March 9, 2022

Like Willy Wonka’s golden tickets, they aren’t for sale. But you can check out a special edition of Hershey’s Her/She chocolate bars and get a taste of what Natalya Amres is all about.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Hershey Canada has launched the Her For She campaign, featuring five women from across Canada on the wrappers of its classic milk chocolate bar. Ms. Amres, who graduated from the Fashion Business Management advanced diploma program in 2013, is one of them. 

“I’m extremely grateful for the recognition,” said Ms. Amres, a Toronto-based sustainable fashion designer. “It’s an honour to be noticed by such a reputable company. I’m happy to be part of the effort to highlight female creatives in the industry.”

The other four Canadian women celebrated are Erica Jacobs, Founder of 100% Skate Club, Fitriya Mohamed, Founder and Executive Director of Muslim Women’s Summer Basketball League, Yasmeen Persad, a transgender activist, and Marion Willis, Founder and Executive Director of St. Boniface Street Links.

Known for her talent for remixing pieces of old fabric and turning them into custom-made outfits, Ms. Amres has reconstructed sportswear for the American hip-hop trio Migo as well as Adidas, Kappa and Jordan.

In addition to being featured on the Her/She bars, Ms. Amres got a chance to tell her story in a Hershey’s video.

This isn’t the first time a major brand has featured Ms. Amres as a female designer.

In 2019, Nike and Jordan invited her to attend the NBA All-Star weekend in Charlotte, N.C., as part of a celebration of female business and creative leaders.

Last year, Foot Locker chose her as part of its Behind Her Label platform in Canada to help close the gender gap in streetwear design. For her collection, Ms. Amres gathered hoodies, track pants, T-shirts and crew necks from thrift stores and created 95 pieces exclusively for four stores.

“It’s a reality that major streetwear brands are usually male-oriented,” Ms. Amres said. “I think Foot Locker is doing a really good job in making that apparent and helping female designers by giving us a platform to tell our stories and have our products in their stores.”

European companies, including British luxury footwear brand Nicholas Kirkwood, have also taken notice of Ms. Amres and her work.

For its upcoming Earth Day campaign, the shoe company is working with her on a sustainability project to recycle used leather shoes from its give-back program and remix them into a large stuffed bear.

“So far, I’ve received about 35 pairs of shoes and some duster bags,” she said. “My job is to give these shoes a new life and repurpose them.”

While Ms. Amres has worked with many brands in recent years, she is most looking forward to developing her own brand of sustainable fashion.

“I’ve come a long way from people looking at what I do and saying, ‘That’s a cute hobby,’” she said. “As a female, it takes a while for an audience to trust our vision and believe in our process. We are constantly trying to prove people wrong and show them we know what we are doing.”

Through her work, Ms. Amres hopes to encourage other female designers to believe in their craft and reach further.

“I don’t think I’m going to ever adopt the traditional way of mass-producing products,” she said. “To receive validation for the way I do things motivates me to keep going. I’m also hopeful that I’m motivating others to see a future in sustainable fashion.”