ABOUT LIZARES
The House of Lizares is an exclusive, ready-to-wear men’s fashion label. Lizares’ mission is to create timeless, powerful pieces that appeal to the likes of global opinion leaders and style makers. The company, established in 2009, is proudly Canadian featuring the creative genius of up and coming designer Brian Maristela.
His premiere collection epitomizes the perfect capsule wardrobe. Brian’s attention to detail is what makes this collection both functional and sets his style above the rest; brightly coloured linings, hand stitched embossing and exotic skin accents make each piece a must-have. LIZARES men are bold, independent and extremely stylish.
Under the management of Lisa Harun, appointed Chief Operating Officer in April 2009, and Brian Maristela as Creative Director, the Brand is well on its way to carving a unique and everlasting niche within the fashion world.
ABOUT BRIAN MARISTELA
Creative Director
Brian Maristela graduated from Fanshawe College with a degree in Fashion Design. As one of the top students, Brian was one of five featured designers at Fanshawe’s Toronto Fashion Week Show. To acknowledge his vision and body of work, he was awarded the prestigious 3M Brand Award for his designs. In 2009, Brian launched the house of LIZARES and its premiere collection is Spring/Summer 2010 Menswear.
Meticulous attention to detail and strong technical knowledge, combined with a passion for exotic fabrics inform his design practices. This creates a collection which fuses classic Filipino materials with forward tailoring and directional detailing.
Brian was born to Filipino roots and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. This allowed him to develop a unique perspective based on this divergence of cultures. At heart, Brian has the charm of a small town boy and the vision of a giant.
ABOUT LISA HARUN
Managing Director
After graduating from The University of Toronto with an HBA in International Development, Lisa headed for sunnier climes. Nearly ten years in Africa, both North and South, allowed her to develop a no nonsense approach to business, a keen eye for fashion and the good sense to fight for people’s basic human rights.
Highlights include becoming the youngest Editor-In-Chief in the Middle East for Golf in Egypt; training with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the world’s leading refugee agency in Cairo; and working as a global consultant for ITS, Kuwait’s largest turnkey systems provider. Lisa co-hosted the @Home series with 3 Degrees Global; she was seconded by the Canadian International Development Agency for a capacity building project in Johannesburg; and she developed Business Strategy with respect to the African Union and 2010 World Cup for the Former President Mbeki’s Chamber of Commerce in South Africa. Lisa has worked with mining and development in Central Africa; and conceptualized and implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility Program in the Alexandria Township.
Lisa’s fashion resume includes joining the team at Enigma, the leading Middle Eastern fashion magazine for women, in 2001 as its Head Writer. It was there that she developed her deep appreciation of fashion, specifically well made classic garments that stand the test of time. Lisa is a focused, forward thinking individual with a creative streak that gives her an edge in the fashion industry.
In 2009, Lisa joined LIZARES as Managing Director. She is responsible for the operations at LIZARES.