As someone who learned to speak English after moving to Canada at age 10, and who now works in fashion education, much of my work is shaped and inspired by my immigration experience. I believe style expression, both verbal and visual, is an important subject to cover in schools, especially ESL schools, where students are in a new country and building a new identity.

Here are three important ways language schools can enhance the human element in the learning journey, encouraging self-reflection, self-direction, and self-analysis by using fashion as a tool.

1. Focusing on a curriculum that enhances creative thinking and colourful expression.

AI can make almost anything sound impressive, and translation apps can help us in an instant, but there is something on another level about a human being expressing authentic thoughts spontaneously. Their words activate something in the listener’s mind and create a meaningful connection. Connection is essential in our world because it opens the door to vibrant ideas. When our vocabulary lacks vivid expression, speaking can feel like a busy bee trying to pollinate a plastic flower. Memorizing words and phrases is one thing, but sparking curiosity and building the confidence to communicate fresh ideas is something else entirely.

Creating opportunities for students to discuss dressing choices and self-image can be incredibly therapeutic and empowering for them as they build a new identity in a new country.

2. Real World Application

When the vocabulary a student is introduced to is also useful in other areas of life, learning becomes supercharged.

A deep conversation about fashion not only builds a rich fashion vocabulary but also opens the dialogue to cover subjects such as art principles, psychology, fashion history, colour theory, colour psychology, complex feelings, visual impact, and investing in garment quality. In other words, one subject can have many applications in other areas of life, including finances, relationships, and work.

3. Stimulating the Human Visual Cortex

Fashion can be exciting. It gives us a chance to look and feel amazing simply by putting on a new piece of clothing. But fashion can also be deceiving.

Without a solid foundation of fashion knowledge — including historical context, dress codes, basic garment construction, timeless pieces, our character analysis, how natural fibers differ in performance from synthetic ones, and what sets sustainable fashion apart from fast fashion — we may keep adding new items to our wardrobe while still saying, “I have nothing to wear.”

Between 2000 and 2014, clothing purchases rose by 60%, while the average lifespan of each item fell by half. By 2024, the purchase of clothing had surged by 300% compared with 2000. This means that if we bought 10 new pieces in 2000, in 2024 we were purchasing 30, yet making way less use of them.

This statistic has huge implications for our lives. Our homes can become visually noisy when our wardrobes are filled to the brim with clothes we don’t wear. Unworn clothing takes up both our precious attention and space, affecting our peace of mind. Our visual cortex thrives on a neat, efficient closet that reflects our authenticity, helps us dress each day quickly, and earns us respect the moment we step out the door.

Understanding why and how the visual cortex gets lit up by certain fashion allows us to act with purpose rather than impulse or emotion when purchasing clothing.

Three incredible side effects of acquiring foundational fashion knowledge, whether English is your mother tongue or not.

1. When we know how to compose an impactful outfit and, most importantly, what it is silently saying on our behalf, we can feel confident and impactful. In new-age speak, we become better “manifestors”.

2. The clothing we don’t end up wearing costs money- good money that could have gone towards something better, like investing in appreciating assets or padding out our savings.

3. An organized closet makes it easier to get dressed each day, and a clear sense of how we want to present ourselves to the outside world helps us create a lasting impression, earn respect, and advance faster in our careers.

I believe every educational institution facing an uncertain future in student retention could benefit from including fashion education as part of its curriculum. Opening a space for students to share original ideas and to self-reflect on their wardrobe can create not only human connections that last a lifetime, but also a deep relationship to the inner self.

At Jewel Branding Studios, we curate unique group experiences that teach the practical value and true beauty of fashion while also creating space for growth and a sense of well-being.

Since I was last in touch, my personal Instagram account vanished, so if you enjoy my work and my messages, please follow me on my studio account @jewelbrandingstudios.

