| EVENT REPORT 10.05.09 4:37 PM |
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Boobyball Adopts Kitschy Cruise Theme With Lido Deck Games, Models Dressed as Captains
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Not only did organizers of the eighth annual Boobyball manage to attract a sold-out crowd of more than 1,200 guests to Atlantis Friday, they also garnered more than 360,000 hits on YouTube with a viral video campaign. “The objective was to get people excited about the event and raise awareness about [breast cancer]. It’s taken on a life of it’s own,” said Amanda Blakley, who with Ashleigh Dempster co-founded social club the Society and created the first Boobyball in 2002.
The one-minute video stars MTV News host and 2009 event co-chair Aliya-Jasmine Sovani poolside in a white bikini. Close up shots of Sovani’s breasts are interchanged with a message that reads: “You like them. Now it’s time. To save the boobs.” The ad, created for about $100, attracted the attention of several American television networks, including ABC, CNN, and NBC. “It’s amazing the response it’s been getting. And it’s surprising how many American stations think it’s controversial,” Dempster said.
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RELATED TOPICS
Rethink Breast Cancer, RBC, Schick Quattro, Timex, Tretorn, Naked Juice, Stella Artois, Yellow Tail, Perrier, Palm Bay, Lancaster, Jose Cuervo Golden Margarita, Wiser's, Fashion magazine, MTV News |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.21.09 3:33 PM |
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Sixth Annual Buy Design Fund-Raiser Draws Guests With Social Media Campaign, Promises of Swag
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In a time of economic uncertainty, Windfall Clothing Service event manager Kelly Carmichael wanted to emphasize the return on investment for guests attending (or considering attending) the clothing bank’s "Buy Design 6: In Space" fund-raiser, held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar. “We really wanted people to know it was worth it to come,” said Carmichael, who worked with Faulhaber PR to launch a social media campaign and Web site promoting the benefit’s purpose and perks.
“Facebook and Twitter are great ways to get a dialogue going with people about the event and our organization, which is especially important in times like these," Carmichael said. The face of the Twitter campaign, BuyBarella, a character inspired by the Jane Fonda movie Barbarella, tweeted about everything from outfit ideas for the space-themed event to hints about the night’s hors d’oeuvres (like herb-crusted lamb chops), and the gift bag (stuffed with full-size beauty products from sponsor Proctor & Gamble). BuyBarella's 477 Twitter followers had a chance to win one of three sets of tickets to the benefit.
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RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, Procter & Gamble, Smashbox, L'Oréal, Hugo Boss, Stonegate, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation, Davis + Henderson, Mill Street Brewery, XOXO Wine, Skyy Vodka, Evian, Fashion Magazine, Now, The Globe and Mail, blogTO, She Does the City |
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| EVENT REPORT 11.06.08 6:02 PM |
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Fragrance Bottle Inspires Venue Choice for the Launch of Vera Wang's New Scent
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 | Bottles of Vera Wang's new fragrance at the Look launch
Photo: BizBash |
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For the launch of Vera Wang's new fragrance, Look, Aliki Mahshy, director of public relations and education for Coty Canada, wanted a venue that would enable her to create an atmosphere centered on the "art of dressing." So she chose Panorama, located on the 51st floor of the Manulife Center, for Tuesday's event. "Look is about the art of fragrance. It really is about a confident woman who really has a lot of personal style, and we wanted to create something that mimicked art," Mahshy said. "What drew me to Panorama was the idea of glass all around us. And because the bottle is so architectural, it has that real crystal cut-glass look, I really loved the idea of all these windows."
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RELATED TOPICS
Coty Canada, Fashion Magazine |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.30.08 1:19 PM |
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Boobyball Adopts Espionage Theme With Bond Girls, Gadgets
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 | The spy-themed Boobyball
Photo: BizBash |
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For the playfully named benefit known as the Boobyball, organizers called on sponsors such as Telus and Schick Quattro to create a spy-themed interactive evening on Friday for 900 guests at the Liberty Market Building. "It’s not your typical cocktail party," said Lindsay Grange, manager of special events at Rethink Breast Cancer, the fund-raiser's charity. "You’re going to have such an experience. It’s amazing for our sponsors, too, because they are really able to engage their target audience and get the product in their hands in an interesting and different way. It’s not just them handing out a postcard or sticking a postcard in a gift bag, it's them actually interacting with their customers."
The interactive components of this year's event—titled "Boobyball 7: Undercover"—started as guests checked in at a bank of computers that generated their identities for the evening and issued passports. Attendees then had to participate in five activities throughout the night to earn stamps on their passport, which they presented to pick up their gift bags at the end of the night. Inside the party, guests had the chance to participate in target practice, inspired by Rethink's exclusive line of "Fashion Targets Breast Cancer" T-shirts. Attendees could also obtain an access code from one of Schick Quattro's eight undercover agents for a chance to open one of the men's briefcases to win the prize inside, and could try to unlock a vault in the Secret Agent Lounge sponsored by Telus.
