It’s Fashion Time in the City!

It’s the 2009 LG Fashion Week this week and it goes without saying that fashionistas, publicists, industry representatives and observers have flocked to Toronto to catch a look at the glitter and glam that is strutting the runways. This years theme was Show Love. What I’m more interested in is what is happening off the runway. Toronto hosts a yearly Alternative Fashion Week, which happens later on in April in the Distillery District (55 Mill Street). This year’s theme is one that captivated me.

From April 21st to the 24th, 2009 there is a nightly theme: Home, Planet, Gutter and Beyond. The first night and the last night look at where fashion has come from and where it is going to go and how it will adapt to get there. The other two nights, Planet and Gutter look at the intersection of fashion, environment and society.

As the website describes, “Planet on April 22nd looks at the current state of the globe, and showcases work which deals with fashion and art in relationship to the environment and sustainability. Gutter on April 23rd explores the nature of survival and the ways in which clothing negotiates a state of being which involves limitations. This theme looks at the social, political, cultural and economical aspects of a place which is in transition, on the edge, marginalized, raw, uncomfortable, unsettling, unresolved, shifting and extreme“.

When it comes to development, I am always trying to combine my interests and hopefully this four night event which promises to explore how art and fashion are effected by the state of being of the people and places it comes from, will do just that. With a growing trend in consumers seeking out ethical and sustainable food and goods, fashion is no exception. The way our clothing is made and where it comes from is not often something that we put a lot of thought to. In doing a google search, there are more companies then ever selling organic cotton, fair trade cloth, sustainable shoes, etc.

This year, the 2009 London Fashion Week in february kicked off with a show by the ethical label Noir and an exhibition called Esthetica which featured thirteen fair trade designers and generated a lot of buzz.  This is definitely a subject I would like to explore further! Until then, I hope to see you at the Alternative Fashion Show in April!