The fairyland fashion brand sewn entirely in its founder's bedroom

Olivia Donahue was 17 when, as part of an entrepreneurship class project, she launched Avenir Vert. Tasked simply with designing a business, she developed the upcycling fashion label that's been operating ever since.

The small, handmade brand grew out of a passion for sustainability rather than a love for fashion. Vegan since the age of 12, it was young Olivia’s disapproval of commercial fishing and factory farming that sparked her interest in sustainability.

“Sustainability is actually where I approached fashion from, rather than the other way around,” she explains. “Fashion is a world that I was not even into at all until I started doing it myself.”

The soil to thrive and grow

Originally from Massachusetts, Olivia moved to Montreal four years ago to pursue a business administration degree at Concordia. There, Montreal’s indie fashion scene helped shape her aesthetic.

“I was enthralled with the little vintage shops and the way people were unapologetically themselves in the way that they dressed,” she says. “It really gave me the soil to thrive and to grow because there's such a desire to see these small indie brands do well.”

Avenir Vert pieces are sewn in Olivia’s bedroom using preexisting materials sourced at thrift stores and on eBay. It takes roughly a month and a half for her to finish and launch a collection.

Using repurposed materials can be costly and makes scaling up difficult, but for Olivia, money isn’t the bottom line—she refuses to compromise on garments being ethically produced, something easier to ensure when she is the only one making them.

“It’s like a fairyland.”

Avenir Vert garments are ruffled, lacy, and minimal, in chic 90s and Y2K-influenced silhouettes and a muted pastel colour palette. Items range from everyday tops easily paired with jeans to “wearable art pieces” for photo shoots, music videos, or runways.

Beyond the clothes, Avenir Vert has carved out a distinct visual identity: Pared back branding, a minimalist website, and delicate cursive logo are complimented by stark studio photoshoots and whimsical campaign visuals.

“The branding, the whole world and vision that I've created, is just very intuitive… It flows and evolves, but it's always very delicate and feminine,” she muses. “It’s like a fairyland.”

Having picked up skills like web design, photography, and modelling over the years out of necessity, Olivia has even further creative control.

“I didn't have any money to pay people to do these things, so I learned how to do it,” Olivia explains. “That really reinforced the brand’s identity because I was in a position where I had to come at it from every angle and express what I wanted from start to finish.”

“Even my first launch when I was literally 17, I immediately got hate emails… You have to have thick skin to do something like this because you know people from your high school are going to be sending screenshots and being like ‘this bitch thinks she's something.’”

"I just think women are beautiful"

Avenir Vert’s designs are flirty and feminine but, Olivia stresses, not meant to be dismissed as simply sexy or frivolous.

“Honestly, I really am a prude person. I just think women are beautiful. Sorry! I don't think it's so crazy to see a little skin,” she laughs. “There have been situations where people older than me are very taken aback by things I make, and think that it's cheap or slutty… I do take offence to that. That's not what this is.” 

As a young female founder, Olivia has faced her fair share of doubt and even outright hate.

“For women in general, it doesn't matter if you're like the most beautiful girl on earth with literally nothing wrong with you (or not), people will find something to say,” she says candidly.

“Even my first launch when I was literally 17, I immediately got hate emails… You have to have thick skin to do something like this because you know people from your high school are going to be sending screenshots and being like ‘this bitch thinks she's something.’”

That stamp of legitimacy

Being a one-woman team is not for the faint of heart. Last year, Olivia found scaling up with made-to-order pieces boosted sales but wrecked her mental health, forcing her to stop and reset.

“I had to move to Vermont and start over because I was not well,” she admits. “I have been really trying this year to make sure that I approach growth in my business in a way that's going to be sustainable for me mentally.”

This philosophy certainly seems to be working out for her.

“In this past year, a lot has happened for me” —she lifts copies of Vogue and Pulse Mag, two publications in which she has recently been profiled, up to the camera—“I’ve found more legitimate happiness and a more legitimate kind of reach because I just put out what I like.” 

Her British Vogue designer profile, she says, is less about personal validation than it is that stamp of legitimacy: “It gives you more external credibility that people, no matter who they are, can recognize.”

Olivia hopes to continue to grow, and her business has no choice but to grow alongside her. Maybe one day Avenir Vert will employ a team, scale up production using bulk salvaged materials, or even own a storefront—Olivia’s “ultimate dream goal”.

If there’s a through line to her journey so far, it’s the embrace of flux.

“I feel like I'm always adapting and changing and I can't help but express that in my work too,” she says.