There are a couple things I have been surprised by while attending Toronto Fashion Week. Being out in Calgary, there are certain notions and expectations of Canada's one true fashion affair. Excitement, spirited discussions, and the united celebration of Canada's talent I once attached to Toronto Fashion Week have shriveled.
Sitting in the audience, I was shocked at the number of unoccupied seats; a minute before most shows we are continually instructed to move a row forward. The Toronto Fashion Week volunteers standing at the runway's entrance have also stopped asking attendees for their reservations. The uncontrolled swell of people making their way through the small entry to the runway reminds me of Chinook on the weekend.
During the shows I also noticed a general lack of enthusiasm in the front row, 0ne of the only rows where seats are almost always spoken for, where madly, texting fingers is an epidemic. I am unsure whether the attempt to look uninvolved is a goal during Toronto Fashion Week attendees, some grotesque mannerism the media has inappropriately assigned to fashion folk, but I find it offensive and saddening.
The general lack of enthusiasm in Toronto regarding fashion week is disheartening. Not only is it unfair to Canada's bevy of talent such as Linda Lundstrom, David Dixon, Joeffer Caoc, Andy The-Anh, and Travis Taddeo to name a few, but perpetuates this unnecessary inferiority complex running rampant when Canada is compared to established fashion centers like New York. Yes, Canada is no where near London, Milan, Paris, or New York but do we have to be?
The media seems less enthused about Toronto Fashion Week, that is punctuated by the complete lack of advertising involving the event and cynical articles found in local papers. Canada is making the decision for designers to leave the country easy. Yes, we might not be New York, but no that does not mean we have a disadvantage. Rather than trying the emulate the fashion centers, why not carve out a niche and develop a program that funds, supports, and gives Canada designers the opportunity to showcase their talents in a manner that is appropriate to our country?
