BOLD COLOURS AND WITTY, whimsical prints draw the eye to Hayley Elsaesser’s line of clothing and accessories, but a closer inspection reveals more. “I like taking a subject matter — like, for instance, a snake or a spider — that I’m actually terrified of and making it look palatable in a bubble gum way,” says Elsaesser, “or a print that, upon first glance, looks like one thing. Then, you look a little bit closer and it’s something else.”

This cheeky balance of joy and introspection made the world take notice when Elsaesser opened her flagship store on Queen Street West in Toronto in 2015. Her wild-child aesthetic attracted commissions from like-minded celebrities, including Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry, and collaborations with brands such as Nike, Hasbro and Lenscrafters, the optical retail chain. While her early designs were about pure positivity, navigating the fickle fashion industry made Elsaesser want to share the darker parts of her experience, too. A current line of sweatshirts and tees features “anxiety” and “existential dread,” albeit in bubbly, cheery fonts. “It’s kind of fun to normalize those concepts and present [them] in a way that’s like a little bit more of a fun package,” she says, “so we can feel more comfortable talking about these subjects.”

In search of a slower, healthier pace, Elsaesser closed her Queen Street store in 2020 and focused on online sales from a studio in Hamilton. “Having a space where I can just do my work on my own time in a cool city is working really well for me. Fast fashion is the last thing I want to do.”