Toronto, are you ready for the next incarnation of fashion week?
As IMG Fashion takes over the five-day event at the end of October, it looks like the global powerhouse isn't holding back on their first venture in Canada. Since announcing its purchase of World MasterCard Fashion Week in August, the well-heeled members of the city's fashion community have been wondering just what changes the company might make.
Based on the press release that came out today, it looks like bigger is better for the next season, with 50 designers showing on the runway and in studio from Monday, October 22 to Friday, October 26, almost double the number of individual designers that showed at the Fall/Winter 2012 event in March.
Among these are long-time favourites Lucian Matis, Pink Tartan, Joe Fresh, Bustle, David Dixon and Evan Biddell, while Canada's grande dame of fashion, Holt Renfrew, will also make an appearance with its opening night collective show.
“Our mission at IMG is to elevate the fashion community in Canada through our global expertise and extend the excitement created at World MasterCard Fashion Week beyond the runway," said Peter Levy, SVP and Managing Director for IMG Fashion Worldwide Events and Properties, in the release.
Toronto's fashion week tends to come at the tail end of the fashion season, following the blockbuster shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris.
Registration for the event, which takes place at Toronto's David Pecault Square, is currently available for industry and media, with passes for the public expected to become available closer to the shows.
CORRECTION: In the original version of this story, we had noted Chloe Comme Parris would be showing at World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto in October 2012. This information has since been updated, with the label instead showing at a separate fashion week, The Collections, in Toronto on October 16.
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