MONTREAL, MAY 19 – Spring seems a good time of the year for Montreal fashion. Just like the flowers are blooming, the industry is showing new colors.
New people are taking the lead of Montréal Fashion scene. It’s refreshing to see young people as motivated as they are, because they are willing to take chances and see what will happen, trying to make a difference. That’s what leads me to write about them. So through the next weeks, newcomers will be presented as they try to let their mark , here in Montréal.
The first to start this spring fashion-discovery marathon is a concept signé Heavylean.
Graduated one year ago from École Supérieure de Mode de Montréal, Évelyne Shannon-Drouin didn’t wait long before getting started. As woman who always wanted to be her own boss, she, about 2 months after graduating, created her company, Signé Heavylean . By the past, Evelyne had already worked with different designers from Montreal; she collaborated to Ying Gao’s Recreation fashion show in 2010; this experience just gave her more guts to continue working with all the variety and plenty of designers Montreal had to offer.
When asked why she created such a company, the answer is really interesting: “My different experiences showed me there’s a lack of offer for young
designers. I decided to build something to help them in different part of their development; I try to create an occasion for them to show their recent creations, to sell it and to get a good visibility for a reasonable price.”
Her event is even more attractive to young designers because it is Business-to-Consumer oriented; that way, they can establish a direct contact with their market and sell their collections. It’s a great plan because, to a short term perspective, the designer get the cash flow needed to continue his activities and be able, sadly as it sounds, to survive. Generally working with labels of 5 years or less, Evelyne learned that these kinds of events are essential for them.
In a series of events that began in August 2010 with No 1, this year she landed a second edition of her concept, called. this time .No 2. For this edition, new partnerships were created and fifteen designers confirmed their participation. Held on May 6th and 7th, in collaboration with LABoratoire Créatif, NOO Montreal and the fashion stylist agency Les Effrontés. Evelyne tried to reach new people. For the occasion, the venue was divided in three areas: a catwalk section – where the collections were presented, a boutique section – where the designer’s products could be purchased by the public, as well as a cocktail section – where visitors could relax and mingle while having a drink and a hors-d’oeuvres.
People loved it. A pure success.
What seemed important to me was highlighting the passion and the concept behind the event, because it’s how you learned to appreciate someone’s work. She really gave all of herself during these two days trying to make local talents shine. And she really succeeded to give us new hope for Montreal fashion.
For more about Signé Heavylean : www.signeheavylean.com
[MARIE-CHARLES]
Photos by Sébastien Roy.