I released 3 episodes of the Tapestry Podcast, continuing to explore the deeper meaning behind the clothing we choose to wear and the link between wellness & fashion. In episode 6 of Season 2, I feature Texas-based Dr. Hillary Smith, who is the founder of Advanced Thermal Imaging, the highly respected, long-running Thermography Clinic in Los Angeles. In “Bras, Lymph Flow & a Thermal Picture of Health,” Dr. Hillary offers us a unique and effective way to track the state of our health and protocols that help create an environment for healthy lymph flow. Healthy lymph flow leads to a more efficient release of toxins from our body. Something incredibly important to do these days in the world we live in. This episode, for several different reasons in only available on my private Vimeo Channel.

My interview with the founder of the Canadian dress rental company The Edit reminds us how much the shopping experience has changed over the years and how impersonal, stressful, and inefficient it has become, leading to a lot of waste. Ivanna is on a mission to change this with The Edit. Listen to “How The Edit is Changing Fashion One Outfit at a Time”. It’s a short but really inspiring episode.

And lastly, after the digital little window that’s my personal Instagram account vanished after years of planting little digital seeds and growing my brand, I realized the power is really in creating something more tangible. This is where growing a physical garden and growing a physical community dawned on me. I go into details on this epiphany in my conversation with the Turkish Organic Farmer Ozgur Gokdeniz in “Building a Global Community on Land & Art”.

Please visit my YouTube Channel to access all the episodes.

How I’m Going About Building a Community

As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, in June I led a workshop for photographers at Cocreate Spaces in Toronto, teaching their members how clothing selection impacts the final image and wove quantum physics and the Observer Effect into the presentation. I had the privilege of being photographed by dozens of different photographers and videographers throughout my career as an actress and a model, and felt I had a unique and inspiring perspective to share on how to preserve and continue elevating the craft of photography. So in the end it’s not just a subjectively “pretty” picture, but one that offers elements that raise the frequency of the entire image. We are currently editing the presentation, and a cut will be shared with my audience soon. I hope to bring this message to a bigger audience and continue building upon the lessons I share in the format of private creative retreats that offer a space where photographers can feel inspired to develop their craft and explore pushing creative boundaries.

And lastly, following up on my passion for the moon, which I also wrote about in the previous newsletter, I’m continuing to build out The New Moon Collectif with a resounding positive response. It’s becoming an evening of connection, fashion inspiration, and access to a deeper sense of self.

The next Agust New Moon Collectif gathering will take place in person in Toronto on Thursday, August 13th at 6.30 pm, and online on August 10th 6.30 pm Eastern Time. To participate in the online session, you will need to reserve your spot before August 1st to allow me time to send you a package with the New Moon Wisdom notes, flowers, fabric, tea, and essential oil infusion we will be exploring in the session. Both online and in-person sessions are offered for $25 plus 13% Ontario tax and $5 shipping (for online only). You can learn more details about The New Moon Collectif here on my website. If you wish to participate, please reach out with your preference for online or in-person and your mailing address, if you plan to join me online.

My fashion journal is now selling on Amazon

And in the images above, I channel three fashion archetypes from the journal wearing clothing from Ivanna’s The Edit dress rental company.

Most people assume working with a stylist is only for celebrities and the uber-rich, but dressing oneself well is a vital skill anyone can pick up and turn into an asset. Because when you show up glowing, people notice you and opportunities flow your way. This audio-visual interactive fashion journal gently leads you in developing your personal style.

12 narrated fashion stories reveal 12 unique fashion archetypes and invite you to consider which archetype best reflects your current lifestyle, as well as which others you may want to tap into to help you reach your dreams using clothing as an expressive tool. It offers the same transformation you might achieve by working with a private image consultant, but at your own pace and without the hefty investment.

Please visit my Amazon store to purchase the journal. Makes an ideal gift for anyone embarking on a new chapter in life and in need of a fresh makeover, such as graduating from school, switching careers, starting a business, moving, entering the dating world, or retiring.

That’s it for now! Thank you for being a loyal subscriber.

