FLASH Fashion Shows Around Town

So last night I sat down, opened a Bud and watched Southpark for the first time in over a month. But what a month! Impromptu Flash Fashion Shows dropped down all over the city last Saturday as a pre-promotion for FAT, organized by my friend and party promoter Phil Azer. I’m quite fond of the idea of models popping out of nowhere and surprising innocent passersby, turning a boring walk down Queen St. into a front row seat at a fashion show, although it smacked a bit of “conceptual performance art” which always reminds me of a first year OCAD student project.

Hidden in an unmarked white van, models sporting the designs of Knowdresscode, Artifice, Ali Head, Reset and Topshelf Motherfucker leapt onto the street turning heads all along Queen W. The shows were all caught on film (or is it pixels now?) by notorious and talented Toronto photographer Zaiden. His girlfriend, makeup artist Melissa from Stellar Designz styled the shows. Krys Lerner was also on hand shooting the crowd for torontostreetfashion.com

There was drama at the last meeting when Zaiden recommended getting a city permit to shoot outside. Apparently there are some hefty fines for shooting without one, but no one wanted to shell out the cash, of course. Phil asked me what I thought, and I was reminded of my hilarious summer job as a Rollerbabe. “They always asked us for our permit," I told him "and we just told them it was with our supervisor in a parking lot near by. Not one of them ever followed up on it, ever." Finally they went ahead without one, and no one was the wiser.

Speaking of Zaiden, he was backstage on set shooting Jasper Garvida’s black and white layered smock dress Tuesday night, when I arrived with an armful of clothing. Jasper was one of the evenings few imports, arriving from London and impressing the crowd with his avant-garde take on Peruvian handicrafts and the 1920’s. In between shots, I introduced Zaiden and Rachel. They hit it off and he even promised us some shots for the cover page next month. Jasper is a Toronto native who attended IAD here in the nineties. He left for Central St. Martins six years ago and has since packed more than 30 runway shows under his belt including London's Alternative Fashion Week, the amusingly named "FUK".

Flash Fashion Shows were followed by FAT, L’Oreal Fashion Week, the NOW competition - plus Sonja and Rachel covered Fashion Week for Canada.com this season! Is it just me, or does fashion in Toronto seem like it’s really taking off right now? And not to brag - but Torontostreetfashion has been there covering it the whole time!

Labyrinth of the Minotaur Collection

So the party was set to begin for me on Tuesday - that’s the night my clothes were showing at [FAT]. But not until I finished the sew-a-thon that always precipitates finishing a collection. Cutting my classes for the day, I added chains to my spatter paint bubble skirt, then sewed zippers, buttonholes and bias binding on the rest of my clothes. The number one rule of being a designer is things will always take three times as long as you think they will. So up I got at the crack of dawn after two hours of sleep to blowdry my skirt (you can see Sonja in it on the fashion week video at www.canada.com). It was still wet from the night before, as I had moistened the whole thing with a spritzer before painting it so the drips would run better. That done, I used gold chains for the suspenders and huge gold rings to attach them. It loved it!

Backstage was a riot of naked girls in feathered masks trying heroically to squeeze themselves into size 0 dresses (they should be outlawed here, too), empty Evian bottles, stacks of pizza and racks upon racks of clothes. My first model must have been six feet. She had a shaved undercut and looked vaguely eastern European. I’m glad to see the rest of the world is in love with Russians now, as I’ve always been. I put her in a black ‘Snow White’ babydoll dress, and her legs went all the way up to my chest.

Once my clothes were safely backstage, I could relax and enjoy the night. My lovely friend Megan Orlinski, head volunteer organizer at [FAT] was working behind the bar. She slipped me a drink because I looked so nervous, that beautiful woman! If you’ve ever wondered why designers always seem to become alcoholics.... here’s your answer. And if you ever need anything organized - Megan is the woman for the job. She was the driving force behind the LEAP design challenge in September, and helped coordinate the Toronto Wildlife Show last May.

The Fermenting Cellar is dim and haunted looking and has the aura of an 11th century dungeon. Not at all where you’d expect a fashion show to be held, and all the more charming because of it.
The walls are covered in art, and the NOW dresses are displayed on judies on the other side of the room. I carefully inspect the competition!

My dreams of becoming a television broadcaster were laid to rest for good, when Kalen Hayman of UATV.com interviewed me and I proceeded to use the always versatile adjective ‘Fuck’ a grand total of seven times in one interview, while holding a cupcake in either hand. But I managed to gather my wits enough to explain why FAT was such a breath of fresh air right now for Toronto Fashion.

[FAT] vs. L'Oreal Fashion Week

And it was, of course the question on everyone’s lips: Why was FAT run the same week as L’Oreal? Was it a direct challenge to Robin Kay to be more inclusive in her production of Toronto Fashion Week? She has certainly made giant leaps from last year, by including an ‘indie designers’ day, and by holding a students forum where eight students from each fashion school in Toronto are invited to have their say.

But is FAT really competition for L’Oreal? In a word - No. First of all - they cater to totally different audiences. L’Oreal is essentially a trade show, whereas FAT deals with ideas rather than sales. FAT doesn’t even bother with a media tent - something that L’Oreal does extremely well. (Although really - should free makeup and drinks be the only reason people want to go see a fashion show? Shouldn’t the clothes be the main event, not the freebees?)

Also - the fact that FAT was packed to capacity every night this week speaks volumes about the need in Toronto for an outlet for underground designers. They don’t get the same kind of support that musicians do with NXNE or Canadian Music Week, nor do they get covered by NOW or Eye as much as bands do. True - FAT director Vanja Vasic was in My Style this week - but why not the cover? And does Eye even have a fashion section? Obviously L’Oreal can’t support the same kind of creativity that FAT can - it’s trying to sell clothes.

What FAT does do well is support the growth of ideas, which is ultimately what Toronto needs right now, not more buyers. As Jeremy Laing said in his to-the-point speech at Mass Exodus this year “Toronto doesn’t need to try and be New York. We have a world class fashion week 8 hours away.” And I agree. Toronto should let ideas, vision and creativity be our stock-in-trade. We're never going to be New York. What we need are people who aren’t afraid to set trends rather than follow them.