Montréal-born Valérie Tolila graduated with honours from LaSalle College International in Istanbul where she studied fashion design. During her 13 years living in Europe, Tolila gained invaluable experiences, working as the assistant to Vivienne Westwood during Fashionable Istanbul and under the tutelage of famed Portuguese designer António Augustus, who encouraged her to develop a capsule collection. Her passion for creating was born.
Upon returning to Montréal in 2013, Tolila launched her label: VAIKEN. Favouring sporty, feminine and sexy silhouettes, VAIKEN embodies the modern woman. Since its inception, the label has garnered a great following, having been shown at World MasterCard Fashion Week and Coterie ENK.
In 2014, VAIKEN was awarded the Mercedes-Benz Start Up Ottawa competition, a contest for emerging fashion designers. VAIKEN has been sold at Montreal’s TNT and Ogilvy as part of the Cabinet Éphémère, and will be sold at Simons in Montréal, Laval and Québec, at Lorena Morlote in Madrid and Marbella, as well as L’habibliothèque in Paris.
