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.
The marketing team from Browns Shoes in Montreal coordinated the performance. “All the crew is from Montreal, all the dancers are from Montreal, the choreography is from Montreal…our choreographers practiced for three weeks in Montreal and put the show together,” said Anne-Marie Balacki, marketing coordinator at Browns. “We were lucky enough to have Porter Airlines on board with us, who actually flew the whole crew down as a sponsorship.”
The crew, which constructed a stage in the rotunda of the Hazelton Lanes shopping centre, used black draping to divide the runway from the cocktail area, located on the concourse level. “It’s always been held in Hazelton Lanes because the venue is great. It’s right next to our store, and we have a space for cocktails afterwards—that makes it ideal,” Balacki said.
Montreal-based Artech Multimedia served as the technical director for the show, produced by Françine Potvin. The Moment Factory created the multimedia projections which served as a backdrop for the performance. Vincent Fournier handled the lighting, and Axel Pépin served as the artistic director. Urban Source, the only Toronto-based vendor involved with the event, handled the catering.
Singer Kim Stockwood performed, and Canada AM’s Beverly Thomson hosted the event. “We have speeches from a doctor who’s going to talk about where the money is going, and we have a speech from Robert Witchel and his wife; they created a fund named for Phillip Witchel, who is their son that they lost at 18 months. It’s actually quite moving,” Balacki said.
More than 500 guests attended Thursday's performance and 700 came out on Wednesday evening. "We’re very pleased with the event," Balacki said. "Not everyone likes to sit around and watch a fashion show, but everyone is totally entertained by this and the question after the show is always, ‘What are you going to do next year?’”