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RELATED TOPICS
Rethink Breast Cancer, Calvin Klein Underwear, Schick Quattro, Timex, Telus, Naked Juice, Tanqueray, Cuervo, Stella Artois, Red Rain, Yellow Tail, Aquafina Plus, Toronto.com, Fashion Magazine, Women's Post |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.29.08 3:03 PM |
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Dancers Show Off Shoes at Browns' Fashion Show for SickKids
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 | Dancers at the Browns' fashion show
Photo: Henry Lin |
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A team of freelance dancers from Montreal showcased the latest footwear from Brown Shoes during two fashion shows held to support the SickKids Foundation on Wednesday and Thursday. “It’s different than your typical fashion show, which is just models walking down the runway. It’s all professional dancers,” Browns buyer Kim Watt said of the "Shine in the Shadow" benefit held at Hazelton Lanes. “All the dancers are dressed in heels and they do a huge dance performance. They’re wearing all our latest fall items—the wilder more fashion kind of stuff—and the dances are all choreographed so the audience gets to really see the shoes…it’s really quite unique.”
The fashion and dance event, now in its fifth year, took place over two nights in Montreal earlier this month and here in Toronto last week. “We used to do one night free and one night for charity, and then it’s such a great show they decided to charge $20 [for admission on the first evening],” Watt said. “Browns takes care of everything, and all the proceeds go to the SickKids Foundation [at the Hospital for Sick Children].” Ticket sales for Thursday’s show, priced at $150, also benefited the hospital foundation, specifically the Philip Witchel Endowment Fund, which funds research in pediatric cardiology. The Montreal events supported the Montreal Children's Hospital.
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RELATED TOPICS
Browns Shoes, SickKids Foundation, Fashion Magazine, AXI Studio Yorkville, Lacoste, Durbanville Hills, Grand Hotel, Porter Airlines, Nars Makeup, Kim Stockwood |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.29.08 3:23 PM |
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Studio 54 Inspires Retro Vibe at Buy Design Fund-Raiser
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 | The Buy Design benefit
Photo: Courtesy of Faulhaber PR |
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Attracting volunteers to help organize Buy Design 54, the fifth annual fund-raiser for Windfall Clothing Service—inspired by the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54—held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District, wasn’t all that difficult, according to event manager Alessia Pugliese. “We never struggle to get volunteers,” said Pugliese, who credited the volunteer team for the event's success. About 50 volunteers, some of whom worked throughout the entire planning process (which began in July), helped pull off the fashion-conscious event, which raises money to support the award-winning charity that distributes new clothing and basic-needs items to Torontonians in need.
“For us, the biggest challenge, being a non-for-profit, is always money,” Pugliese said. “We put on this event on a very tight budget. We are very lucky because our volunteers are so young and most of them are in the media or fashion industry, so creativity is not a problem.” Adrian Mainella, the new host of CBC’s Fashion File, is one volunteer whose profile helped bring exposure to the event. Mainella, who has been involved with Buy Design since its inception, served as the evening’s host and donated a night out with him as one of the more than 150 items up for bid at silent and live auctions.
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RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Mill Street Brewery, Now Magazine, Fashion Magazine, She Does the City, The Globe and Mail, BlogTO, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation |
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| GUEST QUESTIONS 03.21.08 4:08 PM |
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Fashion Week Tent Poll: What Do You Think of the Shows?
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With 35 shows being held over four days, there's been plenty to see on the runway at L’Oréal Fashion Week. This season's shows have included a mix of newcomers, including Project Runway Canada winner Evan Biddell and established designers Andy Thé-Anh, David Dixon, and Pink Tartan. We asked members of the crowd for their impressions of the fall 2008 presentations.
"I think Toronto Fashion Week is growing up. And being condensed to four days really made a difference because it was hot and heavy every day, so I think it's been great. I think there's been some terrible [shows] like there is in every fashion week all around the world. I mean, Jeanne [Beker] and I were talking about this before: When we go to New York we see the seven or eight major shows, but there's two shows running parallel to each other so there's more bad than there are good. Toronto is no different. There are a lot of people trying very hard who just are not there yet. But there's some outstanding collections. Greta Constantine, world class. They will end up being the next DSquared. They are outstanding. Spectacular."
—Michael King, C.E.O. and co-founder of Kontent Publishing
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RELATED TOPICS
Fashion Week, Kontent Publishing, Flare Magazine, Fashion Magazine, Evan Biddell, Andy Thé-Anh, David Dixon, Pink Tartan, Greta Constantine, DSquared, Comrags, Project Runway Canada |
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