MONTREAL — The fledgling Montreal Fashion Week hosted its semiannual runway shows last month, continuing its effort to overcome challenges and establish itself among the growing array of international fashion weeks.
Ten local designers plus Arthur Mendonça from Toronto and a collective show from 10 local importers or manufacturers held presentations March 21 to 24. While the numbers don’t match the 30 designers from across Canada that showed a week earlier at Toronto Fashion Week, there were some notable collections, including M Siamo from Marisa Minicucci, Envers from Yves Jean Lacasse, Oscar Leopold and Nadya Toto.
But it was hard to ignore the absence of other local talents, like Denis Gagnon and Mackage, who both opted to show in Toronto, Philippe Dubuc, Luc La Roche, Kamkyl, C’est Pas Grave, Marie St. Pierre and outerwear specialist Hilary Radley.
“Some people weren’t ready with their samples, like Luc La La Roche, while others opted to show in Toronto,” explained Patrick Thomas, president of Montreal Fashion Network, which operates MFW. “We also hired a new group called Mosaic Design to operate the shows, but they didn’t have enough time to really get organized. We were also surprised when [lead sponsor] Mercedes pulled out three weeks before the show and we still don’t know the whole story.”
Normand Lapointe, general manager of MFN, said Mosaic only had two months to put the whole thing together.
It also didn’t help that Bod & Christensen and Nuuda pulled out at the last minute. Marie St. Pierre was also slated to show, but canceled due to a scheduling problem.
Still, attendance was around 2,500, including 140 journalists from 60 media outlets, mostly local and national. International media included Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Fashion Television-Paris.
Despite the setbacks, MFN is determined to attract more designers by assigning a full-time person to work on making MFW more appealing and by attempting to have all shows in one venue. During this, the eighth edition, there were seven shows at the main site, including the collective, and five off-site.
Leading the bright spots during MFW was Minicucci, who has been called “the most talented and successful of Quebec designers” by both the media and her retail accounts, of which 65 percent are in the U.S.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
Her knits, leather and fur garments are produced in Italy while her wovens are made in Canada from Italian fabrics. Her fall collection was heavy on tweed suits and microfiber riding pants accompanied by mufflers and riding boots from her new accessories line.
Eveningwear included a bronze taffeta A-line skirt flecked with gold or a gold charmeuse skirt and halter overlaid with lace.
“Suitings are back,” said Minicucci, who worked in the fashion business for 18 years before starting her own company in 2003. “I’m breaking the rule by mixing and matching a lot of combinations. Every item in the collection can be mixed with something else. I wanted to create something that both myself and my daughter can wear.”
Yves Jean Lacasse, who also showed in Toronto, turned to “Romeo and Juliet” for inspiration for his Envers collection. The line featured men in frock coats, satin smoking jackets, hand-embroidered capes with sashed blouses and shirts and taffeta ballgown skirts and wide-stitched knits and a cream tulle confection with flower-trimmed hem wedding dress for women.
Originally a leather designer for men and women, the Oscar Leopold label is branching out with affordable sportswear that includes sparkly tops and velveteen suits under the direction of head designer Seta Donabedian.
Dark leather jackets and leather pants for him and pink leather jackets and leather miniskirts or leather and fur full-length coats for her rounded out the collection.
Nadya Toto took her cue from the “modern gypsy” as her theme for her fall collection. The folkloric look featured longer-length sequined skirts in tweed, brocade and velvet. In some cases, hemlines were left unfinished.
Taffeta and lace skirts combined with light jerseys and fox fur wraps gave Toto’s collection a sexy opulence.
Vietnamese-born Andy-Thé-Anh’s P.O.W. (Power of Women) label featured a Russian-inspired collection of military coats, fitted tweed jackets, full and pleated skirts and body-fitting tops in shimmery silk fabrics and fur cuffs.
Toronto designer Arthur Mendonça was invited by the Fur Council of Canada to strut his stuff at MFW. He didn’t disappoint, getting a standing ovation for his luxurious suits and cocktail dresses paired with furs in addition to his charmeuse gowns and pleated leather dress suits.
Not bad for a 28-year-old who only four years ago was struggling to make a living in his trade and now sells his collections at Holt Renfrew and Marshall Field’s.
“There are a lot talented designers in Montreal, but I only stayed for a day to do business with Marie St. Pierre,” said Terry Vizone, owner of Only She in Chicago, one of the few American buyers at MFW, who had a showroom appointment. “I’m carrying her line this spring and summer and we were going over her line for next fall.”