Upcoming Events! The Retailer's Point of View and The Ultimate Holiday Dress Competition

Art of Fashion is teaming up with The Retail Assembly and Fresh Collective for an exciting event for Canadian designers looking to grow their business on July 8^th, 2014 at Fresh Collective boutique at 692 Queen Street West.  (Please click here to purchase tickets.) 

Laura-Jean Bernhardson, CEO and founder of Fresh Collective will be dishing out crucial information for designers about how Fresh Collective runs their business.  She will also be revealing industry intel, the secrets of success and explain the cost to both the retailer and designer of having a garment sold in a boutique. 

Laura-Jean will also be explaining how both wholesaling and consignment work for the designer and the retailer. 

Excitingly, Laura-Jean will also be giving insight into what customers are looking for both in the design and functionality of a garment.  There will also be a Q & A session, where Laura-Jean will be able to answer all your pressing questions on how to take your career as a designer to the next level.

At this event, Art of Fashion will also be launching our new design competition, in partnership with The Retail Assembly and Fresh Collective, called “The Ultimate Holiday Dress”.  In an effort to reach a more diverse selection of designers we are revitalizing our approach by launching several smaller scale yet targeted competitions.  This will not only allow us to better educate and help Canadian designers get their start, it will also ensure that designers who participate in our competitions can truly take advantage of the designer benefits Art of Fashion strives to provide them with. 

This is where our new design competition The Ultimate Holiday Dress comes in!  Art of Fashion and Fresh Collective are excited to give Canadian designers the opportunity to design the ultimate holiday dress and have it sold in Fresh Collective boutiques.  Designers are encouraged to submit designs that are sexy, fun and most importantly marketable to consumers and appropriate for the holiday season. 

The top 5 designers chosen from all the applications received will get invaluable one-on-one mentorship from Laura-Jean regarding their designs.

After meeting with Laura-Jean, the top 3 designers will be announced and tasked with producing a sample garment and take part in an “Innovation Station”, held at a Fresh Collective boutique as an opportunity for Fresh Collective consumers and staff to give feedback about their design.  This is a great opportunity for designers to learn more about what their customer wants and how to effectively sell their vision. 

Once all the feedback has been received, a winner will be announced.  If that designer has successfully completed all stages of the competition and produced a marketable dress, they will receive a contract with Fresh Collective and have their design sold in the boutique.  

This is a very exciting and unique opportunity for designers and applications are now available on our website at www.artoffashion.org.  Please note that the submission deadline for all applications is August 1st, 2014 at 5:00pm. 

If you are interested in purchasing tickets or finding out more event details about our upcoming event, The Retailer's Point of View, click here.  There are a limited number of tickets available so gets yours today! 

Trunk Show Application Deadline Extended!

Photo: Jason Raposo
http://www.jasonraposo.com/

Art of Fashion is pleased to announce that the deadline for designers applying to participate in their acclaimed annual trunk show at Nuit Blanche this year has been extended until September 20th.
The trunk show provides an amazing opportunity for up-and-coming designers to showcase their work and reach consumers, media and the fashion industry. Guests of the trunk show will vote on their favourite exhibit, selecting the winner of “Best Exhibit” who will be awarded a cash prize and the chance to display their work in the street-level window display of a leading Toronto fashion outlet.
The Trunk Show will take place during Art of Fashion’s annual design competition at Kingwest Fitness in Liberty Village during Nuit Blanche on Saturday, October 2nd, 2010. To apply, designers should visit www.artoffashion.org/labelleepoque and fill out the submission form before Monday, September 20, 2010.

Art of Fashion Inc. is an award-winning not-for-profit organization that is committed to fostering the careers of Canadian apparel and accessory designers by creating platforms for exposure.

Photos and Judges: La Belle Epoque is coming together

Lots of news on our upcoming design competition!  First, and most important: if you've been thinking of applying for the competition or trunk show, the time has come to get those applications in!

The deadline for application is Tuesday, August 31st - right around the corner!  Visit our website at www.artoffashion.org/labelleepoque to download the submission form.

Secondly, we're proud to announce that we've done a beautiful photoshoot to explore the look of this year's theme, La Belle Epoque.  Due to some uploading issues, please check them out on our Twitter and Facebook pages (for now)!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we're thrilled to announce some of this year's industry judging panels.  We are absolutely honoured to have Cynthia Rea, Sarah Casselman, Liz West and Roy Nicholls confirmed for this year's event. It's names like these that give the design competition so much clout and affirm its standing as a unique opportunity for up-and-coming designers.

Thanks to everyone who's been involved so far, and designers... don't forget to sign up!

Call for Designers! Art of Fashion Needs You!

That's right, up-and-coming designers!  The Art of Fashion needs you.  To download the Designer Application, visit our Belle Epoque microsite at artoffashion.org/labelleepoque, or click here.