The ZINE by StyleCircle

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Published January 2019 www.stylecircle.org EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alicia Churilla

2. WHO IS #TORONTOFASHION?

3. STILL AS LIFE 5. IN MOTION 4. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

1. RUE MODERNE

6. TO BE SEEN

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ARTIST: Iman Munier

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WHO IS

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' 9!@ (!9,-32 -9 !2 -&'2ধ;@T #<; >,!; &3'9 ;,!; 8'!ÂŁÂŁ@ 1'!2S On an individual basis, it allows one to express themselves before even speaking a word. Though sometimes underestimated, a single outfit can have the power to let other people see who you are through a microscopic lens, allowing your personality to radiate through an eclectic wardrobe, an eye-catching accent, or monochromatic minimalism. Even the decision to not put any effort into your outfit says something about who you are. Fashion is a first impression—a glimpse into the lives of John or Jane Smith. It’s like wearing a name tag, but louder, and somehow, without even saying your name, a person gets to know who you are on a profoundly creative level. Fashion can be your most honest voice. If we continue on this train of thought, of fashion being a mode of identity, it’s somewhat explanatory for that ambiguous chemical reaction that occurs when the words “Toronto fashionâ€? are uttered. And when we hear this, it’s usually in the context of the brain-rattling question that industry professionals in Toronto have been pondering over for years: What is Toronto Fashion? The answer is blurred, and frankly, it’s not only a question in the realm of fashion. Our local designers, urbanists, and cre-

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atives alike all struggle when asked to encapsulate precisely how to define the city of Toronto. Yes, on paper Toronto is a successfully industrialized city. It’s Canada’s economic powerhouse and the most densely populated area of the province. Despite the fact that it still doesn’t bear the title of being a megacity, it’s an extremely attractive destination for young professionals or those soon-to-be, with a diverse amount of employment opportunities and nearly ten Universities and Colleges in the city (including our very own Ryerson University). On a global scale, Toronto is viewed to be a multicultural city, welcoming people from all countries in its still relatively short history. According to StatsCan, 20.6% of Canada’s population was foreign born in 2011. In Toronto, we can see diversity reflected in our neighbourhoods and though it may be an obvious example of cultural segregation, it highlights representation of the different heritages that have come to Canada. Roncesvalles, Cabbagetown, Koreatown, while today recognized as hip and gentrified areas of the city, once were favoured clusters of Polish, Irish, and Korean immigrants and that’s something still visible in the storefronts. However, Toronto is not exclusively immigrants as we cannot fail to recognize the Indigenous history. The city exists on the territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the New Credit, all part of the Dish With One Spoon Treaty. Indigenous heritage is wildly creative, artistic, and crucial to Canadian culture—there is even the Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto presenting the fashion work of Indigenous designers. These are only a few examples, but with each varying culture existing in Toronto comes a unique blend of tradition and style. This will ultimately translate into the evolution of one’s wardrobe. Toronto wears its own facade of “multiculturalism” but there’s an untapped opportunity of how it can utilize this multiculturalism for its fashion identity. Contributing to Toronto’s global perception is its incredible music scene. We can’t get through this piece without mentioning Drake. Love him or hate him, good ol’ Aubrey brought twelve

SHION?

Toronto’s name to the mainstream, coining “the 6ix” and paying tribute to his hometown wherever and whenever he can. But that’s not to take away the spotlight from all the talented musicians coming out of Toronto. Daniel Caesar, Rhye, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Broken Social Scene, to name a handful, all hail from Ontario. So yes, Toronto has a lot to offer in the realm of culture. But before going too far into a tangent, let’s hone in on fashion, and bring it back to our original interrogation of Toronto fashion. On a global scale, we have our emblematic capitals: Paris, New York, Milan, London. Each of these bear distinct

its few years of fashion weeks have commanded global attention, representing Scandinavia for its minimalism, while embracing contrasting quirkiness and eccentricities. Berlin, similar to New York, defines street style, but with the authentic grunge that so decadently represents the city’s history. And Tokyo, well...let’s just say Japan is always pushing boundaries, and its fashion is no different, where elegance is coupled with a modern creativity to create true art. This brings us back to Toronto. Despite also having an annual fashion week of its own, our urban city fails to make the list of the noteworthy. Toronto remains so quiet when it comes to having

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and unique roles in the industry and have been our Kings and Queens of fashion, declaring what must be worn on our bodies for up to a century. Paris, the land of haute couture and classicism, Milan, home of traditional culture and exclamatory statement, New York, the urban destination for street style, and London, for regality and preppy chic. We even have burgeoning fashion regions, such as Copenhagen, Berlin, Tokyo, that have allowed their idiosyncrasy to help them emerge as notable fashion destinations. Copenhagen and

global fashion recognition, you could hear a sewing needle drop. Now, this is a true modern day tragedy because it’s not that the YYZ lacks talent. Look at what’s coming out of labels Beaufille, Sid Neigum, Erdem, all of which have ties to Toronto. Phenomenal collections, to say the least. Each of them are exemplary for keeping personally precious styles that have caught the eye of the global markets, but even these designers have felt the pressures to push their work and relocate to more reputable fashion capitals.

