L’Oréal Fashion Week is going to be "Fabulous"

The theme of the upcoming bi-annual affair, taking place Oct. 20 – 25th in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, is meant to be light-hearted in a world that is anything but.

“The world seems like such a heavy place,” says Robin Kay, president of the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC), the non-profit organization that produces the event.

“The on-going, never-ending wars, the dreadful, well-publicized state of the economic world, the confusion and relentless representation from all the politicians in both the United States and Canada -- I felt if we just said ‘fabulous’ it was light-hearted and wonderful.”

Now in its 16th season, Kay has been at the helm of Toronto’s fashion week since 1999, when she came on board with the FDCC after presiding over her own line, Robin Kay Clothing Company, for 25 years.

“It was shocking for me to look up after I stopped my own really wonderful career in retail and design to see there really wasn’t a platform or a runway for designers to gather collectively,” says Kay.

The event, which has been known as L’Oréal Fashion Week since 2002, now welcomes designers, media and industry from around the world and is considered a prominent showcase for Canadian fashion.

Sarah Casselman, market editor for FASHION magazine, agrees that fashion week is helping bring awareness to the country’s homegrown designers.

“If you asked the average person to name (their) favourite Canadian designer, I think the average person wouldn’t even know,” says Casselman.

Legendary designers like Alfred Sung or modern stars may be easier for ordinary consumers to recite but fashion week, says Casselman, “Puts a face to names and certainly gives people the opportunity to see fashions (from other designers) and find out who they are and what they do.”

Casselman has been covering L’Oréal Fashion Week for several years and has seen it evolve from its early days at Toronto’s CNE Grounds to its year-old home in 30,000 square foot tents in the heart of downtown.

According to Casselman, established names and up-and-comers have been part of fashion week’s fabric since the event’s debut. New designers have clearly benefitted from the exposure, for example, Arthur Mendoza.

“We’ve seen him start with Toronto fashion week and then he showed in New York,” says Casselman. “Jeremy Lang is a great example as well, who sort of started with Toronto fashion week, spread his wings and now he’s showing in New York.” Toronto designer Joeffer Caoc launched his own label in 1995 after working with renowned Canadian designer Lida Baday.

Now recognized internationally for his classic designs with an artistic twist, Caoc credits his career rise to his early fashion week exposure and the resulting media attention.

He says L’Oréal Fashion Week is a great opportunity for new designers.

“I think it will bring them exposure, especially now,” says Caoc, referring to the more advantageous location of fashion week’s tents in the city’s centre, as well as all the advertising and buzz that comes with it.

“It really brings a brand awareness, not only in the media, but to the general consumer. The general consumer always turns to sort of more known, bigger labels but I think that’s changing. I think Canadians themselves are starting to identify Canadian designers. It never used to be like that,” says Caoc.

Both Established and Up and Coming Designers to Showcase

The latest installment of L’Oréal Fashion Week, which will showcase Spring 2009 collections, will kick off with legendary Canadian designer Alfred Sung and his elegant bridal collection.

“It’s very nice to have him on the runway. He is certainly one of Canada’s most successful designers in so many ways from home furnishings to bridal gowns, he’s done everything,” says Kay.

New this year is “The STUDIO,” a smaller tent for designers who want more of an intimate showcase, according to Kay.

“Well in doing so we have expanded the footprint of the entire tent environment and we are allowing there to be a second runway … we just have to keep growing,” she says.

It also allows up-and-coming designers who have already been selling their wares a chance to showcase in front of a larger audience.

“It’s an opportunity for designers who may not be as well-connected with the industry and the media to take a really comfortable first step,” says Kay.

It’s something 24-year-old Toronto designer Janet Hill can attest to.

She remembers having to call retailers and media last year to try and get exposure and now that she is showcasing at L’Oréal Fashion Week, they have been calling her.

“I’m really excited. It’s such a good opportunity and stores are more excited about the stuff because it’s going to be shown there. I can only reach so many people mouth to mouth,” says Hill, who graduated from Ryerson’s Fashion Design program in 2006 and launched her own line a year later.

Hill’s designs are ‘L.A. inspired’ and feature all natural fabrics that she hand dyes herself.

Her work is currently available at boutiques around Toronto, as well as in stores in her hometown of Calgary and Newfoundland. She hopes to expand across Canada and into the U.S. after building on the momentum of fashion week.

“Designers have to sell clothes and that is what fashion week is all about,” says Kay. “It’s helping them create their portfolio, understand the business of fashion, network, and just get up there and make sense of it.”

By Sheri Block, CTV.ca