Toronto’s largest annual multi-arts fashion festival Fashion Art Toronto celebrated 15th anniversary with the launch of Virtual Fashion Week. Running from October 15 through October 26, virtual runway presentations featured 25 Canadian designers who showcased their collections at iconic Toronto venues including underground passages, LED light tunnels, spiral gardens, rooftops, sunken ships, industrial pathways, and urban alleyways.
Since attendees didn't have to purchase tickets to enjoy the shows this year, Fashion Art Toronto is encouraging (you can still make a donation) spectators to donate to FoodShare Toronto through the Fashion Art Toronto GoFundMe page. FoodShare Toronto gets healthy food to marginalized communities facing food insecurity and has distributed more than 300,000 pounds of fresh produce to low-income families since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pampler asked six participating labels about the inspiration behind their collections and what it was like to put on a fashion show during a global pandemic.
Jonathan Guirguis, Silent Simon
1) What was the inspiration behind your collection?
The main inspiration behind our collection for Virtual Fashion Week is our passion for design and art. We believe that fashion is a form of self-expression. Through our collection, we worked hard to implement contemporary art into streetwear with our own twist to it. We are more than just a brand; this represents our own take on how we view our current reality. We chose to represent this message through fashion as we felt that it is the best medium to deliver a message without feeling limited to what we can do or say. Through our fashion, we believe that the idea of the brand is amplified and more out there for people to see. The main message behind our brand Silent Simon is to not believe what you see because Simon is silent. "Simon says, but he is never the one saying it." With that being said, we intend for the raw and different nature of our lineup to portray the message that our interpretation of what we see is purely based on the context in which we are viewing it and not for what it truly stands for. "NOTHING IS REALLY WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE, SO DON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE."
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
The pandemic has really challenged us because it made the planning process a lot harder. When it came to designing the pieces for the fashion show, it did not really prove to be a challenge as the materials we needed were readily available at any given time. The main issue we faced was coordinating the looks and matching them to our expectations. The restrictions in place made it a lot harder to work with the models and makeup artists to curate looks and try different ways of styling. That limited our ability to meet up with the models and organize their looks. Overall, it required a lot more effort to ensure that everything flows as smoothly as they would be in the pre-pandemic times.
Minhee Sim, Eight I Three
1) What was the inspiration behind your collection?
I have always been fascinated by different shades of light, especially as its perceived within water. However, a major source of inspiration was the movie The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro. The movie held a lot of moments of movement within water and played with different cool tones. Collection 02. Underwater holds qualities of the deep underwater by experimenting with different shades of light, as perceived underwater and fluidity of movement in shapes on dark green, dark blue, black and iridescent pallets.
While Eight I Three is evolving, I wanted to maintain its heritage as an environmentally-friendly urban cyclist-facing brand, so majority of the pieces are fabricated from recycled polyester, recycled nylon, hemp, and Umorfil (which is a textile composed of ocean collagen peptide derived from recycled fish scales.) It’s important to note that most of the pieces have cyclist friendly features such as waterproof functions, reflective trimmings, detachable pockets and fastened hem.
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
I was actually preparing for Fashion Art Toronto in April 2020 while I was juggling two other jobs. When the show was cancelled due to the pandemic, it allowed me to take the time to work on my brand and collection.
Obviously, there are a lot of things that we have taken for granted, which aren’t “normal” anymore, but I believe that challenges can be a great opportunity to grow, to be more creative and to go beyond traditional.
Fashion Art Toronto really built itself on providing a safe space for many artists, and I'm grateful for that. I think, in a way, this whole pandemic made us stronger by providing a sense of community - even though we can’t exchange a hug or have to smile behind a mask.
Bianca Nachtman, GORM
1) What was the inspiration behind your collection?
I was inspired by horror movies for this collection, from the pageantry of it to the costumes. Most importantly I wanted it to be about reclaiming roles in horror movies and changing the narrative. Androgyny is often a weapon in horror movies with no non-binary/gender nonconforming/trans/intersex representation. I want to show that the real thing you should be scared of is ignorance. Why do we relate someone's gender nonconformity as something you should be scared of? Rather relate it to the power and bravery they hold. Hopefully my show portrays that.
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
Some parts of doing this are unaffected - like the designing aspect, and I would’ve locked myself inside and sewed for weeks and months at a time anyways! But of course, there are things such as the fittings which are a little more time consuming and worrisome because you want to make sure your models are safe. A priority for this show is keeping everyone involved safe, so there’s a little more weight on my shoulders with that.
