On Thursday night, Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, the duo behind fashion label Greta Constantine, presented their spring/summer 2010 collection to an audience of 600 guests in an underground parking garage at the Audi Downtown Toronto dealership.
Jen Foster, director of corporate partnerships at Style for Style, planned the event on behalf of her designer clients and brought on presenting sponsors Audi and Rado, as well as Holt Renfrew, Hästens, and Bang & Olufsen. “All of the brands are very design oriented,” Foster said, explaining that the designers wanted to showcase like-minded brands at the pre-Fashion Week show.
Upon arrival guests received paper wristbands designed to look like Rado timepieces, which included seating assignments for the runway show. “Everyone had the opportunity to wear a Rado for the night,” Foster said. Rado also created a luxury boutique where guests could shop for high-end watches and set up a photo booth where attendees could have their picture snapped for a personalized action flip book.
Prior to the show, guests mingled on the main floor of the dealership for a two-hour cocktail reception, catered by Nyood. Bang & Olufsen handled the audio for the evening, and DJ Eve Salvail, a New York-based model, spun tunes for guests. Screens throughout the venue broadcast Holt Renfrew’s Vignettes; two short fashion-oriented films debuted by the retailer during the Toronto International Film Festival last month. “Holt Renfrew came on board because Greta Constantine sells exclusively at Holt's,” Foster said.
At 9 p.m., guests walked a red carpet (adorned with the Holt Renfrew logo) along a ramp that led to the dealership’s underground garage. Three Audi vehicles, with headlights beaming, provided a backdrop for the show, held on a 140-foot runway.
In honour of the partnerships with Audi and Rado, Wong and Pickersgill opened the show with three models in designs created using seat belt fabric and fashioned an additional three garments inspired by the luxury watch brand to close the show, which continued uninterrupted despite problems with the sound system. “We had so many sound checks, but someone walking by kicked a cable loose just before the show,” Foster said. “The good thing about it was everyone focused on the collection.”
Beverage sponsors included Jackson Triggs, Strut, Wyborowa Exquisite Wodka, Peroni, and VitaminWater.
