Photo © Evelyn ReidIt's not news that Montreal designers collectively dream of New York Fashion Week. And some, like Mackage, make it. It's equally common to see local talent vie for a spot at Toronto Fashion Week ... bigger market, more money, more buyers, one of this city's top dogs, Andy Thê-Anh, who recently dressed Prime Minister Harper's wife, Laureen, bypassed Montreal Fashion Week altogether this time round, focusing his efforts on wooing the Toronto contingency.
But since when does Toronto come to Montreal?
I asked Toronto's Wesley Badanjak, who presented "Elemental," his label LOVAS' spring 2011 preview collection, that very question. Why? Why Montreal?
"I have friends who live here and I come visit often and really, it's the culture. It's very boutique-driven and I think women [here] dress really well. I have people [from Montreal] emailing me, asking me 'where can I buy you'? And since I have a European background and a European flair to my clothes, they translate almost better in a Montreal atmosphere than they do in Toronto. [Yet] we don't sell to anyone here and I thought, it's a shame. Why don't we come here?"
Photo © Evelyn ReidBut our market is so much smaller in Montreal, at least, that's the reason we hear time and time again. Badanjak isn't quite convinced, "it's smaller to a degree. Women in Quebec are a discerning customer. They want quality. They don't just want H&M. They want something that's worth their money, so I think it's a great place to be."
And from the buzz I gathered, including my own, LOVAS was a hit on the Montreal runway. Classic, tailored cuts with modern twists, the LOVAS 2011 spring collection is, believe it or not, inspired by the periodic table, a testament to Badanjak's biochemistry background: "I remember doing these lectures on electron discharge tubes. So I went through the table and I actually trapped the first 35 elements. When certain gases run through these discharge tubes, they glow certain colors ... pink and purple, then you get into silvers, charcoals, blacks ..." And so began a spring collection.
Photo © Evelyn ReidThe standout color, citron, represents sulfur as it appears in solid form or ionized, in the gas discharge tubes Badanjak mentions. Better known in esoteric circles (and horror movie fan clubs) as brimstone, the tell-tale smell of demons lurking, in your everyday laboratory, sulfur is used to make gunpowder and when combined with hydrogen, stinks of rotten eggs. But in Badanjak's world, it's a statement. A wearable one.
I'll be posting more pictures of Wesley Badanjak's LOVAS 2011 spring collection in the coming days.
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