TORONTO – Husband and wife designer duo Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow brought the energy of the Calgary Stampede to the runway at Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week on Wednesday. Celebrating its 100 years, the designers decided to saddle up with a Stampede-inspired line for Bustle’s f/w 2012 collection.
Sticking to their signature, creative, playful thematic approach on the runway, the dynamic duo envisioned a rodeo-inspired collection that brought out a fresh look during Toronto’s fashion week.
Incorporating more denim into their collection was their ultimate goal and the pair succeeded in doing just that. Denim, denim and more denim dominated the opening of their show. Canadian tuxedos in almost all washes took over the first half of the collection along with leather and suede patches on the shoulders of jackets and shirts.
Still staying true to Bustle’s organic designs of tailored suited separates, Shawn and Ruth added some flare with their cowboy inspired collection and used coloured straight cut corduroy pants mixed with denim button ups and dark denims mixed with dark corduroy and leather blazers.
Global Fashion’s Christina Cheng spoke with designers, Shawn and Ruth to get an in-depth look at their inspirations for Bustle.
Global Fashion: First of all, amazing, amazing show. You both told a story on the runway. Please explain the whole cowboy, cowgirl, country feel theme and why you went about going that route?
Shawn Hewson: Well, we do thematic collections in our shows as you know from the past and what better inspiration than a hundred year old Canadian party where people like to get dressed up? With it being the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede, we decided this would be the perfect time to get into denim!
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GF: I see you opened with the denim…
SH: We sure did!
GF: How does your denim line differ from various other denim collections out there?
SH: Well, it’s funny because I must have tried on twenty different cuts before I thought we hit the right cut. We tried it on all sorts of people and we finally found something where we came up with two cuts and a bunch of different washes. When we were dressing the models, the outfits fit every single of them perfectly. The models looked great in the jeans and that was a lot of fun.
GF: And you guys do raw denim?
SH: As raw as it gets!
GF: I see that you incorporated the country look with the plaid inside the collars and other different detailing that plays with the country theme. What inspired you to add these details? Why use a plaid button up rather than a simple button up?
SH: Well, because there are a million out there you know and that’s what makes it Bustle; our attention to the details and our own personal touches.
GF: How does this line differ from previous lines before?
SH: I don’t think it differs that much in the end. This collection is just packed up in a Calgary Stampede inspired way, but if you break the pieces away, they’re all very wearable.
Ruth Promislow: And you don’t have to be a cowboy to wear the collection, it’s just packaged that way.
GF: Your collection included suede suits. What other materials did you use this time around for your collection?
SH: Well, in addition to the denim, we used some suede and some leather and we used a couple of different corduroy and some tradition wool. We had a lot of different shirts this season.
GF: Do your sizes range so that they fit all shapes and sizes?
SH: Yeah, it’s for everybody for sure. It’s a slightly narrow cut, but it’s for everyone. We have customers of all shapes and sizes and all different professions and it’s really diverse.
GF: Can you explain your line in just a few words?
RP: Cheeky.
SH: That’s it, one word!
GF: Where can we find Bustle in and around Toronto?
SH: You can find it at Got Style- my favourite menswear store on Bathurst Street in Toronto. It’s also at a store called ANTI-HERO on Yorkville and we have Queen West in Toronto called JacFlash.
GF: What can we expect in the future?
SH: You’ll have to wait and see. The more the same, lots of fun!
GF: What’d you think of Stacey McKenzie on the runway tonight?
SH: What can I say?
RP: She’s unbelievable.
SH: She’s a star, you barely have to tell her anything and she’s just got it!
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed.
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