From the Rockies to the Runway

On October 4th 2017, Toronto Women’s Fashion Week hosted hundreds of people in a series of events throughout the downtown core. Among the prestigious crowd were VIP guests that included magazine editors, television stars, and social media influencers. These VIPs all gathered to witness the epic Canada 150 Fashion Show Tribute. This long-awaited show took place on Yonge Street and featured the longest fashion runway show ever staged in Canada.

In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, the fashion show was used as a fundraiser to honour the Military Veterans of Canada who fought for peace and freedom for our country. All donations given to the Canada 150 Fashion Show Tribute were in turn passed along to the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in the hopes that the money would be used to increase medical services for Canadian military veterans.

The show was the busiest and most popular event of the whole week. Photographers struggled to get an unobstructed shot of the models both backstage and on the runway because of the large crowds. People were sitting and standing in every available space in the room, excited to see the hyped-up spectacle and ready to immortalize the event through their cameras.

The show featured designs from over 40 of Canada’s most prominent and iconic designers, including pieces from Stephen Caras, Christopher Bates, Pascal Labelle, Hendrixroe, Dalla, Kollar, and Roots. Each designer added their own individual take on classic Canadian fashion, creating pieces of clothing that conveyed trends and themes of Canadian history. Designs combined the unique style of each designer’s brand with the festive themes of the show.

The show started out with designs inspired and designed by First Nations people: dreamy fur coats, patterned garments, and leather were all on display. The show then moved to more modern designs, such as a beautiful collection by designer Joseph Tassoni. The highlight of Tassoni’s collection was a red silk dress that was complimented by a shimmery red tulle cape and tights. The look was completed with a gold maple leaf crown.

Some brands, such as Roots and Curtis Oland, maintained a more conservative style in their designs. Each brand featured earthy tones in their clothing, reflecting Canada’s great outdoors and vast wilderness. The minimalistic designs featured brown and green leather jackets, pants, and accessories.

Coats, capes, and jackets were prominent throughout the entire Canada 150 Fashion Show Tribute, and were reminiscent of the extreme Canadian climate. They were often paired with fur hats, over-the-knee boots, and leather gloves.

Some of the bolder looks were Hendrixroe’s maple leaf-patterned dress and Christopher Bates’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police-inspired jackets and hats.

There were also many distinctive takes on classic Canadian looks such as the “Canadian tuxedo,” (all denim everything) to which Peggy Sue added denim patches, scarves, and hats to give her own take on the iconic Canadian look. Similarly, Izzy Camilleri represented Canadian culture with a Canadian flag-inspired leather dress.

From what I saw at the Canada 150 Fashion Show Tribute, I suspect the biggest hits for next season’s trends will be over-the-knee red suede boots, purple-dyed fur coats, metallic-red leather jackets, tweed pantsuits, and fur purses.

The show ended with Toronto’s Women’s Fashion Week founder, Jeff Rustia, announcing to the audience that due to the show’s success in its debut year, TWFW will be back for another season in March 2018.

By Ivette Rodriguez