s case, learning extends beyond the classroom. She describes herself as a relentless student of fashion, consuming every form of media related to sewing and design. YouTube tutorials, vintage magazines and industry research make up her self-taught curriculum — but lived experience has been her greatest teacher.
In her first year at UBC, Kealy presented her Chalanse collection at Vancouver Fashion Week, an experience she considers a turning point in her career.
"[That's when] I met a lot of people in the local Vancouver industry and started doing photo shoots and getting into creative spaces, being hired by people to create custom pieces," she said. “It’s really a snowball effect.”
The ethos of Chalanse is clear: sophisticated whimsy, rooted in a distinctly feminine aesthetic. Kealy, who identifies as Queer, speaks candidly about her relationship to femininity, reflecting on the ways it has shaped both her identity and her work.
Chalanse is not just a brand but a manifestation of her identity, her artistic voice made tangible in fabric and form.
“Before I even started sewing, ever since I was a little girl, I've always been a very unabashed authentic person, and I will never stop being that person,” she said. “That person just now includes Chalanse.”
“Before I even started sewing, ever since I was a little girl, I've always been a very unabashed authentic person, and I will never stop being that person."
Kealy admitted to once feeling like an imposter as a highly feminine designer, but has become confident in her gender expression in both her professional and personal life.
She cited her work with drag artists in Vancouver as a transformative experience, refining her technical skills while solidifying the idea that fashion can be both bold and deeply personal.
As Kealy explained, making outfits for drag was a challenge when it came to creating garments that are theatrical but also functional, pieces that need to be able to stretch, move and "still look fabulous.”
Although her current work doesn't focus on drag, Kealy’s understanding of textiles as an art form and a site of historical labour is still deeply intertwined with Queer and feminist perspectives.
“Studying art history really opened my eyes to how textiles have been historically aligned with women’s domestic labour,” she said. “It made me reflect on my own work, on why I do what I do and how I fit into a larger creative landscape.”
This realization places Kealy within a long tradition of women and Queer artists who have reclaimed textiles from the margins of ‘craft’ and redefined them as not only objects of fine art, but vehicles for statement and personal expression. Despite fashion’s fast-paced demands, Kealy’s methodical work remains tethered to the broad lineage of feminist and Queer textile work, bridging historical narratives.
“Textiles connect Queer people and artists across generations,” she mused. “It’s this unspoken bond.”
Laying the groundwork
Inspired by colour, texture and spontaneity, Kealy often lets fabric dictate her designs.
“Sometimes I don’t even sketch first,” she said. “I’ll just go to a fabric store, find something that speaks to me and start from there.”
Kealy’s latest project, Teenage Dream, is a meditation on girlhood, nostalgia and self-discovery.
“If people know how to sew, they can make, repair and repurpose [their clothes]; skills that are invaluable in a world of fast fashion.”
“The world is chaotic, and I want to make fashion that is joyful, playful and fun,” she said.
Kealy’s reach extends beyond the university and local fashion scene. She has styled music videos, designed for film sets and recently facilitated workshops in collaboration with Slow Fashion Season at UBC, where she taught participants how to upcycle garments.
“Teaching is one of the most sustainable things you can do,” she said. “If people know how to sew, they can make, repair and repurpose [their clothes]; skills that are invaluable in a world of fast fashion.”
Moving forward, Kealy is setting her sights on the music industry, eager to collaborate with touring artists and expand her work in costume design. She is also laying the groundwork for a Chalanse solo fashion show, another major milestone in her career. Balancing so many roles is no small feat, but she takes it in stride.
“Fashion design is my everything,” she said simply. “I don’t know what it’s like to not have a passion. So I make time for it. I always will.”
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