Big tent, big lights, big brands. Walking into Toronto Fashion Week’s Tents at David Pecaut Square is like walking into a trade show where everything is exceedingly shiny but nothing is particularly new.
In addition to title sponsor MasterCard, there’s Peroni, Ciroc, Target, Mercedes-Benz, Barbie, NeoStrata, Air France, the Ritz-Carlton, Pandora, Maybelline, Rimowa, Sony and at least a few more big brands hawking their latest wares in the sea of promotional booths occupying the Fashion Environment.
Fashion Week is a week-long event that’s become more about being seen than seeing. Brands, both corporate and personal, rule the tents under the guise of boosting Canadian designers’ careers when there’s undeniable evidence that the whole scheme isn’t quite working.
Most of Canada’s best designers are absent, promising young talent pops up for a season or two before disappearing into the abyss and the best-attended shows resemble more high-society functions than great displays of homegrown talent.
It’s not that I’m against corporate sponsorship. Big money keeps The Tents from falling down and is required to throw an event of this magnitude. However, I do find it problematic when brands overshadow the week’s supposed raison d’être.
Why don’t more of these brands create retail partnerships with the designers they’re meant to be supporting? Or at least massage their promotional efforts to connect with the event at hand? Let’s see hardware heavyweight Beaufille make a limited-edition charm for Pandora, a Maybelline makeup collection inspired by a Canadian designer’s spring patterns or, hell, Barbie dolls donning miniature versions of the week’s best runway looks.
It feels commercially exploitative when there are clearly more and more big-name sponsors on the showroom floor each season but few noticeable advances for emerging (and often cash-strapped) Canadian designers or media who have to pay cover the event. Money appears to be streaming in, but Toronto is getting lost in the hustle.
One of the best things about Toronto Fashion Week is its partnership with The Collections, a designer management company that hosts a roster of the city’s most brilliant young talent. One of its shining stars, Beaufille (the label formerly known as Chloe Comme Parris), opened last night with an edgy yet feminine collection full of slip dresses, faded prints in earth tones and splendidly low V-necks. A guitarist and drummer played Breaking Bad-worthy rock as the sister duo’s signature hardware appeared in arm bands and clasps used to stitch skirts and pants together. It was the perfect spring collection for those who hate spring fashion.
Pink Tartan hit the runway next with its Edie Sedgwick-inspired collection. There was nothing particularly wrong with Kimberley Newport-Mimran’s streamlined sportswear and perfectly tailored trousers, other than that they felt like the same-old of fashion weeks past. She certainly knows the women she dresses, but the line could use some styling magic to spruce things up for the runway. Mod oversized florals, splashes of neon and graphic prints on jacquard knit dresses were among the highlights of the collection.
Drawing attention away from the clothes was the show’s lack of diversity. With the funds to hire just about any models she pleases, there’s no excuse for Newport-Mimran’s all-white lineup.
David Dixon closed out the night with a more diverse cast of models and a collection inspired by children’s book On The Day You Were Born. Intricate hand-beaded lace and laser-cut petals aimed to create an ultra-feminine look before they were ruined by what I call Underweargate. In one of the most strangely hideous styling decisions I’ve seen, Dixon sent models down the runway in sheer black skirts and pants with white full-bottom panties showing underneath.
To top it off, several of the pieces were poorly tailored. Dresses were too loose in the ribs and I’m still debating whether the opening model was holding up her strapless dress or just a truly terrible walker.
Either way, what should’ve been a delicate and beautiful collection was undermined by the details.
Toronto Fashion Week continues through Saturday (October 26). Check back for our daily coverage.