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Meanwhile, the “made in Canada” mania is perhaps one for the better, especially with the local economy in mind. We have brands, such as OVO and Peace Collective that are successful off their Canadian (or Drake) nationalism. Additionally, there are emerging brands such as KOTN for sustainable basics who have just expanded into New York, and Mejuri, transparent jewelry with a strong digital presence. Even commercial brands like Roots and Canada Goose fit Canadian stereotypes of cottage wear and -30° appropriate jackets but have been sported by many overseas and despite these being manufactured in China, and being ethically controversial they at least are tributary in bringing Canada’s wintery persona around the world. But is that all Canada and Toronto is? Cold? Surely not. Toronto has personality, I assure you. It’s young and spirited. As mentioned, it’s diverse through varying heritages. Toronto is a machine when it comes to generating artists, creatives, and intellects. The city is also incredibly dynamic and hard working, with a powerful energy and ambition to prove it. Toronto is not dull. In fact, it’s everything but dull. We take one long look at the Toronto fashion scene and what else comes to mind but the word potential: a word with the double-entendre of being good, but also not quite enough. Yet, the ability to do more and be better is there. We cannot say that Toronto isn’t doing well, it’s just so evident that there’s the room to grow into something greater. It will happen too. There’s a need to tap into this creative capital that the city is churning out. We, as creators, need to make great things and we need to do it loudly. But above all, we need to find out Toronto’s identity. Toronto is not a cluster of girls dressed head-to-toe in Aritzia or Lululemon. As Torontonians, we are versatile. We are diverse. And we are innovative. So in an open letter to future Toronto, we ask: Who is Toronto Fashion? The answer is you. 9

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ARTIST: Alicia Churilla

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ohnny Weissmuller once said “with but few exceptions, it is always the underdog who wins, through sheer willpower.� Of course at the time he was referring to his career, in retrospect, as a successful competitive swimmer, actor and author. He spoke of determination and the benefit of having your abilities underestimated. Weismuller believed the underdog always wins because they always have to work to get where they want to go; every advance, no matter how small, is a victory and the harder one works the sweeter the achievement. In my view, similar can be said of the determination, grit and creativity of Canadian fashion designers who continue to succeed, surprise and secure growth opportunities for themselves, both at home and abroad, despite hailing from an environment that does little to sup-

port them. But no matter how frequently our homegrown heroes prove to be underdogs of the best kind, there are numerous reasons as to why their journeys are significantly more challenging than others. Geographic isolation, a bad economy, industry infancy, lack of substantive funding and government support are predominant factors; but those shall be addressed later. !2!&-!2 !9,-32 ’ 3832;3 !9,-32 Fashion capitals are cities whose economic impact, educational institutions and brands shape the trends we see, follow and covet each season. New York, London, Paris and Milan are who we look to and rarely do we utter “here are the trends from America or Europe�. Rarely do we speak of fashion countries

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because the actions and trends of one region or town do not always speak to what’s occurring across the entire nation. The exception comes when we speak of emerging markets, Canada being one example, as it is much simpler to refer to the country when a discernable dominating city has yet to surface. Even when a dominant fashion center emerges others try to catch up and sneak in. Depending on who in the Canadian industry you ask, they may remind you of Vancouver and Montreal, and they’re not wrong to do so. Both cities have wonderfully dynamic talent. But nobody refers to the offshoot fashion cities in the US or the UK when looking for the next season’s trends; we know and care only about New York, London, Milan and Paris. Los Angeles, Austin and Chicago have noteworthy fashion but they are not gatekeepers. Why shall we attempt anything different when we barely have one city dominating the trends of this country, capable of drawing international press and buyer attention?

