As a designer Hayley is known for her bold, colourful aesthetic highlighted by her iconic pop-art-inspired prints. Hayley designs all of her prints by hand and prior to working with Microsoft was sketching on paper, digitizing, and then drawing again electronically. It made the design process slow and arduous, and the potential for misplacing a sketch (especially if you know Hayley) was high. Enter the Microsoft Surface. Hayley has been designing on the Surface for 3 collections now, and has been converted. It essentially takes an entire step out of the process, and makes the remaining steps much easier and more seamless. With the use of the accompanying pen, Hayley can draw directly on her screen, and mock up a new print within moments, allowing her to spend more time on meticulously planning out her unique colour combinations.

A capsule collection sold exclusively at Hudson's Bay commemorating Barbie's 60th birthday.

"When we are kids our imagination knows no bounds. We can dream as big as we want. We picture ourselves in the driver’s seat. Kids don’t pretend to be court jesters, they imagine that they are kings and queens. We don’t picture settling into a mundane day-to-day life and living for reality TV, we imagine being the ones on the TV, inventing new machines, creating new works of art, and changing the world. As we grow older we are told we need to fall in line. We need to be more feminine. More of a ‘real man’. Girls can’t sit like that. Boys can’t play with dolls. We learn to take direction. We learn we shouldn’t speak out of turn. Even our fairy tales prescribe lives of careful and methodical plodding. The Tortoise and The Hare. The Ant and The Grasshopper. We are taught from a young age to compare ourselves to others and prepare for the worst. I am here to tell you that dreams do come true. When 4 year old me said one day she was going to make clothes for Barbie, it would have sounded like a pipe dream. If my mom had said ‘don’t be unrealistic’ instead of teaching me to sew, it would have been. If when I wanted to do science experiments, or build things my mom had said, ‘girls don’t do that’ I wouldn’t be writing this. If Ruth Handler hadn’t questioned why her daughter, Barbara only had the option of playing with baby dolls rather than envisioning herself grown up, the world would be different.   If I didn’t have strong female role models to look up to, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. I am living proof that you CAN be anything you want to. I’m so beyond thrilled to announce my new collection with Barbie, available exclusively at Hudson’s Bay. Barbie inspired me to create, and I’ve taken that inspiration and put it into this collection." - Hayley

Partnering with Annabelle Cosmetics for a limited edition line of lipsticks, The Outrageous Collection by Hayley Elsaesser, is a harmonious blend of bright shades and fun packaging featuring some of the Hayley's most popular prints, like the signature lips that adorn many of her pieces. The Outrageous Collection is made up of 10 lipsticks total (four of which are web exclusives; the others are available in drugstores).

Toronto is a tough place to make a name for yourself. Everyone is too busy climbing their own ladder to care about yours. This city doesn't want to know about you until the whole world does. We don't want our peers to succeed. You struggle until you make it, and then they'll pretend like they were there all along.

In Toronto we hide in plain sight. We fly under the radar while struggling to convince our neighbours that we deserve a spot amongst the foreign brands they covet. We try to convince our country that our art is worth caring about; that our message has meaning. We try to connect in a city devoid of caring, in a nation that hates pride, and constantly looks outward for validation. We try to succeed in an environment that suppresses success. We find no luxury within our walls. There is no colour in our skyline.

Despite this, two brands have pushed through the noise and are left standing. Five years later and we are still here. We will no longer hide in plain sight. We will paint boldly on the bleak landscape of imitation. We will not be imitated by angry leaders with more money then sense. We will not bow down to Goliath. We are Queen West, and we are still here.

Hayley collaborated with Hasbro on her FW17 collection, Déjà Moon, taking inspiration from the iconic My Little Pony brand and utilizing classic Pony imagery in her designs. Incorporating a broader colour palette with splashes of red and gold, and designing through the lens of hazy nostalgia, Hayley imagined her childhood dreams had gained a life of their own and populated her prints. With allusions to first love, enduring friendship, and carefree youthfulness, Hayley paid homage to Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie and brought the spirt of My Little Pony to life.

Using the partnership with Hasbro as an opportunity to amplify the message of the collection, the HE team decided to produce a stand-alone show during New York Fashion Week at the famed Milk Studios. Artist Corey Moranis created a life-size Pony dreamscape as the backdrop with models surrounded by moons and stars in pastel hues. Choosing a presentation style showcase, Hayley partnered with Bumble&bumble on the hair and MAC Cosmetics for the ethereal makeup looks. Giving a nod to classic NYC street-style, Hayley also worked with Timberland who provided the perfect footwear anchor for her NYC debut.