The Joy of [FAT]: Closing Night
April 27th, 2010 | posted by Rachel S | Posted in T.O Designers , [FAT] Alt Fashion
[FAT] Toronto Alternative Arts & Fashion Week closed with a ‘Mad Maus’ After Party – conceived/inspired by artist Gibran Ramos who’s leading an ‘international movement where fashion, art, design and electronic music collide with our fascination for pop culture”. At occasional Mad Maus parties, guests are asked to ‘re-interpret the era’s aesthetic and to make a hat with mouse’s ears.’
All photos either John Lee or Stan Olkha for Digitalfabrik
by Liza Zawadzka
The fourth and final night of FAT burns with creative energy. The entrance is a whir of camera clicks as Carolee Custus, Sai Sivanesan, and Susie Love turn a live photo shoot into performance art with “Joy is My Muse”. Take a few more steps into the event and catch a glimpse of b-boys are rocking out in the middle of the bar. There is a collective cringe as heads spin on the concrete floor, but they bounce back as b-boys do.
The cringe continues as some designers show vision and wit, but a want of basic sewing skills. (A hint to young designers – if your sewing isn’t up to snuff, seek out the expertise of the Portugese, Vietnamese and Eritrian ladies who used to press the pedal to the treadle when our upscale condos used to be clothing factories). As a last resort, one can always throw a real pig’s heart into the hands of a model on point…. (We never said [FAT] was for the faint of heart!).
Most of the designers are more fabulous than filmsy, however. Felicia Burke (above) reminds us no fashion show is complete without a live MC who raps to an origami odyssey in poppy red and cerulean blue, the work has a wonderfully de Stijl edge.
Fiore pushes the performance envelope, abandoning music almost entirely, as models in a copper froth of meticulously feathered detail flit down the runway to the simple sounds of birdsong. Brazilian artist Baby Steinberg (below) indulges in a hedonistic garden of joyous florals – tulips, hibiscus and peonies run riot in a frenzy of femininity. For those who want a piece of FAT to take home, many of the designers are carried by the better boutiques in Toronto, and for the first time, FAT offers a market for those who can make it out of bed on Sunday.
Cheers to Vanja Vasic and all the artists who make FAT the most dynamic event on the continent.
Tags: FAT 2010
