Toronto

FASHION

• Fashion Design Career: Getting Started
• Fashion Journalism: Write Your Own Career Path
• Fashion Marketing: The Trendsetting Business
• Fashion Merchandising: A Career in the Fashion Business
• Fashion Retail Management: Career Training in the Business
• Fashion Visual Merchandising: Career Training for the Style Business
• The Four Hottest Fashion Jobs and the Career Training Information You Need to Get Them

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Toronto Fashion: The Pride of Canada

When you think of North American fashion, does your brain stop after New York and LA? Well, keep going. The city of Toronto, Ontario has long prided itself on its fashion scene. Canada's largest city is full of apparel manufacturing companies, big-name designers, a lucrative fashion advertising industry, and a number of fashion design schools. Though only an eight-hour drive from fashion hub New York, Toronto maintains its status as a style capital.

Multiculturalism is important in Toronto, a city that features diverse neighborhoods--including the largest Italian population outside of Italy. The United Nations has called Toronto "the most diverse city in the world," a fact that reflects itself in Toronto's fashion. Toronto fashion designers take their cues from Japan, London, and almost every other spot on the globe when creating their unique looks.

The city is proud of its fashion shows, including L'Oreal Fashion Week and the Toronto Fashion Show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003. Featuring designers like Versace, Oscar De la Renta, Chloe, Chanel, Ungaro, Giorgio Couture, and Bob Mackie, along with local designers like Shelli Oh and Wayne Clark, the shows give local fashion designers a chance at international exposure.

A number of organizations within Toronto, Ontario, exist to support the fashion industry. The Fashion Industry Liaison Committee includes representatives from manufacturing, design, education, wholesale, retail, and labor categories, advocating with local government for workers' rights.

Toronto, Ontario: Fashion Evolution in Canada

The first big trend in Toronto style wasn't an item of clothing at all. In 1880, handmade Oriental rugs were one of the must-have items in the homes of Toronto elite. The city's first high-end clothing retailer, Holt Renfrew, opened in 1889, and fashion in Toronto took off.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's prime minister during WWII, was never pictured in anything but a dark suit and tie. Multiculturalism was on the rise in Canada during that same era, which also saw the creation of the open-air Kensington Market.

By the 1970s, the fashion industry was establishing itself in Toronto, Ontario. The first Roots sportswear store opened in 1973, and the Toronto Film Festival saw its glamorous start in 1976.

Today, Toronto fashion is supported by big names and innovative design. Local buyer Margery Steele, credited with bringing brands such as Oscar de la Renta to Toronto, was honored in 1994 as a First Lady of Fashion.

Toronto Fashion: Fast Facts

• Over 50,000 people are employed in the Toronto fashion industry
• The city's fashion district is located on a 35-block area in the downtown King-Spadina neighborhood. Trade legislation in Canada has mandated duty- and tariff-free trade from 48 of the world's least-developed countries, building revenue and connections
• Important Toronto clothing manufacturers include Danier Leather, Dominion Hosiery, Macmor, McGregor, Phantom, Vikeda, Weston Apparel, and Wing Son Garments

Fashion Careers in Toronto, Ontario

Graduates of Toronto's fashion career training schools might find the following three career options available locally:

Fashion designer: Graduates of Toronto's fashion schools may take advantage of opportunities like the Toronto Fashion Incubator, helping entrepreneurs further develop their creative and business skills.

Fashion merchandiser: Buyers and merchandisers in Toronto take advantage of the city's trade and transport options, including Canada's busiest airport and the Toronto Port Authority.

Retail manager: Fashion retail is big business in Toronto. Retail management graduates might consider major players such as Bata, Harry Rosen, Holt Renfrew, Hudson's Bay Company, Reitmans, and Roots.

Toronto's Hottest Designers

• Shelli Oh: After graduating from a local fashion design school, Shelli Oh worked in New York before returning to Toronto to launch her wildly successful Harebell label
• Alia Juma and Jamil Juma: The siblings behind the label JUMA are among the newest members of the Toronto Fashion Incubator program, making them a duo to watch
• Zoran Dobric: Based in Toronto, this young designer teaches at a local fashion design school and cites Prada, Gucci, and Japanese design among his largest influences
• Ariel Garten: This multitalented fashion designer and owner of fashion house Flavour Hall is also a musician, photographer, and neuroscientist
• Wayne Clark: After graduating a fashion design school in London, Wayne Clark returned to his hometown to design evening wear for Canadian women

Toronto, Ontario is a North American fashion hub to be reckoned with. Fashion schools in Toronto are a significant source of pride for Canada.