With gratitude,

Inna Korobkina

Creative Director of Jewel Branding Studios

My passion for highlighting fashion mentors, as opposed to fashion influencers, can finally begin to shift things in the industry and the world at large. The thing is, we are ALL mentors. Every one of us. You can share a story of your favorite, well-loved piece from your own wardrobe with a friend and inspire them to look at their wardrobe with a fresh perspective. You are a mentor. I think fashion has been painted as this unattainable otherworldly thing. But self-expression through style is a part of who we are; some of us just need to remember this visual language. And that’s what I’m here for.

And, on that note. New podcast episode for you this week with the incredible Craig Colby, who, with his rich stories, inspires us to look at our hat collection again and offers a full masterclass on the lost art of listening and the true meaning of leadership.

I’ll be leading two workshops in the month of June. One for photographers in collaboration with Cocreate Spaces, teaching their members how clothing selection impacts the final image. I’m having great fun building this out and weaving quantum physics and Observer Effect into the presentation.

And lastly. I’ve been incredibly curious about the moon and its effects on my body this past year. Did you know that in biodynamic farming, they use the moon as the guide to boost harvest output in the garden? Wild! I put it out there that I want to know more about the moon, and lo and behold, Clinical Herbalist Michelle Rosetta, who knows a lot about the moon, appeared in my life to invite me to collaborate with her in creating a New Moon Collectif women’s gathering on Monday, June 15th. Details here and to reserve your spot with us, click here. Only 9 spots are available in total; it’s going to be a very intimate experience. Please join us if you can, or reach out if you want to collaborate with us to build this out into a multiple-day global retreat.

My fashion journal is officially out in the world, and two price points are available.

The catalyst for creating it was 10 years ago. I remember clearly, because my son, just born, was sleeping peacefully, as most babies do for the first 3 months. I decided to watch the documentary “True Cost” while he napped. In the opening sequence, I saw a little boy crying by the ruins of the Rana Plaza, where his mother, along with over 1134 garment workers, lost their lives in the deadliest structural failure in modern history. They were making our clothes in that building. The clothes I was wearing while watching the movie. And I didn’t even know. But now I knew. The movie showed me, and I thought about how unfair it was that she had no choice and was forced to go to work that day in fear, seeing the cracks, alerting the managers, but her life didn’t matter. She was treated as disposable, and the clothing she made for pennies a day was also disposable.

What if it were me? What if it were my son crying for me? It really hit me. I cried hard, and then I decided others needed to know how clothing is made, how style works, and outside quickly passing fashion trends that create a system where people and natural resources are treated as disposable.

That’s one of the reasons why I created the fashion journal.

That’s also why I weave fashion stories with my guests on The Tapestry Podcast and discuss the deeper meaning behind the clothing that we wear.

I’m aiming to shift these two statistics; we utilize on avereage 15% of our wardrobe 85% of the time, and we are purchasing 400% more clothing than we did two decades ago, but wearing them for half as long, and some only once before discarding them. I know that’s not you, reading this, but you might know someone who honestly doesn’t realize this pattern exists in their life. This journal is for them. For those who feel alienated from the clothing-making process and feel somehow they can never catch up to the trends, and never feel satisfied with the contents of their closet.

Additionally, from a wealth-consciousness point of view, people who build a financial legacy fill their space and time with quality, useful items. They see past the programming of the matrix that keeps them in a constant state of numb consumption.

The story behind the inspiration for my journal is sad and tragic, but the journal is joyful and beautiful because that’s the best way to inspire change.

How can you help make the message behind the journal reach as many people as possible? Talk about it, purchase it, suggest that your child’s school use it as a reference guide for a unit on “Introduction to Fashion”.

If you run a women’s group, purchase copies for your members as gifts to inspire an open conversation about style and fashion, along the way, getting to know each other deeper.

If you have a community you are nurturing, suggest they purchase a copy of the journal to discover ways they can add more joyful self-expression into their life using clothing as their guide.

Visit my brand new website to purchase a Limited Edition Lux Autographed version, or order a copy of the Standard Edition directly from my printer if you live in the U.K. or the U.S, or from Amazon from anywhere in the world for $20 USD.

Thank you for your support. Collectively, we can get the conversation going and shift things in the right direction.