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ERAN ELFASSY AND ELISA DAHAN are the designers behind Montreal-based brand Mackage, which presented during TFW for many years, and last season closed the week with an off-site presentation: “One of the things we felt about TFW was that they stopped screening the brands that were showing. The best thing that could arise from developing a new fashion week would be to curate real talent and have it be less about commercialism. It became more of a business, which is unfortunate, because the whole goal of fashion week to us is to show how amazing our talent is. It should be something that’s motivating, refreshing and innovative. Also, showing off-site allowed us to do what we wanted – it was very hard to be creative in the official TFW environment because of all the rules and regulations.”GEORGE PIMENTEL

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PATRICIA WONG is a jewellery designer who was featured as part of the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s Press & Buyers Brunch, a two-day trade show style event that took place during TFW: “I think this is a great opportunity to give our shows a more intimate setting and to take them out of that larger format. A group of designers could collaborate on a more formal event, like the days of salon shows in the 1940s. It would be great for social media to have images not of runway shots, but of invited guests – including editors – wearing the garments and accessories. I also think an event like the TFI Press and Buyers Brunch would be good to continue; it was a great way for me to not only meet editors, but other designers."

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JENNIFER TOROSIAN is a women’s-wear designer who made her TFW runway debut this past March with her fall 2016 collection: “Having the shows presented earlier in the season would be helpful. I do understand that TFW had to run later than the main international shows, but it’s difficult to grow as a designer when you’re showing collections to the media, consumers and retailers so much later. And I’d like to see importance placed on inviting key international journalists to attend the shows like they do in other cities. I’d also like see the government show more support and consider fashion part of our arts and culture, and put an emphasis on the fact that our fashion industry is important. I think Canadian consumers would take what we do more seriously.”

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HAYLEY ELSAESSER is a Toronto-based designer who participated in her first TFW in October 2014: “As a designer, it’s been difficult at times to portray what I want to do on the runway; for example, I really wanted to do an interactive carnival experience for my last collection. This could definitely be a good way for the industry here to take this as a learning experience. I know that in the past, Toronto has always followed suit with what has been done, and was not really innovating. This is an opportunity for us to be more technologically advanced in the way we do fashion shows. Perhaps a technology company can take over so that we can do something new and different.”

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ANDREW COIMBRA is a men’s-wear designer who has participated in Toronto Men’s Fashion week. He presented his most recent collection at an independent off-site location: “It would be really nice to see increased funding from the government. Independent designers should be funded to a degree because fashion can be such a great cultural engine, and of course, events [should be funded] as well. Another helpful thing would be to have a buying week, or have a bridge that links Canadian designers to international buying weeks. The way that Toronto Fashion Week worked didn’t help anyone except Toronto Fashion Week – by the time the shows were presented, retailers didn’t have budgets left. It also conflicted with Seoul’s fashion week, and many international media outlets and buyers would rather go there."MACKENZIE JAMES

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