Creatively it has some pros and cons. With each show being held at different unique location, it allows your show to stand out more. But then you can’t control a lot of things like lighting or set design (or weather!) so you have to think outside the box to make your vision come to life. Overall the experience has been all over the place because I’m learning as I go. It’s a lot of hoping everything will turn out right and go smoothly.
Kadeem Faustin, Kyle Gervacy
1) What was the inspiration behind your collection?
The inspiration behind this collection in is in the name itself “LABOU,” which is French creole for mud.
Journeying back to my founders childhood memories of just running out in the rain and sliding in the mud, creating in the mud, a moment where my imagination had no limits and I could be a cook a mechanic or a Nascar driver - the possibilities were endless. A moment of peace, a space without judgment. Where others see mess I see possibility to be whoever or whatever you want to be - a walk with destiny. “Labou” is in some way my actualized journal entry, but expressed in the form of fashion - where each piece tells its own story, piecing together the puzzle that is my life. A realization of where I am and where I want to be all that separates us is the mud . So indulge get dirty!!
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
Most people may find this weird but I actually enjoy designing and creating and trying to execute this virtual show in this pandemic .
I finally got to work at my own pace, sit with myself to understand more about me “the artist” with nothing else to do and nowhere to go. It forces your creative juices to just flow. It’s almost like a voice you can’t silence until you put it into action. This pandemic has allowed a moment of pause to reset and it demanded an answer as to why I do what I do - and that I must say is the most beautiful thing .
Micheline Wedderburn, MEESH
1)What was the inspiration behind your collection?
My Mother Joan was always a support of me and my art. Her style lives on through me.
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
It’s been a challenge as anxiety continues to challenge me. I have felt alone and isolated. Lost my business but rediscovered art. It is my therapy and I hope my show can reflect this.
Pasquiat
1)What was the inspiration behind your collection?
The inspiration behind the Season “0” Rose from Concrete was inspired by the idea of combining horticulture and fashion to create an avant-garde slow fashion design. The concrete represents the adversities of individual. The rose represent change. The idea of the rose in the actually piece was to sustain the beauty of the rose through pvc covering the rose. The color palette includes earth tones such as forest green, black earth and chocolate brown and hints of Rouge. The materials used consist of velvet, velveteen cotton, and camouflage polyester. Velvet is one of the main materials in the collection because it has subtle sheen in the dark but in the light it shines as if it were a different fabric. The material is a compliment to my character as if seen in the right light could it shines different.
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
My experience and idea of designing during a pandemic has definitely changed because the whole world was forced to adapt to the current situation, as well as my fashion. My process for designing starts with an idea of longevity, sustainability mixed with art and then fashion, so I am always thinking forward regardless. Season “0” Rose From Concrete is my first collection being released that is available to the public. Everyone that I have worked with in Fashion Art Toronto was very receptive and understanding of idea of adapting as the culture to proceed forward. The virtual fashion show is a perfect perception of how operations are still able to run but must transition efficiently and take the right measures. It was a great experience working with Fashion Art Toronto in the Virtual Runway 2020 and I hope everyone is able to move forward and advance together as a culture.
Kayla Strong, U3
1)What was the inspiration behind your collection?
Toronto-based collective U3 (character encoding for "love") was started in 2018 as a streetwear brand that desires to escape the oscillating nature of the fashion cycle. Focusing on deconstructing and elevating unwanted pieces and fabrics from other brands into non-seasonal and nonperiodic designs with immediate appeal. The house of U3 presents a practical alternative to the thematic rebranding that the industry is experiencing as a norm.
The directional aesthetic of U3 is a sartorial response to Toronto’s multicultural street culture and the heterogeneous zeitgeist of Canadian youth. Operating from a philosophical approach to such aesthetic, the house has used contrasting materials, such as polyvinyl chloride and denim, to showcase the collision and fusion of the streetwear culture in Toronto. Reformed conventional silhouette, sleek forms, and the progressive roughness against overthought design define U3 as a curated product of handcrafted experimentation.
2) Tell us about the experience of designing and executing a virtual runway show during the pandemic
Putting together a runway during a pandemic is experimental for everyone. The house of U3 attempts to extend the practicality and locationality of costumes at this fortuitous turning point of world history. Finally, designers can set their runways on a digital platform without being critiqued as technochauvinism, and this gives us the chance to rethink how to better incorporate multimedia presentation into our runway.
At the same time, we want to encapsulate the lived experiences of the public and make it voyeuristically pleasure to watch -- telling a story of the public, by the public, and for the public. A lot of designs have been remade to convey an apocalyptic sentiment as well as a beam of hope. At the end of the day, we are a story-teller.
All the shows will be posted on Fashion Art Toronto’s YouTube Channel in November.
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