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.

Sponsor of the site and swell fun party, Buy Design for Windfall, has an announcement.

Buy Design Spring Social to Dazzle and Spoil

Tickets to the hottest fundraiser in Hogtown are now available

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 26, 2010) – For the past six years Buy Design has dazzled and entertained Toronto’s socially-conscious fashionistas. Now in its seventh year, the event promises to give its guests a ring-a-ding-ding! On Saturday, April 10, 2010, Buy Design Spring Social, will blow everyone’s wig off with a 1930′s post-depression-inspired party.

On behalf of Windfall, Canada’s only new clothing and basic-needs items bank, event host Adrian Mainella will welcome guests into a transformed Fermenting Cellar mimicking a festive outdoor space.

A SWELL RAG
“Once again, our remarkable organizing committee will deliver guests what they have come to expect, an incredibly fun event in support of an incredibly important cause,” says Helen Harakas, Windfall’s Executive Director. When entering the space at the Distillery District, guests will go back in time to an outdoor, post-depression country social fair. They’ll walk amidst badminton and croquet courts, alongside bales of hay, and help choose the winner of the boater pageant. While indulging in picnic fare at the many concession stands, they’ll enjoy live music performances from the era and shop the mess hall-style auction featuring the latest fashion and lifestyle finds. At the end, they leave with a gift bag stuffed with goodies worth upward of $150!

Over the past six years, Buy Design has become known as one of Toronto’s top fashion events, but from the beginning the organizing committee has been adamant about keeping the cost of the ticket affordable. “It’s always been really important for us to keep the price of the ticket reasonable. It’s still $75, and $80 at the door,” says Tralee Pearce, Buy Design co-chair. “We hope it encourages more people to come and celebrate Windfall with us.” Thanks to this year’s sponsors, which include TD, FASHION Magazine, H&M, The Globe and Mail, Alterna and BMO, the committee can, again this year, host a snazzy evening that will be sure to impress all.

GET YOUR PAWS ON THAT HOT TICKET!
Tickets are limited, but still available, and can be purchased online at www.buydesignforwindfall.ca or by calling Windfall at 416.703.8435. $75 or six for $375, and $80 at the door.

ABOUT WINDFALL
Windfall, an award-winning registered charity, assists more than 64,000 vulnerable citizens in the Greater Toronto Area; 1/3 of them are children. Windfall provides brand-new donated clothing and other basic-needs items to people living in poverty and/or crisis enabling them to boost their self-esteem and sense of belonging resulting in increased life opportunities. The items are distributed, free of charge, through partnerships with more than 100 social service agencies across the GTA. In the past year, Windfall has distributed 900,000 items worth $28 (retail). www.windfallbasics.com

Explore Design 09, The Design Education Fair for Youth is coming up on October 14th and 15th.  There are a number of speakers from the fashion industry including Canadian fashion icon Linda Lundstrom, Leigh-Ann Waller from Fanshawe College, jewelery designer Wing-Ki Chan, and Project Runway Canada finalist (and my school chum) Jessica Biffi.  From the press release:

From Ryerson U to reality TV stardom to the runway, fashion designer Jessica Biffi illustrates that pursuing a creative education path leads to a successful future. The technical training Biffi received at Ryerson in the field of Fashion Design gave her a winning advantage during the second season of Project Runway Canada.  ”I wish ED was around when I was deciding what to ‘be’.” Biffi says. “ED gives creative kids like I was that channel full of resources to lead them on their way to a creative future!” Now working under her own label, Jessica Biffi, the Canadian fashion scene is anxiously awaiting the debut of her Spring/Summer collection at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week later in October.

Biffi will chat with kids at ED on Oct. 14!

There are so many fascinating speakers including several graphic designers and artists.  To me, ED09 is not only a terrific event for youth but for anyone who is in the early stages of their creative career and interested in learning from their peers.  I hope to attend as well.

Holt Renfrew announces the winners of the Contemporary Correspondent search, conducted via flash application on Facebook.  I hope once the contemporary correspondents start corresponding Holt’s Contemporary will consider an HTML blog format because it is so much easier to share, subscribe and search and more sociable too.  I wish we had an archive of the entries to link to because the challenges were competitive and some entries were quite remarkable.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Toronto (August 18, 2009) Holt Renfrew, Canada’s leading specialty retailer, has just announced the three winners of the Contemporary Correspondent contest search: Montreal’s Julie Lafortune, Toronto’s Mackenzie Yeates and Vancouver’s Karolina Jez.

The winners were chosen by Holt Renfrew’s Facebook fans who, throughout a series of fashion-inspired challenges that began in June 2009 voted for their favourite finalists in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The finalists entered the contest by submitting a 200-word essay and a photo or video submission describing why they should be chosen the winner. Finalists were then narrowed down to two candidates in each of the three regions by a panel of Holt Renfrew judges. Each regional winner has received a prize of a $1,000 Holt Renfrew Gift Card and a SONY VAIO ® Notebook as well as the opportunity to be Holt Renfrew’s official Contemporary Correspondent on www.holtscontemporary.com beginning mid-September 2009.

“Fashion is all about being fresh, new and exciting”, says Toronto’s correspondent winner Mackenzie Yeates. ”It’s about lifestyle and character. I want to give readers a special look into the contemporary world at Holt Renfrew.”

I can’t comment on the Montreal winner because I am so Anglo and their entries were en Francais. In Toronto, Ryerson Fashion Communications student Mackenzie was a total natural for the job – almost every entry she made throughout the competition captured the exact essence you get when you get off the escalator on the second floor of the Bloor Street store and hang a left. She was bound to win on merit. The Vancouver competition was tighter and I suspect more popularity based – alas, my favourite mohawk sporting indie-scene contender Shallom (of Style Finds) didn’t win.

The Sartorialist himself is making a public appearance to celebrate his window display and launch his new exhibit at Holt Renfrew‘s flagship location.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Toronto, (July 16, 2009) Holt Renfrew, Canada’s leading specialty retailer, is delighted to announce a personal appearance by style leader Scott Schuman, “The Sartorialist” on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at Holt Renfrew Bloor Street from 12:30 PM to 2 PM.

As part of a national tribute to fashion bloggers, Holt Renfrew will celebrate the work of Scott Schuman with an in-store exhibition of his photography from Wednesday, July 22 to Wednesday, July 29. Scott will be at Holt Renfrew on Wednesday, July 22 for a public personal appearance and a private event that evening, to discuss his work as a photographer and his expertise in men’s tailoring.

Introducing a neat new education program for young people in the Toronto area who are interested in learning more about working in the fashion industry.

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.

A Passion for Fashion participants will receive:

• Workshops on starting your own business
• Workshops on fashion design and marketing
• One-on-one Mentorship
• Assistance in building a portfolio
• Entrance into the Fashionista’s Den Competition and win $1000, a one-year membership to TFI and 50 hours of business advisory and fashion mentorship for free!

Interested?
Find out more by attending one of our Orientation Sessions!