TORONTO FASHION WEEK

Following up from yesterdays "FASHION WEEK DATES" post...
Today, IMG Canada has quietly released the dates for Toronto Fashion Week.
I found it on "Twitter", thanks to "FLARE" magazines tweet.
Still can not find a web presence. Anyway, the dates are:

Monday, March 18 until Friday, March 22,
but we will have to wait until next week to find out who is showing when, as the "first round scheduling will not appear until the 11th.
And although this may sound like a negative rant, it ends with a positive spin, so please follow me through...

MEET THE PRESS, or not...
The last of the "Big Four" fashion weeks is in Paris, and will be showing from March 4-6, 2013.
LA fashion week is March 9-17 (that's a long week!)
I'd say it's a little late to get the world press here.
The "big guns" will have been booked from Feb.7 with NYC, through Mar 6 with Paris, and will not likely pack their bags again to run to Toronto the following week.
Those still travelling and booked for LA. and are hardly likely to change their bookings at this point. We might have had a shot had the dates been released along with everyone elses. Sad that the only date give up until today was listed as March 13....

Hopefully the Canadian press will not be too exhausted to come out for it.
Hopefully the future seasons will be announced sooner...

I have said it before, and I know not everyone likes to hear it, but I am seeing excellent results from those individuals who are doing it, and  "showing it abroad"....take the money and go to New York Fashion Week, or London Fashion Week, or Paris Fashion Week. The "big guns" from the press are there. The buyers are there. It is not selling out, you can still be a "CANADIAN DESIGNER".

A short list of who's already out there: "ERDEM by ERDEM MORIAGLU", "CALLA by CALLA HAYNES", "MARK FAST", "JEREMY LAING", "D SQUARED BY DAN AND DEAN CATEN" "RAD by RAD HOURANI" and they are showing and getting world coverage, and selling clothes.

"THE JAPANESE INVASION" of Paris, in the eighties, by Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, etc. opened the world's eyes to what was already being shown in Japan.

"Dirk Bikkembergs", "Anne Demuelemeester","Martin Margiella", "Walter Van Beirendonck", Dries Van Noten", Dirk Van Saene" and Marina Yee" gained world recognition by becoming the "BELGIAN SIX", and going together to Paris as a team. It brought them world attention and opened our eyes to other Belgians as well.

So why not a "CANADIAN DESIGNER" team?

I am not saying designers should not still show here in Canada, it would not hurt to keep a vocabulary of our own, but if world focus is what Canadians want,  then go to where the world is already looking. And then, hopefully, they will broaden their vision to include Canada, and more Canadians, as people to be watched.