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+' '(38' '!<;@ So why does Canada lag so far behind the other fashion epicenters? Firstly, we are a few centuries too young. Canada as we know it is only 151 years old where London on the other hand was first settled by the Romans in the 1st century A. The first traces of human activity in Paris date back to 8000 BC, which

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Thanks to Drake, theWeeknd and a certain pair of Duchesses, the international community has come to know that Toronto = Canada. Alongside the work of Toronto Fashion Week, CAFA and RE\SET, Toronto has emerged as Canada’s hotbed for style and design. At this time, Canadian fashion already means “Toronto fashion” because this is where everything meaningful for our industry is happening.

was during the Mesolithic period. “The written history of New York City began with the…explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524” (Wikipedia, 2018). This isn’t to say they had roaring fashion industries from the get go, but they have quite a head start. So when you compare the histories of these fashion cities to Canada, it becomes clear that with more time they have developed their cultural industries in ways Canada is just starting to. They’ve also had more time to develop their governments’ support of it.

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!0' 32'@ 3='9 When one looks at the government supports available for fashion design in the UK, it makes you want to jump for joy at the possibilities for what a relationship between government and the arts can be. Then you weep when you think of what designers here have access to. For starters the British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit partially funded by the British government, centered on identifying, developing and exporting British fashion designers and professionals. Their literal mission statement is: “The British Fashion Council is committed to developing excellence and growth in a sector that is a significant contributor to the British economy. We nurture, support and promote British fashion talent to a global market,” (BFC, 2018). Last time I checked Canada didn’t have a Canadian Fashion Council, and what we did have once upon a time (the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC), founded by Robyn Kay; now defunct) did nothing to actually motivate the government toward funding fashion. The City of Toronto recognizes fashion as a significant cultural and economic sector, but currently no funding exists for designers working in the city. The BFC also hosts/runs London Fashion Week (LFW), LFW Men’s, The British Fashion Awards, The London Showrooms and LFW Festival. The FDCC once helped establish Toronto Fashion Week, but it was really the City of Toronto’s baby. ££ !-£ ,' 8-;9 It should be noted that in partnership with the British government, the City of London, and other private and corporate

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of the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) which is a non-profit acting in essentially the same manner as the BFC, but for Canadians. The only distinction is that CAFA is not a registered charity…yet. The money up for grabs through CAFA is $20,000 CAD, and it isn’t even for winning, it’s provided through The Suzanne Rogers Designer Grant for International Development. A start, but so much more can be done. To pour more salt on our jealous wounds, since establishment in 1996 the CFDA Scholarship Program has awarded $1.7 million to 251 to fashion design students attending leading American colleges and universities. So we’ve talked about age and we’ve talked about money. So now let’s talk about data. !£0 !;! 3 ' twenty-four

patrons, the BFC has supported designers and fashion businesses with £1.6M in investment capital since 2011, through their British Fashion Trust. Additionally, the BFC x Vogue Fashion Fund has awarded one winning designer £200,000 every year since its inception in 2008. That’s over £2M in funding over ten years. An example a little closer to home would obviously be the work of the Council for Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in New York. The CFDA x Vogue Fashion Fund has, since its founding in 2003, granted over 35 designers with $5.9M in funding. Every year the winning designer receives a grant of $400,000 plus various industry mentorships, and the two runners up each receive $150,000 plus industry mentoring. The biggest grant currently available to Canadian designers comes by way

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!ÂŁ0 !;! 3 ' Data on the state of fashion in Canada is fragmented and incomplete. Over the years various parties (e.g. Fashion Design Council of Canada, Statistics Canada and the City of Toronto) have attempted to conduct their own research on the portion of the industry most important to them (i.e. design, manufacturing, textile production, etc.). But what is most problematic about this approach is that it is haphazard and inconclusive. Figures from different studies are not comparable because a) there’s no universal definition of what the ‘fashion industry’ is, nor has data been collected using a universal methodology or format. The most conclusive data on fashion in “Canadaâ€? dates back to 2011 when the Apparel Human Resources Council conducted a Labour Market Information Study (LMIS) that found 75,000 people were employed by the apparel industry. Although this is both helpful and optimistic, what “apparel industryâ€? was defined as is unknown, thus causing inaccuracy and incomparability. As of 2016 the City of Toronto’s Fashion & Apparel Division estimated there were 28,000 fashion designers in Ontario and the industry contributed $790 million to Canada’s GDP. Both of which are significantly lower than the 2011 data. Now you see where the confusion starts. But despite the less than nurturing environment, our designers are succeeding in true underdog style. The last year has been instrumental for designers across the country whether it’s being worn by the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle (Sentaler), models Bella and Gigi Hadid (Ellie Mae Studios) or by presenting to a full house at Toronto Fashion Week x RE/SET. Designers are making waves internationally by partnering with influencers like Danielle Bernstein (BytheNamesake) and Olivia Lopez (Sid Neigum) respectively. Canadian designers are starting to take control of how the world sees them, and people are paying attention. But by no means does that imply the work is done. Quite the opposite in-fact.

