Fashion entrepreneur turned winemaker Anna Fendi celebrated at Innisfil dinner

DesignAgency Block Party, July 27, Toronto

To mark their quarter century, DesignAgency, the Toronto-based firm which specializes in hospitality design, hosted a special edition of their annual summertime block party. The firm’s founders Allen Chan, Matt Davis, Anwar Mekhayech have, for the past nine years, opened the doors of their Adelaide Street studio in Toronto (they have ones in L.A., Barcelona and Washington too), this year inviting some 500 guests from the design community and beyond to flood it, and the surrounding area for an evening of cocktails and cheer (DJ Ake Abe quite quickly had guests dancing). This year with the big anniversary, the celebration was extra special for the firm, which has since its founding been focused on shaping Toronto’s cultural landscape, having had a hand in hotels including the Drake and the Broadview, numerous restaurants, a concert venue as well as the revitalization of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which the firm is currently hard at work on.

From the left: DesignAgency Partners and Co-Founders Allen Chan, Anwar Mekhayech, and Matt Davis.Harry Choi/Supplied

Heather Thompson and Jameel Khan.Harry Choi/Supplied

From the left: Joyce Lo (Drake Hotel), Naomi Kriss (Kriss Communications), Kimberley Brown (Kriss Communications).Harry Choi/Supplied

From the left: Allison McColeman, Glenna Weddle (Stylist), Natalie Frenkel (Arthouse), Matt Carr (Umbra).Harry Choi/Supplied

Dinner for Anna Fendi, July 20, Innisfil, Ont.

The previous week, a dinner was held in honour of Anna Fendi. The former fashion entrepreneur turned winemaker was in Canada for the first time to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Lavazza IncluCity Festival, organized by the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (known as ICFF). The award was in recognition of her work building the Fendi fashion house into an empire (LVMH became a majority stakeholder in 2001) and her contributions to cinema as both a costume designer and collaborator to great Italian directors including Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. Ahead of the big award night held in Toronto’s distillery district, a dinner for just 75 guests was given July 20 at Friday Harbour, a luxe waterside resort just outside of the city on Big Bay Point in the township of Innisfil. The evening also served as a chance for Fendi to launch her wine collection, AFV, in Canada, which is set to hit shops later this year.