The late Nanaimo artist Lynn Hunter creates in her studio studio. (Courtesy Robyn Lastiwka)
A Stelly’s secondary grad is celebrating a small, glossy victory hitting stands in the UK this week.
Robyn Lastiwka’s startup fashion brand Faie – still packed and sorted from Brentwood Bay – is featured as an emerging brand in British Vogue.
“When I got the email from Vogue headquarters I thought it was spam,” Lastiwka told the Peninsula News Review. A video call confirmed they really were offering a small spot to showcase her work that started emerging even back in her days as a student at the Central Saanich school.
As a teen, Lastiwka interned at Nordstrom’s in a fashion ambassador program, ferrying over once a month to learn about styling, trend forecasting and backstage work at fashion shows.
It solidified her desire to work in fashion, and inspired her to apply for other programs and eventually to design an accessory that was sustainably made.
“That’s when I realized it wasn’t just clothing I wanted to make,” she said.
By the time she graduated high school in 2021, Lastiwka already had a head start, gleaning from generational learning; days and weeks spent with her grandmother in Nanaimo – Lynn Hunter.
The late artist was a master in many fields, including sewing. That summer, Lastiwka designed a collection – six pieces inspired by the moss and leaves of B.C. forests and utilizing eco dying methods learned from Hunter.
That earned her a spot at Toronto Metropolitan University (then called Ryerson), in the fashion business and design program.
Suddenly, it wasn’t just grandma saying she was good — the world was noticing.
She did one year during COVID restrictions, but luckily had the use of her grandmother’s studio. Her way of learning didn’t mesh well with the program, and after one year, she gracefully bowed out.
Lastiwka jumped full bore into her longtime nanny gig, saving up to fund her own brand.
“That’s how Faie was able to come about without investors.”
The name comes from a moment of mindfulness at Cattle Point, sitting and hoping something mystical would naturally come. A connection or two in her brain took fairy, to Faye to Faie – the middle English spelling of fairy
She started working on it in January and launched for preorders Sept. 1; working seven days a week, including long days with suppliers in India and Bali – which adds time to the work day. Lastiwka packs the orders – in carefully designed boxes, with stickers and tissue paper – herself from her great aunt, Grantie Charlotte Hunter’s spare bedroom in Brentwood.
“I love when I get something from a brand and it’s really fun and packaged so nicely,” she said. “With Faie I wanted the packaging to be really special.”
The forest vibes turned into a coastal B.C. summer for her current Bohemian brand – a nod back to the grandmother who taught her to sew. Hunter was a free-spirited teen in the ’70s and a regular traveller to Turkey, reflected in the household where Lastiwka spent so much time.
An artists’ home and studio filled with colours and patterns, and “things she collected around the world.”
Grantie Charlotte gets to see the business grow and thrive, as Lynn died 18 months ago and missed the moment.
“It’s been a difficult adjustment for me, she was kind of my creative muse, and she ended up passing just as I started building the brand,” Lastiwka said of the grandmother who created in textiles, oil and mosaics. The “epitome of a true B.C. hippy,” she surfed and crafted and loved life until the cancer won.
“I’m trying to embody her in Faie, to carry her creative legacy on.”
While it might be a stretch to get a British Vogue on the doorstep, check out the collection online at faie.ca.
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