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Official government recognition of fashion as both a cultural and economic driver. Most grants allotted to the BFC from the government are from the Innovation, Economic Development and International Trade divisions—maybe going the “culture” route is barking up the wrong tree (for now others may jump on board once someone else does it first).

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Substantially funded, recurring grants for fashion designers. Globally, fashion is a $3 trillion industry and is estimated to employ more than 1.8 million people, according to the Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company. The fashion industry directly contributed £32.3billion to the UK GDP in 2017 ($41.8 billion) and employs close to 900,000 people across the sector. New York Fashion Week generates $1M during its five-day duration. The Canadian government by contrast cannot seem to figure out that fashion acts as both a cultural and economic driver that has the ability to raise employment, kick-start businesses, foster international relations, and grow the economy.

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Increased meaningful partnership between government and industry, and between industry and academia to bridge the granting and awareness gaps and expose designers to the grants that are available and most valuable to them. The fashion industry needs to be realistic about which designers/brands actually have the capacity to make it in the global marketplace. But designers themselves need to be equally ruthless in self-assessment. Too few designers seem to be asking themselves the hard questions regarding why they’re producing, or what they want their businesses to look like, and offer, in the long run. Even fewer seem to be looking to other emerging brands’ tactics for making waves and gaining media attention from international press.

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We, the members of the industry, need to collectively promote those designers that have a unique point of view, and have what it takes to compete with the Proenza Schouler’s and Ganni’s and Stella McCartney’s of the world. How else can we continue our provenance of producing game-changing underdogs? First of all, we need money. 9

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epresentation didn’t matter nearly as much to me when I was a kid as it does now. Years back it was more of a solemn acceptance on my part—that I wouldn’t see people like me in movies, advertisement or as the proudly smiling face of a fashion brand and this is just the way that it is. Representation became a privilege in my eyes, and to gain access to such a pretty platform I’d have to be ten times better than everyone else. And so I’d push myself to emulate the images I saw, repeat to myself “well, your nose isn’t that big�, running a pressuring, judgmental finger down the bridge as if to shave inches off it. “You just need to get rid of some of this,� I’d repeat when staring at the toned, tanned bodies from the pages of monochromatic magazine scenes. And so my dreams became sculpted replicas of these scenes, living the nuclear white life with a nose that’s not too big and lips that were smaller and hips that were narrower and hair that was zapped into a pin straight, curl-less carpet on my head. ‘If I could just edit this and cut this and paste these parts, then maybe I could get that platform, maybe then my voice could be just as loud as the people in the pictures.’

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I don’t feel like that anymore today, but I do feel bad for any young person of colour who has seen these images and mutilated their sense of self in order to blend into it. Because what I learned eventually is that one day you will stare past all the edits and cuts you’ve carved into your reflection, let out a deep sigh, and realize that you still are and always will be coloured. This presents the problem with the current state of representation in media, that no

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SEEN I want to say, to all people of colour, that we don’t need to be a runner in this race for a phantom prize. In fact, the real prize can be found no farther than where we began, with the skin we were born into. And today, more and more young creatives of colour are choosing to tout this beauty without holding anything back, as we’ve been taught to do for so many years. I’m inspired by people like James Flemons, creator of sustainable fashion brand Phlemuns, who uses a beautifully diverse cast to model his creations. I’m inspired by Oroma Elewa, fashion editor and performance artist who makes art aiming to enhance the visibility of contemporary Africa. I’m inspired by Alejandro Gómez Palomo, creator of the menswear brand Palomo Spain, which combines the tailoring of the masculine and feminine

with aesthetics lifted from his home of southern Spain. I am inspired by Vogue UK editor in chief Edward Enninful, who has brought a larger discussion of diversity to the magazine in his one year as editor than in the magazine’s entire history. Now that I’m older, representation is of extreme importance to me; not because I think it is something to which I must attain, but because it’s something I deserve. Furthermore, it’s something I deserve without having to change myself to fit a more popular mold. Although there are many pitfalls to representation in media, the age we are currently in is showing more and more creatives like the aforementioned representing themselves, declaring that they are perfect just as they are. And this gives hope to the kid that didn’t want such a big nose or such dark skin. And hopefully, with more opportunities like these where we get to speak our truth, we’ll eradicate the oppressive silencing of identity. Because it’s important that the kids of the next generation know that there is more than one way to beautiful, and that they won’t find it in denying themselves the bodies they were born into. 9 thirty-four

matter how many times we try to say ‘it’s just the way things are’, we’re actively ignoring that the way things have been structured around keeping people of colour out. How can you win a race that you’re not even counted in? How can you achieve ‘the perfect look’ when it doesn’t matter what you do, because you’re immediately devalued because of the colour of your skin?

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