Taking place at Nuit Blanche in Toronto, the Art of Fashion competition is a chance for Canadian fashion designers to raise the bar when it comes to being audaciously creative.  From the press release:

TORONTO, ON, August 17, 2010 – Designers across Canada are invited to enter the 12th annual Art of Fashion design competition and trunk show in Toronto, where the winner will be awarded a minimum cash prize of $1000, a complimentary professional photo shoot with model, hair and makeup, street-level exposure in the window display of one of Toronto’s top fashion outlets, and more.  Entry deadline for this career-launching opportunity is Tuesday, August 31^st, 2010.

The design competition and trunk show will take place at King West Fitness in Liberty Village during Nuit Blanche on Saturday, October 2^nd, 2010.  To apply, designers should visit www.artoffashion.org/labelleepoque and fill out the submission form before Tuesday, August 31^st, 2010.

I discovered the Prada Swing Manga contest via I want – I got.

“Swing” in jazz jargon, means the passage from one chord to another. If this sound could be designed, it would have the flowing and lithe lines of the new Prada eyewear collection. This desire to make sound visual has led to the idea of beginning a new collaboration with comic book illustrators from around the world. Prada, which is famous for its multiple collaborations with international architects, designers, directors and photographers, will this time launch a “Manga Contest”. Participants will include the best-known comic book-design schools along with independent illustrators. This will be an actual contest in which participants will be asked to design a fantasy heroine. The only constraint is that the woman must wear Prada Swing sunglasses in the comic strip. The objective is to animate Prada Swing sunglasses whilst, above all, exploring the possibilities of how different creative worlds can intermingle without any set rules (such as those of fashion and comic book design). The contest will be open to submissions from the evening of July 14 to August 31. The winner’s heroines will become the protagonists of a Prada publication. All the information will be available on Prada.com

The terms and conditions state that the winner will forfeit full copyright to the artwork and character design, and there is an award of 5000 euros. Entries consist of a storyboard for the comic (I can’t find any further instruction regarding size or number of pages) and are due by August 31, 2010.

I’m considering entering this if I can find the time.

I am so thrilled to be participating in the second year of the YES/TFI Passion for Fashion program.

This is a FREE program for entrepreneurial young people, ages 16 – 29, offering seminars on business skills and fashion skills – not only useful for designers, but also for up and coming stylists, writers, illustrators, event planners… anyone interested in building a career or a business in the fashion world.  I teach one of the seminars, on visual presentation for fashion.

There’s more – those who complete the program are eligible to take part in a business plan competition with the chance to win a cash prize of $1000 and 50 hours of free business and fashion industry mentoring from the Toronto Fashion Incubator.

Interested?  You should be!  There are just two orientation sessions left — click here for all the details.

This is a heads up for all the fresh, up and coming fashion entrepreneurs in Toronto – TFI and YES are once again combining forces to offer up a FREE program of seminars and a business plan competition where you could win $1000 cash and a priceless mentorship opportunity.

Here’s the info:

JUNE 15 & 17, 2010
PASSION FOR FASHION ORIENTATION SESSIONS

Are you…
Interested in fashion design?
Looking to be your own boss?
Between the ages of 16 and 29?

THEN YOU BELONG IN A PASSION FOR FASHION!

Youth Employment Services (YES) has teamed up with Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) to create this amazing opportunity for youth to learn about entrepreneurship and fashion design. Sign up for one of these FREE information sessions to learn more. Targeted to youth aged 16 – 29 living in the Province of Ontario, who are not professional fashion designers, A Passion For Fashion participants will receive workshops on starting a business, fashion design and marketing, one-on-one mentorship and a chance to enter the Fashionista’s Den Competition where one lucky youth will win $1,000 cash, a one-year TFI Outreach membership and 50 hours of business advisory and fashion mentorship.

Now in its second year, this exciting program gives young fashion designers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to explore the world of entrepreneurship in the fashion industry, for free!

Interested? Visit www.yes.on.ca for eligibility, program information and additional orientation dates and locations in the GTA. To register for the June 15th and 17th sessions, contact Toronto Fashion Incubator at tfi@fashionincubator.com or call 416-971-7117 ext. 21.

