Adrienne Butikofer – Founder of OKAYOK
OKAYOK is the creative universe of Toronto-based designer Adrienne Butikofer. From her bright storefront studio in the Junction, Adrienne brings her playful design sensibility to life through colourful cotton basics, graphic tees, cozy sweatshirts, and socks that are seriously fun to wear.
With a background in fashion design and a passion for hands-on making, Adrienne has spent the past two decades immersed in every step of the fashion process: from pattern-making and printing to dyeing and sewing. OKAYOK is built on a commitment to local production and creative independence, with pieces thoughtfully made in small batches using Toronto-milled fabrics and in-studio techniques.
Adrienne’s designs balance practicality with personality: elevated everyday essentials that feel good to wear and fun to look at. Whether she’s experimenting with new vinyl prints, mixing unexpected colour stories, or dyeing socks to match a seasonal palette, her work is grounded in curiosity and craftsmanship.
Her work has been shown at countless design events and shipped to happy customers across the world.
Early Creativity and Foundations
Adrienne Butikofer’s love of fashion began early. Growing up in Winnipeg, she learned to sew at just nine years old and spent her teen years thrifting, designing and making her own clothes. This hands-on, self-taught approach shaped how she would think about fashion rooted in curiosity, creativity, and resourcefulness.
From 2000 to 2003, she studied Fashion Design at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. After graduating, she moved to Toronto to begin her career.
Indie Spirit and Experimental Design
Between 2004 and 2007, Adrienne created and sold one-of-a-kind garments using found fabrics and reworked vintage pieces. She experimented with surface treatments, screen printing, and custom details selling through independent boutiques and indie events like The Clothing Show in Toronto.
During this time, she launched Caninja, a playful winter accessory line made entirely from upcycled vintage sweaters. The collection was carried in shops in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Montreal and reflected Adrienne’s mix of humour, craft, and hands-on production.
Recognition soon followed. In 2006, she won NOW Magazine’s Designer Challenge with a conceptual newspaper dress. In 2007, she was voted Up & Coming Designer by NOW readers and presented a collection inspired by “wind” at Toronto’s first Nuit Blanche. That same year, she launched her first formal womenswear line under the Butikofer label and was selected as a finalist in the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s New Labels competition.
Pivots, Parenthood, and Learning Curves
After a few seasons of conceptual women's wear with the Butikofer label, a global recession and impending motherhood led to Adrienne stepping back from her label.
She welcomed her first daughter in 2009, and in 2011, her second. This new chapter of balancing design work with motherhood led to a shift in focus to more comfortable, wearable basics that could be styled in fashion forward and creative ways.
The Rise of Skinny Sweats
In 2011, Adrienne launched Skinny Sweats, a single-product brand built around a well-cut pant. The brand grew into a full loungewear line, known for its tailored approach to knits and creative styling.
Skinny Sweats was sold online and in boutiques across Canada. During this time, Adrienne began using Toronto-milled fabrics and collaborating on seasonal colour stories with a local garment dye house. Skinny Sweats was a crash course in the local, small-batch production that OkayOk still uses today.
Tools, Techniques, and a Playful Shift
Over the years, Adrienne taught herself a range of printing techniques, in pursuit of graphic exploration. She first learned silk screening in the early 2000s, and began experimenting with heat transfer vinyl in the early 2010s. She took a wild detour into sublimation printing in the mid 2010s. Heat transfer vinyl won in the end and became the method used to develop most OkayOk prints and graphics. Her DIY mindset and experimental processes continue today in the Okayok studio.
In 2016, she began producing socks with a local factory—custom-dyeing them to match each seasonal collection. These now-signature pieces became a core part of her creative identity and customer offering and she continues to learn about sock manufacturing and push the creative boundaries of what's possible.
OKAYOK is Born
In 2017, Adrienne rebranded her work as OKAYOK, debuting the new label at Re\Set Toronto. The new identity captured the humour, honesty, and approachable spirit she had honed over the years. OKAYOK offered cotton basics with a fearless mindset—graphic, colourful, and rooted in thoughtful local production.
A Studio and Store
In 2019, Adrienne opened the OKAYOK storefront and working studio in Toronto’s Junction Triangle neighbourhood. The multifunctional two-level space is a store, a manufacturing space, a print shop, a fulfillment center, and a workshop space. It is the hub of OkayOK and is always buzzing with something new.
Today and Ongoing
Adrienne continues to lead OKAYOK as a designer, maker, and small business owner. Her work blends playfulness with practicality, and is always grounded in transparency, experimentation, and local production. From cotton tees to dyed socks, every piece is a product of her hands-on approach—and a reflection of her deep belief in making things thoughtfully and joyfully.
