This July,
Canada will be celebrating its 150th birthday. Canada is recognized
as one the best places in the world to live and is home to over 35 million
citizens and welcomes an average of 250,000 immigrants per year. One of
Canada’s largest and popular cities, Toronto, has a population of 2.79 million,
and according to Toronto’ Website, 54% of Toronto’s population is made up of
immigrants, but is also home to 230 different nationalities, earning Toronto a
crown of diversity. As Toronto is proclaimed to be one of the most multicultural
cities in the world and ranked as the “safest large metropolitan area in North
America” by Places Rated Almanac, Toronto can similarly be acknowledged for
being a diverse fashion forward city. From Toronto Fashion Week, TTC
advertisements and Torontonian activists, the Canadian fashion market is
unique, inspiring, and looking forward.
Less than a
decade ago, Toronto’s fashion week had seen a shift in themes of diversity
before its cancellation in 2016. Straying away from trends in Paris or Milan,
Toronto Fashion Week exhibited multi-races and a variety of cultures portrayed
on the runways to match the multicultural streets. A Jamaican-born Canadian
model, Stacey McKenzie reached out to Global News in March 2012 to talk about
model diversity and how it is growing. She states there was very little
diversity amongst the models when she first began walking in the mid-1990’s,
since then she has walked in Toronto Fashion Week multiple times and in
multiple shows. She shares her experiences of attending her local fashion week;
“Nowadays, everywhere you turn, there’s more than
one black girl…there’s more than one Asian girl. I’m even seeing East Indian
girls which is super cool because before, I would never see an East Indian girl
on the runway.” She also expresses her gratitude for Toronto representing a
“new norm” for models. As
Toronto Fashion Week appeared to be displaying an abundance of diversity, Robin
Givhan of the Washington Post believes that New York Fashion Week has some
catching up to do. On Thursday March 24th, she writes, “Each show should offer a unique representation of every conceivable
consumer. To some degree, we are looking to see near mirror-images on the
runway. But fashion has a responsibility to reflect the culture, not the
individual.” She hopes to see a more welcoming American fashion industry,
similar to Toronto’s displaying diversity and “embodying a cultural standard”. Several media outlets state that Toronto
Fashion Week’s cancellation was due to a lack of supporters but additional
claims state slut shaming and rape allegations played a larger part. If or when
Toronto’s Fashion Week is resurrected, we hope to see the diverse runways
showcasing the local talent and models once again at David Pecaut Square tent.
Although
Toronto Fashion Week has disbanded, the Toronto fashion market is consistently
booming and building a name for it through driven and activist citizens. The body positive movement is growing and
increasingly gaining attention. In May 2016, the Toronto Star interviewed local
Karyn Johnson, a largely followed Instagrammer, plus size blogger and advocate
of the body positivity movement. The
movement fires back at magazines and tabloids fat shamming women and promoting
self-love. Johnson gained inspiration to join the movement after transforming
her website, Killer Kurves, into an advice blog catering to plus-size women.
The website and advice column blossomed and encouraged empowerment for women
aged from 16 years old to middle aged women struggling with body image. Another Torontonian that joined the movement
is Jill Andrews, co-founder of the body confidence Canada Awards and has
recently voiced her opinion to the Toronto Star about the most recent TTC ad
campaign. The National Ballet teamed up with TTC to promote a new partnership –
dubbed We Move You- shows ballerinas dancing and posing in front of subway
stations and other TTC vehicles, has drawn criticism for the images
immortalizing “unrealistic and highly regimented bodies as some sort of an
ideal ‘beauty.” Andrews stated, “The body types of most ballet dancers do not
adequately represent those of most Canadians and, I dare say, Most TTC users.”
Overall, Andrews worries the images displayed on subway, busses and streetcars
spreads the wrong message of what a healthy and confident body should look
like.
Besides
social media moguls and activists, Canadian publications have represented their
country proudly by participating in a diversity report. The FashionSpot website recounted a diversity
report on advertisement in Fall 2015 reporting that Elle Canada published a
piece titled “Can Using Different Types of Models Benefit Brands?” by Ben
Barry, who is CEO of the self titled modeling agency in Toronto as well as an
assistant professor of equality, diversity and inclusion at Ryerson University,
conducted studies on how multiple factors, such as size, race, and age of
models impact a consumers decision to purchase an item in the category of
fashion. His study displayed multicultural marketing had positive results on
consumers if the brand showed commitment to diversity and the advertisement was
stylized in the same attitude as it would have been if it featured a “young,
size zero white model.” Barry’s study demonstrated two important messages;
advertisements will continue to sell not matter the age, race or size of the
model, and the Canadian consumer audience is much more open to diversity than
most American publications.
In Toronto, diversity can found around
every corner. On St. Clair West Avenue, local girl, Chealse Howell can found in
her office at Haute Agency. Haute Agency is an elegant and high-class full
service agency with a strong team of promoters, professions and an elite roster
of fashion models and brand ambassadors, all catering to luxury events. Chealse is not just a co-founder of the
agency but has been modeling for multiple years, launched an acting career and
was crowned Miss. Universe in 2015. Haute Agency’s roster is a mix of
multicultural and racial male and females, dividing Haute from many other
agencies that cast predominately white, size zero, blonde models. Chealse states
that, “At Haute Agency we are know to be one
of the most excepting and diverse agencies in Toronto, I think this is a huge
attribute because this has opened many doors allowing us to cater to multiple
industries including fashion, music, TV/film and promotions. We are also known
for being a boutique agency that takes on a small amount of talent but ensure
all of our talent are consistently auditioning and booking not just sitting on
our roster.” With influences from Canadian icon, Coca Rocha, and believing
Toronto is becoming more known for its fashion and retail scene, Chealse and
her team display a great amount of diversity by providing new jobs and
opportunities for men and women of multiple races and nationalities to become
successful in the Toronto modeling and fashion world.
As Canada displays a profusion of diversity, many
improvements are still under construction. The no-more Toronto Fashion Week has
abolished opportunities for models and Canadian
designers to showcase their talented abilities and agencies to showcase their
diverse models. Also, the lack of body positive advertisement in the local TTC
is upsetting for a majority of passengers. Although circumstances could- and
have - been worse, Toronto proudly welcomes various types of diversity amongst
its fashion market and niche. As one of
the most multi-cultural countries in the world, our Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau, sums up our efforts and accomplishments best by stating “Compassion, acceptance, and trust; diversity and inclusion—these
are the things that have made Canada strong and free. Not just in principle,
but in practice. […] Let’s show the world the very best of what that means.” And as for Toronto, the city will continue to grow and
look forward to express diversity.
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