Want to learn more?  One of last year’s participants, Kevin Naulls, wrote a post about his experience with the program.

When it comes to fashion design projects, like this one for the Trash Fusion contest in Barrie, I tend to resist beginning them.  The usual ennui – fear of how long it will take, fear that my idea which looks so great in my head will end up looking ridiculous once executed.  Then, once I get started, and I get into it, the project becomes more about delight – delight with discovery, excitement to see how it will turn out.  Until the end of the project, when usually it begins to feel like an obligation, a job I must see through to the end if only to make all of the hours I’ve already put in worthwhile.

The little a-line dress, sewn from some leftover, slightly stained muslin, a cheap acetate lining, and of course an invisible zipper and one of the 1000 “Final Fashion” labels I had woven up for my grad collection in 2006 (of which I have used about 20 so far).  I didn’t have to go shopping for any of these things, everything was in my stash, so hopefully they won’t disqualify my entry as being composed of “trash”.  I drafted the pattern from scratch, cut and sewed it in just a few hours.  It is just a canvas for the really tricky bit…

Applying, one by one, by hand, small plastic paillettes.  The paillettes are made from a variety of objects that my scissors and hole punch can snip and punch, again, one by one.  Above you can see food containers, old library cards, student cards, and metrocards, pieces of red plastic beer cups, and so on.  I’m not applying these in any particular order or colour palette, letting the pattern create itself of its own accord  – however to realize my vision, I have to cover the entire dress, front and back, with these little bits of things.  So, I am on a mission.

If you would like to donate your pieces of useless plastic, please get in touch!  I am truly excited with how this project is turning out – the pictures don’t do the texture of the paillettes justice – in person they move and make noise, and from far away look dynamic and pixelated, completely unlike trash, and up close they display little pictures and brand names, small treasures of found objects.

I am making a paillette dress out of re-used objects, and I’ll need a lot more plastic for this before I finish.  Which is why I thought I would put a call out there for anyone who wants to donate their useless plastic objects for a fashion design project.  These objects will be cut up into small rectangular paillettes, so the plastic needs to be that fairly flexible, easy-to-snip with scissors kind.  I am particularly looking for coloured plastics, and not clear plastic unless it is coloured.  Laminated paper doesn’t work.  Here’s what works:

• larger plastic containers (especially coloured ones), for instance, ginger ale bottles, yoghurt containers, old shampoo bottles, etc. etc.
• flat plastic cards and objects – i.e. old library cards, event passes, those stupid plastic gift cards for plastic surgeons, those flexible rulers that Telus gives away, scraps of acetate from old art projects, bits of old film, stuff with holograms on it !! etc. etc.

Got old plastic you can part with – especially downtown Toronto people? Or stuff that could easily be sent by mail?  Send me an email and we can figure out a way to get it to the studio.  Thank you!

Trash Fusion is a competition open to all creative contenders in Ontario – the challenge is to submit an illustration and description of an idea of a dress made from recycled materials or reclaimed trash by March 18th 2010.  Finalists will then be chosen to create their designs physically.  The trash outfits will be displayed in three fashion shows around Ontario, and three winners will be chosen for a cash prize among other benefits.

Sponsor of the site – and prom dress empire – Fashion Crimes is seeking prom dress design submissions from creative high school students in Toronto.  The winning designer will have the opportunity to participate in the creation of their dress with the design team at the Fashion Crimes studio, and every entrant will be entered in a draw to win a prom dress. Spread the word to your fashion-loving teenage friends – entries are due on January 28, 2010.

The CSPA Unmasked art competition not only has a $500 cash prize, the winning artwork will also be used in promotion of a great cause.  The deadline is December 16, 2009.  Thanks so much to Eden for giving me the heads up.

Run by the CSPA, this initiative currently has one primary component: a design competition wherein creative Canadians have the opportunity to design a mask in a medium of their choice for a chance to win $500 and a have their mask featured on the CSPA’s website and back cover of the CSPA’s inaugural magazine in 2010. Join the voice of Canada’s skin patient community and make it stronger!

Shopgirls, one of Final Fashion’s sponsors, is currently seeking artisans interested in selling gift items on consignment.  If you’re interested in being considered, send photos of your work here with “Gifted Submission” in the subject line.