Longevity. This is what any fashion designer longs to achieve in their career. In today's cut throat industry, fashion designers are struggling to achieve the longevity they desire considering the industries short attention span. Fashion seems to be valued and appreciated more outside of Canada. How can we put ourselves out there, as Canadians, and get our concerns heard? How do we bring more attention to the industry in Canada? One thing is for certain; we must change the way people view a Canadian company. We automatically assume that Canadian clothes will be worse quality than those made in China. Our mindset needs to switch gears into the future of Canadian fashion and what needs to be done in order to accomplish fashion forward goals and create a name in the Canadian industry.
Canadian designers may be able to maintain sustainability in the fashion industry by being more experimental and courageous with their designs. If more risks are taken with the type of styles and fashion being created, the gap will begin to close between the Canadian industry and the major fashion power houses such as New York and Los Angeles. Also, gaining support from consumers will increase the industries sustainability. More volunteers, events, and getting involved in non-profit organizations, such as the Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF), will show our pride and support in the industry.
Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's Minister of International Trade and Investment, commented on the future of Ontario's fashion industry after attending the L'Oréal Fashion Week in Toronto last year. "Ontario is known for the level of innovation it brings to design in all areas. Fashion design plays a huge role in how people think of Ontario." Attending the L'Oréal Fashion Week - the third largest show in North America - for the first time last week, Pupatello says, "The fashion industry faces the same challenges all over the world in this economic climate. I don't think Ontario is any different than what designers are facing elsewhere."
The truth is, the Canadian fashion industry does face the same challenges as the industry in New York or L.A. However, the reputation of Canadian clothing is not as great as those fashion power houses. This is where consumer support comes into play. In order to achieve sustainability and credit in the industry, consumer support is the number one priority.
For more of Pupatello's article, see:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081028/fashion_folo_081029/20081029?hub=TopStories
Fashion Television is a great way for Canadian designers to get exposure across North America through one of the most popular forms of media. The website specifically features upcoming events, recent industry news and galleries to name a few, which means that the television channel covers all that and more. Fashion Television Channel is Canada’s first and only channel dedicated to the world or art, architecture, photography and design. Though Fashion Television is Canadian, as it is owned by CTV Unlimited and is a division of CTVglobemedia, FT features international designer collections, fashion photo sessions and a look at what’s behind the stories that make up the headlines in the worlds of design and style.
Other outlets for Canadian designers include Project Runway Canada, which is a completion between Canadian designers. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are usually restricted in time, materials, and theme. Their designs are judged and one or more designers are eliminated each week. The ultimate winner received $100,000 to start their own clothing line, an opportunity that was not available before the American version was adapted for Canadian designers.
Additionally, Fashion Week across Canada features Canadian designers, which is another ideal way for Canadians to get their names out there in this huge industry. At Toronto’s most recent fashion week, designers such as David Dixon, Jason Meyers and Katrina Tuttle got to showcase their newest designs in an attempt to get some much-needed exposure for their talent.
Overall, there are not a lot of ways for Canadian designers to get exposure, aside from Fashion Television, Fashion Week and shows like Project Runway Canada. However, as our fashion industry continues to flourish, there will hopefully begin to be more outlets for these creative designers so that their work can be seen on an international level and get the credit it deserves.
-Mandy
When one thinks of fashion, Canada is not one of the destinations that immediately comes to mind as having an established, extremely successful industry. We think New York, Japan, Paris, Los Angeles. Canada is on the map, but the fashion industry is mainly dominated by the US, Europe and Asia. Though we do have our foot in the door, when we took our project to the streets of downtown Toronto and asked consumers where their clothes were made, the majority of Canadians were uninformed on anything fashion related other than that their clothes looked pretty good. When I was doing research on the current Canadian fashion industry, I was really surprised to find that there’s not a lot on the internet that has concrete information. The first few hits from Google just brought me to Canadian fashion magazines such as LouLou, Flare and Elle Canada, which are more style oriented as opposed to publishing the cold hard facts about the current Canadian fashion industry and where it’s headed in the future. They focus a lot of their spreads on Canadian lines, such as Roots and M.A.C. so that the products are easily accessible to their Canadian readers.
Regarding where to go in Canada to be surrounded by the primary industry experts, it’s between Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver where fashion is flourishing. These cities have growing fashion metropolises and that’s where a fashion guru should be in order to get involved and learn firsthand about the constantly changing industry in Canada.
When it comes to what’s currently happening with the Canadian fashion industry media related, certain TV shows, such as Project Runway Canada and anything on Fashion Television, are putting Canadian designers, and Canada on the fashion map. Project Runway Canada for instance promotes the current industry and trends and gives Canada a place in this enormous production. Not only do Canadian designers have an outlet for their creations, but have the capability to market themselves within the world of fashion, as programming is broadcast across North America.
