The Mercedes-Benz activation at the Toronto Fashion Week tent looked a bit different this year. Last season, the mega sponsor came under fire for blurring models’ faces on a large photo board featuring the designs of Mercedez-Benz Start Up finalists. Not only did the move look incredibly creepy, it had showgoers (and us, in this article from last season) wondering if the distorted faces were a ploy to avoid paying local models for the right to use their likeness in a marketing materials.
At the time, Nathalie Gravel, PR supervisor for Mercedes-Benz Canada, said: “Mercedes-Benz Start Up is about focusing on designer talent and highlighting the great collections coming out of Canada. For that reason we thought it best to focus on the individual looks and not the models.”
But lo and behold, this season the models have faces! Well, one model did to be exact. The luxury car brand appears to have actually photographed each finalist’s designs on a single female model that, presumably, Mercedes-Benz hired and paid.
sabrinam@nowtoronto.com | @sabrinamaddeaux
