After four seasons in the tents at Nathan Phillips Square, LG Fashion Week—which takes place October 19 to 24—is on the move. And, according to Robin Kay, president of the Fashion Design Council of Canada, the new venue on King Street West has already proved beneficial. "I’m now working in a live space. The tents are up and I can walk through with sponsors and designers who are actually able to see, instead of imagine, what it’s going to be. They were placing a lot of trust on squiggle drawings," Kay said.
The two-acre site near King and Shaw streets has also enabled organizers to expand the event by 400 seats. "We were at capacity at Nathan Phillips. We had to turn people away. We have 1,000 seats here," she said. "The Fashion Environment where everyone goes to mingle is about 4,000 square feet larger, too."
Not only was the size and scope of the event limited at City Hall, the logistics also proved to be a challenge because of the short lead time, Kay said. "We had less than five days to put up a tent at Nathan Phillips Square. There was terrible pressure on the workers. I have a month and a half here. It’s fantastic. That’s a tremendous change in opportunity."
Despite the challenges, Kay said the previous events at Nathan Phillips Square were "pretty flawless as far as traffic flow and execution." However, she's keen to have a venue that is directly on the street. "We’re right in the community, whereas Nathan Phillips was set very far back and you didn’t know it was Fashion Week until the Monday of that week. Right now people can see that there’s action."
The runway will be inside what was the body shop of a former Chrysler dealership. "It’s totally sealed. There is no light and it’s in a solid building," Kay said. The Fashion Environment, designed by Nicholas Pinney of Nicholas Pinney Design in conjunction with Rob Dittmer of Three Events, will be housed in a 15,000-square-foot tent beside the building.
L'Oréal's hair and makeup new, larger tent on the west side of the lot will have a clear front so passersby will be able to watch the action. "There is more visibility and more integration with those who support fashion. And who doesn’t? Everyone has got a passion for fashion," Kay said.
However, Kay said it's not yet known how long LG Fashion Week will be able to use the site. "This is the future site of DNA Phase 3 condominiums. So I don’t really know," she said.