Aside from programming, Canada also takes pride in their Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver Fashion Week, which is a week-long showcase of the newest and trendiest in fashion and style. Here’s a clip of what recently went down at this fall’s LG Fashion Week in Toronto... http://www.lgfashionweek.ca/default2.aspx This clip demonstrates current trends and what’s hot right now by Canadian designers, so it’s interesting to see how unique their designs are compared to the American designs that most of us are used to seeing. As shown in the clip, Fashion Week in Toronto was a huge success with a great turn-out and Canada has proved to be respected in the fashion industry and has really made a mark and hopefully, current Canadian fashion can only grow into bigger and better things from here.
-Mandy
Before I started this project I had no clue how the fashion industry was regulated. I actually thought there could not be more regulations than import and export laws, upon further research I found myself astonished that I ever believed that. This is just a brief list of some of the policies I found. This list outlines not only the regulations but the regulators as well.
World Trade Organizations (WTO)
• Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB)
• Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)
• Multi-fibre Arrangement (MFA)
Canadian Organizations
• Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
• The Canadian Apparel and Textile Industries Program (CCRA)
• Foreign Embassies and Trade Offices Canada
• Export Development Canada
• International Trade Canada
• Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT)
• Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA)
• Canadian Border Services
• Canadian Apparel and Textiles Industries Program (CATIP)
• Competition Bureau
• Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network
• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC)
• International Trademark Association (INTA)
American Organizations
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Regulations and Policies
• Regional/ Bilateral Trade Agreements
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• Free Trade Agreement with:
o Chile
o Israel
o Costa Rica
• Textile Tariffs
• Designer Remission Order
• Canada’s Least Developed Country Tariff (LDCT)
• General Preferential Tariff (GPT)
• Copyright Act
• Trademarks Act
• Industrial Design Act
• Textile and Labelling Act
-Courtney Wright
http://www.wearcanada.ca/eng/wearCanada/index.cfm
Design.
Innovation.
Fashion.
Next Door.
The logo for Wear? Canada! says it all. This Canadian non-profit organization promotes the Canadian fashion industry to the fullest. It provides services for retail buyers and holds events to support Canadian designers. Wear? Canada! is run by the Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF), which promotes the best Canadian fashion to the US market. CAF holds US, Canadian, and international events.
So how can we participate and provide Canadian support?
1. Purchase Canadian clothing!
- By buying Canadian, it allows us to own something exclusive with unique labels
- The delivery of clothing is also inexpensive and quick since it is being delivered within the country
2. Participate in the trade shows that CAF holds (link provided on website) such as Montreal Fashion Week or L'Oreal Fashion
Week in Toronto.
Other non-profit organizations that support our Canadian industry:
1. Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC)
- The FDCC organizes Toronto Fashion Week
2. Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI)
- The TFI helps and supports up and coming Canadian designers
I found this article on the Toronto Star's website and thought it was releveant and worth sharing. Take a look!
Coat couture
Ten homegrown designers give Canada's iconic cloak a makeover
It may be the closest thing Canada has to a national costume – and it has just undergone an extreme makeover.
The famous Hudson's Bay Co. blanket coat, the iconic striped wool coat that's still available for purchase in its traditional format, has been remodelled into a fashion statement by 10 of Canada's top designers.
"We were looking for a collaboration so we could do something special around the Olympics to get the brand out there and also promote Canadian fashion design to the world," says Bay fashion director Suzanne Timmins.
So a collection of "flawed" Hudson's Bay coats that had never made the sales floor because of their imperfections, were given to 10 local fashion designers to be reconfigured into something that reflected the coat's traditions, as well as the designer's aesthetic.
Designers including Comrags, Jeremy Laing, Canada's Todd Lynn (living in London) and Montrealer Erdem Moralioglu, also based in London, participated in the project. Timmins insists there were no creative limitations.
They could keep it real or be completely fanciful, she says.
Joyce Gunhouse and Judy Cornish, the names behind the Comrags label, created a sweeping floor-length coat with a detachable bustle.
Erdem created one of his famous capes. And Laing's coat was chic, urban and asymmetrical.
None of the coats will be offered for sale, though Timmins admits she was so taken with the results of the collaboration that she is considering the possibility of putting some into production.
The problem is that this textile is created and manufactured exclusively for Hbc. The company would have to source a different material for the coats, she says.
The 10 coats will be on display at the downtown store until Christmas, then move on to the Canada House lounge in their downtown Vancouver store.
Timmins is an obvious fan of the coat and its remarkable history in Canada. "It was our first currency – trading blankets for furs.
"And from a fashion perspective it's very recognizably Canadian. I love wearing my coat to Paris. I always get stopped."
The project is part of a larger branding scheme that's called Hudson's Bay Company collection, which includes collaborations with other designers including Kimberley Newport-Mimran of Pink Tartan, who designed a cardigan with the same trademark stripes.
Other products in the line include chic blocks of maple sugar, a $995 axe by Best Made Co. with the striped handle, Red Tail canoe paddles and elk-printed scarves by Virginia Johnson.
"We didn't want to create another souvenir shop," says Timmins.
http://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/733567--coat-couture
-Mandy
Seeing as how Canadian designers are definitely not as well known, or prominent as American or European designers, I wanted to find a list and post it on the blog just so that people can see who these designers are. These designers all appeared in Toronto’s latest fall fashion week and can be seen on the official website:
http://www.lgfashionweek.ca/Designers.aspx
-Mandy