TORONTO – A Toronto-based womenswear designer has a second chance at success in an annual contest for up-and-coming Canadian designers.
Laura Siegel has been named as a wild card entry in the Mercedes-Benz Start Up program. She recently participated in the semifinal runway show in Thornhill, Ont., but didn’t initially make the final cut. Siegel was also a finalist in last year’s competition.
Toronto-based womenswear line Narces, designed by Nikki Worthensohn, and Montreal’s Leinad Beaudet were also selected as wild-card entrants.
READ MORE: Start Up winner Sid Neigum notches another victory at Toronto Fashion Week
They join a trio of previously announced finalists, including two Montreal-based labels: unisex brand S.P. Badu by Spencer Badu and UNTTLD designed by Jose Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Belanger. Sisters Chloe and Parris Gordon of Toronto-based womenswear and accessory brand Beaufille round out the list of finalists.
The six labels will participate in the national finale at Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week. Each is vying for a prize package that includes a $30,000 bursary and a fully produced runway show during Fashion Week next March.
READ MORE: Neigum opens Toronto Fashion Week, wins Start Up prize
Designers competing in Start Up must have a registered Canadian business that has been operating for less than five years.
This marks the fifth year in the nationwide search for Canada’s emerging fashion talents. In addition to Thornhill, semifinal runway shows were also held in Calgary and Montreal.
Previous Start Up winners include label Martin Lim, Duy Nguyen, Cecile Raizonville of Montreal-based label Matiere Noire, and Edmonton’s Malorie Urbanovitch.
Current titleholder Sid Neigum presented his fall-winter collection on the runway last March.
Fashion Week runs from Oct. 19 to 24
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