Haute couture meets Alfred Hitchcock is the theme for this year’s Fashion Cares fund-raiser—being held November 1 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to benefit the AIDS Committee of Toronto—organizers revealed Wednesday. Event chair Michael King described the upcoming gala, dubbed Fashion Scares, as “a Halloween weekend spectacle…a fancy-dress costumed affair that takes it’s theme from the master of suspense…and a marvelous excuse to exhibit sartorial excess for a community that loves any excuse to dress up.”
Wednesday’s launch, held at the Brant House, offered a preview from some of the 40 designers set to participate in the runway show at the 22nd annual gala. Models donned creations by David Dixon, Pam Chorley, Greta Constantine, and Izzy Camilleri. “We’re putting fashion back in Fashion Cares,” King said of the event, which is being organized by artistic director and producer Phillip Ing. The vice president of special and retail events for M.A.C. Cosmetics is back after stepping down for a year. (Ing was not involved in last year’s gala, which received mixed reviews after moving from the MTCC to the Distillery District for the first time.)
In addition to unveiling the theme, King reported that the gala’s traditional boutique is being replaced by a new event entitled Out of the Closet. The auction and sale, to be held a month after the gala, will include items from the runway show as well as garments from the closets of celebrities such as Elton John. The gala will still feature a live auction, with the opportunity to win a trip to Asia, and a silent auction featuring 35 items, including a limited-edition Evian crystal bottle designed by Christian Lacroix.
King also announced two musical guests, Katy Perry and Kreesha Turner, but would not reveal the headliner, saying only that the star "is a dame." Toronto native David Furnish, best known as Elton John’s partner, will host the evening. Furnish will be joined by a number of celebrity co-hosts whose identities will be revealed at a later date.
Event sponsors include BMO Financial Group, LG Canada, M.A.C. Viva Glam, CTV, the Globe & Mail, CHUM FM, and Sir magazine.
