Big changes are coming for Toronto Fashion Week

TORONTO – Changes are coming to Toronto’s fashion week — including the name of the event.

Beginning on Monday, Canada’s biggest style showcase will be rebranded simply as Toronto Fashion Week, complete with a new website and social media handles. The name change comes following the end of a six-season deal with World MasterCard as the Toronto event’s title sponsor.

The event will also see the addition of a fresh slate of homegrown talent on the calendar, a reconfigured space, and an effort by organizers to bring more consumers into the fold.

Fall-winter collections are slated to be unveiled next month.

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IMG Canada operates Toronto Fashion Week in collaboration with IMG Fashion, which has fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, Moscow, Sydney and Tokyo within its portfolio.

While organizers are hoping to find additional sponsor support, they don’t foresee any impact on staging the upcoming Toronto event.

“We really want the focus to be on the designers and on the industry,” said Catherine Bennett, senior vice-president and managing director of IMG Fashion Events & Properties.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We really want the focus to be on the designers and on the industry," said Catherine Bennett, senior vice-president and managing director of IMG Fashion Events & Properties.

“We are looking for partners that understand the industry, and that’s the need for constant evolution, and also the unique opportunities within that market.”

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With the elimination of the smaller studio space used, all collections will be showcased on the main runway.

“One of things that we’re offering designers is the ability to do fashion presentations in the fashion environment where they can reach potentially more people and a greater audience… They’re able to reach also the consumer audience that’s in that environment,” said IMG Canada director Carolyn Quinn.

“The feedback has been that they’re really interested in doing a runway show but can’t necessarily fill the space with the right people. It seems a bit daunting. The runway room fits 800 people, so the opportunity to do multiple designers in one show is something that they’re very interested in.”

Bennett said Toronto was one of the first markets where they had success with having consumers attend shows, which are typically targeted towards buyers, media and others within the industry.

They’re hoping to boost attendance among everyday fashion fans who will be able to check out several newcomers to the Toronto Fashion Week calendar. Among them: bridal and women’s ready-to-wear designer Christopher Paunil, fine jewelry designer Daniel Christian Tang, Montreal designer Marisa Minicucci and Toronto-based womenswear brand Jennifer Torosian.

Previous Fashion Week favourites slated to showcase new lines include: award-winning Alberta-born, Toronto-based Sid Neigum; leather goods retailer Rudsak; Montreal labels Soia & Kyo and UNTTLD; Toronto-based womenswear brand Mikhael Kale; Edmonton’s Malorie Urbanovitch; and eveningwear specialist Stephan Caras.