Students upset by Fashion Week cancellation

BY JENNIFER DAROSA

Fashion lovers and designers around the GTA are still in shock after the plug was pulled on Toronto Fashion Week earlier this year. According to the organizers for the event, there wasn’t enough support or funding to keep it going. With a number of European cities currently hosting their fashion week, and Vancouver’s event two weeks ago, this has left Torontonians feeling deprived of showcasing the city’sdesigners.

Toronto Fashion Week had been going on for more than 13 years and was taken over by IMG, a management company, in 2012. For North America, this was considered the second largest fashion week after New York.

Last year the event showcased a number of popular Toronto designers such as Laura Siegel, Maison Matthew Gallagher and Ellie Mae, which has been worn by the prime minister’s wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau.

Justin and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau wearing Ellie Mae while visiting Washington. (Photo from Vogue.com)

Angelica DaRosa, a fashion blogger and her friend Daniel Mitchell, a university student, attended last year’s event together. They didn’t know that their first Toronto Fashion Week experience would be their last.

Daniel Mitchell and Angelica DaRosa at Toronto Fashion Week 2016 Courtesy of The Small Town Fancy

Mitchell attends Ryerson University and is majoring in Fashion. Students in the program rely on fashion week to give them an inside look into the fashion world. It can be discouraging for them because they want to succeed in the fashion industry while in their city of Toronto.

‘‘There was a clear lack of support for the event last year,’’ said Mitchell. ‘’Supposedly, fashion week last year was the most expensive in the history of Toronto Fashion Week. This is due to the lack of sponsorship and public interest. It’s sad to see that companies couldn’t see fashion week as a potential investment, and it’s even sadder to see the lack of public support for art related events. ‘’

For a fashion blogger, fashion week is crucial to get themselves out there to document their own outfits and to share the experience with their readers.

‘’As someone who is very much into fashion, I enjoyed the fashion shows and the celebration of Toronto style,’’ said DaRosa. ’’It’s such a shame that the designers and bloggers who depend on this event every year are now missing out.’’

There has been word whether Toronto Fashion Week will begin again in the near future. Local fashionistas will just have to wait in hopes that one they can be a part of the experience again. The next option for fashion bloggers and fashion show goers in Toronto is to attend New York Fashion week Fall 2017 in February.