{"id":2491,"date":"2023-05-30T17:03:50","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T21:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/?p=2491"},"modified":"2024-12-10T11:06:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T15:06:09","slug":"the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times","title":{"rendered":"The History of Toronto\u2019s Fashion Festival: A Brand Bought and Sold Multiple Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Toronto, a city buzzing with life and cultural events, is home to some of Canada\u2019s most talked-about festivals, as highlighted by <a href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/uk\">torontoski.info<\/a>. One such event is Toronto Fashion Week, a true celebration of fashion, art, and culture. This festival has become a cornerstone for showcasing Canadian and international collections of stylish clothing while elevating Toronto&#8217;s status as a fashion hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s the story behind this iconic event, its beginnings, transformations, and the changes in ownership that shaped its journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a492a1964456\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a492a1964456\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#The_Creation_of_Toronto_Fashion_Week\" >The Creation of Toronto Fashion Week<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#The_Mission\" >The Mission<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#Growth_and_Evolution\" >Growth and Evolution<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#The_Sale_of_the_Brand\" >The Sale of the Brand<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#Renaming_the_Festival\" >Renaming the Festival<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/eternal-2491-the-history-of-torontos-fashion-festival-a-brand-bought-and-sold-multiple-times\/#A_New_Owner_and_Revival\" >A New Owner and Revival<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Creation_of_Toronto_Fashion_Week\"><\/span>The Creation of Toronto Fashion Week<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Toronto Fashion Week was established in 1999 by the Canadian Fashion Design Council under the leadership of designers <strong>Pat McDonagh<\/strong> and <strong>Robin Kay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival\u2019s inaugural event was modest in scale, held at the Windsor Arms Hotel, featuring six designers and attended by only 200 guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Mission\"><\/span>The Mission<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival\u2019s initial mission was to prepare Toronto-based designers for international recognition. It aimed to unite media, industry professionals, and consumers with buyers, fostering a vibrant platform for showcasing talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first sponsor of the event was Toronto\u2019s municipal government, marking the city\u2019s commitment to promoting its fashion industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Growth_and_Evolution\"><\/span>Growth and Evolution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 1999 to 2012, Toronto Fashion Week operated under Robin Kay and the Canadian Fashion Design Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>L\u2019Or\u00e9al Paris<\/strong> became the first corporate sponsor in 2002, and for six years, the festival was branded as <strong>L\u2019Or\u00e9al Fashion Week<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2008, sponsorship transitioned to <strong>LG Electronics<\/strong>, followed by <strong>World Mastercard<\/strong> in 2012, prompting another rebranding to reflect its new partnership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival continued to grow, attracting larger audiences and media attention while establishing itself as Canada\u2019s premier fashion event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Sale_of_the_Brand\"><\/span>The Sale of the Brand<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <strong>August 8, 2012<\/strong>, Robin Kay and the Canadian Fashion Design Council sold the Toronto Fashion Week brand to <strong>IMG<\/strong>, a global leader in event management. This marked a turning point for the festival, bringing new resources and opportunities for expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Renaming_the_Festival\"><\/span>Renaming the Festival<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <strong>February 2016<\/strong>, both L\u2019Or\u00e9al and World Mastercard ended their sponsorships. As a result, the festival was renamed to its current form, <strong>Toronto Fashion Week<\/strong>, reflecting a broader and more inclusive identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_New_Owner_and_Revival\"><\/span>A New Owner and Revival<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On <strong>July 7, 2016<\/strong>, IMG announced it was discontinuing Toronto Fashion Week due to a lack of local commercial funding. This shocking news left the future of the festival uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later that year, <strong>Peter Freed<\/strong>, the owner of Freed Developments, acquired the event, breathing new life into it. With support from sponsors such as <strong>The Hazelton Hotel<\/strong>, <strong>Yorkville Village<\/strong>, and <strong>Hill &amp; Gertner Capital Corporation<\/strong>, Freed spearheaded a revival of Toronto Fashion Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the festival\u2019s duration was shortened from seven days to three, the reimagined event retained its prestige and continued to serve as a vital platform for designers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Toronto Fashion Week remains a large-scale and highly significant event. Beyond its importance to the fashion industry, the festival offers emerging designers a unique opportunity to develop and promote their creativity. This aligns with the broader mission of fostering talent and innovation in a progressive society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By connecting Canadian talent with global audiences, Toronto Fashion Week has firmly established itself as an essential cultural and commercial event, embodying the vibrant and diverse spirit of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photo: torontofashionweek<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto, a city buzzing with life and cultural events, is home to some of Canada\u2019s most talked-about festivals, as highlighted by torontoski.info. One such event is Toronto Fashion Week, a true celebration of fashion, art, and culture. This festival has become a cornerstone for showcasing Canadian and international collections of stylish clothing while elevating Toronto&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":1186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[1432,1140,1433,830,1465,824,828,1435,826,1434],"moimportance":[581,30,33],"motype":[196],"moformat":[74],"class_list":["post-2491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-festival-en","tag-audience","tag-canada","tag-canadian-festival","tag-culture","tag-entertainment","tag-event","tag-festival","tag-performance","tag-toronto-3","tag-toronto-festival","moimportance-vichni","moimportance-golovna-novyna","moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory","motype-eternal","moformat-copywriting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2492,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491\/revisions\/2492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2491"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=2491"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=2491"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoski.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=2491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}