Attending events is a refreshing way to nurture your interests. If you’re a fashion lover consider the following types of events to discover new facets of the industry. Hopefully you feel inspired to explore one or all of these and feel newfound appreciation for fashion.
Pop-Up Markets
A pop-up market is one of the most stimulating places to go as a fashion lover! There’s a big selection of markets you can attend all over the GTA. Shopping here is a way to directly support local businesses and an opportunity to meet experts in whatever it is you’re interested in buying! There are so many types of markets but if you love fashion, vintage pop-ups are the most exciting! These are a great place to find unique and highly curated clothes and accessories. On top of clothing, you can find vendors or even whole markets that specialize in other cool items like vintage furniture, cameras, records and more! If you’re looking for more than vintage you can attend markets that feature women-owned businesses (Her Market), wedding goods (Love Again by Love Shack and Neighbourhood Market), handmade items (Good Friends), books (Neighbourhood Market) or art (Toronto Outdoor Art Fair). There are so many more you can find if you research your local area. Whatever your niche is you can find a pop-up market for it!
Panels and Talks
If you like learning about new perspectives or deepening your understanding of existing ones, attending panel discussions is a great way to engage with the fashion world. There is a vast range of topics covered in the industry as well as many professionals that share their thoughts in this setting. This makes it likely for you to find a topic that resonates with you. If you like the convenience of watching from wherever you are, pre-recorded TED talks, like The Simple Solution to Fast Fashion by Josephine Philips, are a great option. Fashion essays on Youtube like Issey Miyake Isn’t Dead He’s Immortal by Bliss Foster is another asynchronous and remote option. If you’d like to explore live and in-person talks, post-secondary schools near you are a good starting point to find these kinds of talks. For Toronto locals, TMU often hosts panels with topics like What Does Fashion Look Like When You Include Others?. Revered institutions like Parsons also offer discussions that are open to the public, such as the Pushing Fashion Forward Alumni Conversation.
Fashion Shows
Fashion shows are a celebration and offering of completed works by a designer, and all the supporters that help bring their vision to life (models, stylists, makeup artists and more). Shows are an exhilarating environment to be in and often a general inspiration. Whether you are a designer yourself, just starting to get into fashion, or have expertise in a completely different field, seeing the manifestations of someone’s ideas through garments can spark new ideas for you! Fashion is an inevitable art form that exists all over the world. Wherever you are you can likely find local runway shows hosted by fashion focused organizations, schools, and sometimes simply the designer hosting a show independently. In Toronto you can attend fashion week hosted by Fashion Art Toronto. This platform facilitates designers from all over the GTA to showcase their work. This year Toronto fashion week runs from May 2 - 5! UTSC Fashion Show (University of Toronto Scarborough) is a student-led non-profit that hosts a charity show as well! Research the fashion organizations in major cities near you to find something local and accessible.
Exhibitions and Events
There are many different kinds of fashion events you might find interest in participating in or attending. From exhibitions, to mixers, to sewing competitions and performances, the possibilities of showcasing fashion alongside other mediums is endless! In Toronto a fashion club called Rchive holds space for fashion enthusiasts and hosts many events. Their most recent one featured a trade night where people are welcome to exchange pieces of their collection with others. They create opportunities to collaborate such as their stylist of the week initiative showcasing the work of stylists and providing them support in producing a photoshoot. Engaging with events like this is an impactful way to grow your network, learn new things and even expand your wardrobe! To find events like this that are local to you, try researching schools with fashion programs and do a little digging from there!
Film Screenings
Films are a wonderful medium to immerse yourself in the fashion industry. Whether you lean towards documentary deep dives on fashion history or want to be inspired by renowned costume design, there’s lots of educational material to be found in movies! Small cinemas that play cult classics, old niche films or smaller independently produced films, are the perfect place to find fashion centred content. Places like TIFF, Revue Cinema and Paradise Theatre are the theatres you’re likely to find something that aligns with you. In past years TIFF has partnered with Fashion Art Toronto to host special screenings during fashion week. Revue Cinema has a series called Designing the Movies which focuses on the behind the scenes that goes into movie making - including costume design!
While we shared many Toronto based events, remember that you can find similar happenings wherever you live. Even in smaller areas of the GTA, or wherever you are in the world, fashion subcultures are ever-present and growing. Allow yourself to be guided by what genuinely interests you and be open minded to trying new things! Have fun!
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