News & Events

Ivonne Serna didn’t wait until convocation to start her design enterprise.

In April 2013, the fashion master’s graduate started a shoe business – Tycra Wear – that creates fashionable footwear for diverse body shapes. She’s still working on a prototype and is looking for a manufacturer but her entrepreneurial efforts and business development have earned her a 2013 City of Toronto International Student Excellence Award in the Entrepreneurship category. Serna was one of six winners presented with the award on Sept. 28 at Metro Hall on John Street.

“I’m motivated because I believe there's room for improvement in footwear,” Serna said. “Fashion should be inclusive and embrace diverse body shapes.”

Serna says the fashion master’s program and faculty were a large influence on her starting a company that catered to the average body type. Two courses that capped the beginning and end of her studies sealed Serna’s commitment to her idea. In her first term she took the History Theory Seminar with professor Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator for the Bata Shoe Museum, and in her last semester she studied Fashion Entrepreneurship with professor Ben Barry. The latter course focused on diversity and serving communities that may be marginalized, from a commercial point of view. Serna likened herself to Anne Hathaway’s character in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, expressing her naiveté when it came to the fashion industry.

“[The program] gave me a different perspective,” Serna said. “I didn’t think fashion was so important. People may say the industry is superficial or shallow but I learned how trends become trends and how social phenomenon can inform fashion. I found it fascinating.”

Serna was born in Monterrey, Mexico, earning a bachelor of arts in marketing from one of the leading universities in Mexico, the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. After graduation, she worked for different companies such as conglomerate Alfa, the newspaper El Norte, and COHESA, a tool company.

The shoe company isn’t Serna’s first foray into entrepreneurship. She and her husband, Rafael Beltran, established a travel agency in Mexico, specializing in selling honeymoons to Southeast Asia, a very successful business that was a top seller for Princess Cruises and Asian tour operators. They eventually opened a photography business that focused on portrait and commercial photography. They developed a large clientele and introduced products to the market in Monterrey such as metallic paper and photobooks, in addition to offering seminars teaching photography techniques such as high-end photo re-touching and high-dynamic range.

Despite not having any fashion experience, Serna remains fearless in fulfilling her goals. She acknowledges the challenges in creating something from scratch but sees too many possibilities in Canada.

“It’s very difficult but not impossible,” Serna said. “There’s not a straight line to entrepreneurship and success but if you continue on that road, you’ll reach your destination, perseverance is key. Canada is full of opportunities.”