Story by Christopher Massardo / Photos by Jonathan Lorange-Millette
If Ottawa is, as some say, a humdrum government town full of boxy bureaucrats, nerds, techies, trekkies, and bland suburbanites, how do we account for the recent flash of fashion in our studios, streets, and boutiques?
Style watchers have noted a subtle but tangible rise in Ottawa’s appetite for fashion over the past few years. Then again, perhaps there has always been such an appetite and people are finally attempting to satisfy it.
What are the signs, you ask? What are the characteristics of an emerging fashion market? Besides a more well-dressed citizenry roaming the streets, there’s the influx of models and modelling agencies, designers, stylists, make-up artists, blogs, publications, and of course a “fashion week” or two.
Our two fashion weeks (Capital Fashion Week and Ottawa Fashion Week,) are collaborative efforts to highlight local and cross-Canada talent. Helping to feed these events are six modelling agencies, a fashion design school, designers, emerging artists (styling and make-up) and at least a dozen fashion publications, ranging from quarterly to monthly. By way of broadcasting, the second season of the reality TV hit Project Runway Canada was filmed in the Canadian War Museum. The episodes (now airing) feature many Ottawa models and the show’s presence has given our fashion scene an important confidence boost, not to mention exposure.
This image, and the one above, are from a catalogue for memoi, an Ottawa label designed by Emma Campbell, Ashley Struthers, and Jessica Struthers. The threesome are inspired by simpler days from the past, when women were classy and glamorous no matter the occasion. In addition to developing spring items soon available at Ottawa's Victoire boutique, memoi has been working steadily to create a collection for Toronto's Fashion Week.
What does it all mean? Are Ottawa’s fashion-starved souls rising up to fight the blandness of bureaucratic attire, refusing to follow the conservative dressed-down crowd, and looking oh-so fabulous while doing it?
We can only hope. No wait, we can do more than hope. We can discover ways to accelerate the process!
To determine how Ottawa can become even more fashion-friendly, I talked to some key members of our fashion community, starting with Corey Ng, fashion editor of our own Spade magazine.
“I think the main obstacle is that there are too many different parties with different agendas,” Ng offered. “It's not bad that a lot of people are interested in building the Ottawa fashion scene, but they lack a common goal between all these different initiatives.”
Ng makes a good point. Everyone likes to break new ground and in some ways it can be easier to be a trailblazer than to enter an already competitive market. But is it a good thing when multiple parties stake the claim as fashion pioneers?
For instance, while browsing fashion blogs and online forums, I found a lot of misunderstanding regarding our two fashion weeks. Comments from multiple parties went back and forth debating whether or not we need two fashion weeks. People claiming to be aligned with one of the weeks claimed that the other week had ripped off their idea, and so on.
But when you take the time to fully understand the two events, it actually makes sense for Ottawa to have two fashion weeks. We are, after all, the nation’s capital, so why not have a fashion week that shows some of Canada’s best designers and then have a separate fashion week that emphasizes local designers?
From a series of candid images by Jonathan Lorange taken at Ottawa Fashion Week, 2008
For confirmation of my thinking, I talked to somebody who has been involved with both fashion weeks and is deep into Ottawa fashion.
An organizer of the first Ottawa Fashion Week, stylist and fashion blogger Tracie Leblanc worked back stage at both fashion weeks and has a good grip on how the two events complement one another.
“Ottawa Fashion Week gives an opportunity for up-and-coming designers to showcase their work, while Capital Fashion Week puts on a professional, high-class event that is an excellent representation of what fashion in Ottawa should be known for.”
Ok, so we view the two fashion weeks as complementary instead of conflicting, but how else can we liven up Ottawa’s walk down the runway?
I mean, you would think that a city with six modeling agencies since 2003 (a few of them around since the early 80s) would be more noticed as an emerging fashion market. Each agency has somewhere between 30 and 100+ models, so there must be a good deal of work for models locally, right?
Actually, no, models are placed and shipped out to Montreal, Toronto or out of the country as quickly as possible so they can make some money. Lots of potential models don’t even bother signing with an Ottawa agency for fear of being required to take modeling courses at inflated prices.
Not all agencies in Ottawa operate like this, one of those being CoverModels Management, founded and run by Viresh Pujara. I asked Pujara about obstacles for Ottawa models and agencies.
Two girls from CoverModels: Cassandra (left), Brian Garson photo, Emmanuelle Charlebois make up; Anjela, Cpro Photo, Catherine Dupuis make up.
“The clients in Ottawa don't want to pay the appropriate rates for models,” said Pujara. “They are so used to young men and women working for free. This is why we export all of our models to fashion cities outside Ottawa. The clients there are used to paying for quality.”
“In Ottawa, many clients can either pay the proper rates for real working models or go get a pretty girl or good looking boy from one of the local modeling schools.”
Pujara also sees a limitation in the local assumption that bigger cities do fashion better.
“One great example is one of our local downtown malls. They choose to hire models and photographers from Montreal for their campaigns. Though there are equally amazing models and some outstanding photographers here, they probably feel it's prestigious to shoot the campaign in Montreal. So what is holding us back is the faith from those in our own city.”
Ottawa wants fashion, but is Ottawa completely willing to invest in its own scene? Corey Ng adds that the scene itself may also be suffering from—believe it or not—too much trend.
“I think it has become trendy to be in fashion, which is a problem because people think they should be in fashion just because they like clothes and like to go shopping.”
Two guys from CoverModels: JJ (left), photo by Laura Berg; Chad, photo by Daniel Weinand.
We know a good proportion of Ottawa-dwellers are government employees, which means that in general they have the income required to go to the mall and buy trendy brand names. Of course, people can shop where they want, but a big reason that the other cities get noticed in fashion is because the local talents get the support and attention they deserve. Here, not so much.
To support Ottawa fashion, check out our independent boutiques and designers, hire local professional models, attend the fashion weeks and choose a local fashion magazine over Vogue or Elle once in a while. Of course we don’t have as many options as Toronto and Montreal, but there are still some very talented people right here who should have our attention and support.
Ottawa is a creative and cool place. Why should individuals who want a successful career in fashion have to move somewhere else? Sure, we have a ways to go before we are a captial of fashion, but I'm optimistic. And I'm looking forward to witnessing what happens next.
