LAUREN LA ROSE
TORONTO (CP) - Fashion and environmentalism converged on the catwalk in the heart of downtown in a colourful display of homegrown style that was green to the core.
“I Love Kyoto: Ethical Fashion Show,” spotlighting eco-friendly Canadian designs, was the first of six special events at the inaugural Fashion and Design Festival - Toronto. The three-day event is showcasing more than 25 fashion shows free to the public at one of the city’s busiest hubs.
Style-watchers packed Yonge-Dundas Square late Thursday to take in the runway show showcasing fashions by more than 10 designers created using recycled, organic and sustainable materials.
A trench coat converted into a flowing strapless dress, patchwork leggings and large print floral knits fashioned into mock turtleneck cut-off tops were among the pieces on display as onlookers eagerly snapped photos of the old-into-new looks using digital cameras and camera phones.
A large flat-panel screen positioned above the entry to the runway displayed kaleidoscopic images of environmental landscapes from the wilderness to waterfalls.
Long green stalks resembling oversized blades of grass adorned the elaborate hairdos of the models, who each wore one large, hanging circular earring depicting Earth.
“For us, it’s very important to take this new trend and, of course, this new way of life to the people,” said festival co-president Chantal Durivage. “We’re talking about fashion and ‘fashion-tainment’ and everything, but it’s still very important for us to talk about the future.
“Doing this kind of fashion show is telling people, ‘Let’s try in some way to make an effort for the future, for our children,’ so this is why we’re putting this fashion event on our stage, and also because we have some amazing designers who produce this kind of clothing.”
Marie-Genevieve Pilon, designer of Quebec-based 88 Queen St., makes 80 per cent of her designs out of recycled materials. She said she’s thrilled other designers are also going the eco-friendly route.
“I started doing it thinking I wasn’t even sure if this was going to actually develop into an actual business because it wasn’t very well known, and even my own father was like, ‘You’re going to recycled clothing?’
“For me to see other designers doing the same (is) very encouraging and it’s exciting.”
Julia Grieve, owner and founder of Preloved, which fashions vintage clothing into one-of-a-kind designs, admits environmentalism wasn’t top of mind when she started 12 years ago.
“Now that the company has grown to such a size, it is something we are so aware of at Preloved, and it’s definitely something that’s become our forefront,” she said.
“It’s something we’re extremely proud of, and it’s something that we’re moving forward to get those recycling numbers even higher each season and using up every scrap that we can find.”
Any kind of trim is recycled as much as possible, and bedsheets are used for everything from interfacing to lining clothing, she said.
Thieves designer Sonja den Elzen uses organic and sustainable fabrics, including soy, bamboo jersey, organic cotton and hemp silk in her designs.
She ultimately hopes her looks will appeal to green fashionistas as well those not as familiar with eco-friendly fabrics.
“I want it to be accessible to everyone that can appreciate the style, and then as an added bonus they’re doing something better for the environment that they didn’t even realize.”
