Toronto, often praised for its multicultural vibrancy and its international roles in tech, finance, and the arts, has long lacked a signature fashion event to elevate its fashion scene to the level of global heavyweights like Paris and New York. Now, a group of local designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs is working to change that by building a homegrown fashion week that reflects the city’s unique style and talent.
Although the city has long possessed a strong and diverse creative community, Toronto’s fashion scene has struggled with fragmentation and a lack of global recognition. Unlike New York or Paris, Toronto has not had a cohesive fashion week in recent years, limiting the international visibility of its designers.
Toronto previously held an official “Toronto Fashion Week” under the guidance of the non-profit Fashion Design Council of Canada for 13 years. The event carried an official trademark, helping to identify and unify the city’s fashion scene. However, the trademark was sold to U.S.-based IMG in 2012, which ceased production four years later. The rights then changed hands again, acquired by real estate mogul Peter Freed in partnership with First Capital. Production halted once more in early 2020, and despite the event no longer running, the trademark remains active, effectively blocking others from reviving the brand under the same name. Attempts to get an update on the trademark from Freed and First Capital have gone unanswered.
In the absence of an official fashion week, Fashion Art Toronto (FAT) has emerged as the city’s de facto fashion hub. Founded by designer Vanja Vasic in 2005, FAT has become Toronto’s longest-running annual fashion event. This year marks FAT’s 20th anniversary, and for the first time, the celebration has extended into a month-long series of fashion-related activities, culminating in its Spring/Summer 2025 showcase from May 29 to June 1.
The anniversary festivities have included a range of community-driven events: a partnership with Artist Project, a surprise “Fashmob” referencing FAT’s guerrilla-style roots, a joint event with The Bentway, and a party co-hosted with Gotstyle clothing at The Distillery District. Vasic has emphasized her desire to see fashion celebrated with the same enthusiasm as art festivals and Pride events.
Despite attracting thousands of attendees annually — including some from beyond the city — FAT still lacks the international media coverage that boosts fashion weeks in other cities. According to Vasic, this is partly due to limited government support and a general lack of attention from Canadian media outlets. She believes local press should take more interest in highlighting homegrown fashion, from graduate shows to professional runways.
Vasic also attributes the challenge to the Toronto fashion scene’s historical lack of collaboration. In contrast to this trend, FAT actively partners with other organizations, including Vancouver Fashion Week, Indigenous Fashion Week, and Toronto Metropolitan University (where Vasic is a member of the Program Advisor Council). FAT has also worked with Seneca College and is now establishing ties with George Brown College, with plans to extend partnerships beyond Ontario.
According to Vasic, stronger networks — both locally and internationally — are key to propelling Toronto fashion onto the global stage. She notes that the city’s fashion industry has often been more competitive than collaborative, but believes this mindset is shifting.
Echoing this collaborative spirit are Ion (Jai) Sobaliu and Sadaf Emami, the founders of Rchive Fashion Club. The pair began producing their own shows in conjunction with FAT, starting with a debut at Toronto’s Lower Bay Station in May 2024. Their initiative, dubbed Toronto’s Own Fashion Week (TOFW), strategically bypasses the inactive Toronto Fashion Week trademark while nodding to Drake’s October’s Very Own brand. Rchive’s second showcase took place at a hangar in Billy Bishop Airport, and their third occurred May 24–25 at the Toronto Reference Library.
Like FAT, Rchive is positioning itself as a community hub. In addition to runway shows, the collective hosted a themed week of events — including poetry, music, comedy, and art — to attract diverse creators. Sobaliu reports that they’ve also begun cultivating relationships with buyers in New York and enhancing their backstage teams to deliver a more polished product. Model training has been introduced to raise performance standards to those seen in Paris and New York.
The duo behind Rchive sees TOFW not just as a workaround to the lost trademark, but as a rallying point for Toronto’s fashion community. Emami stresses that pop-ups and community events should continue during fashion week periods, just as they do in New York. He and Sobaliu argue that trademark limitations should not be allowed to suppress the industry’s momentum.
Still, the success of these initiatives relies on more than event planning. Sobaliu points out that local consumers need to show more interest in purchasing Canadian-made clothing. The fashion industry depends on buyers to keep designers afloat and allow them to continue producing collections season after season — a cycle that also supports models, stylists, and photographers.
Vasic supports this multi-platform approach to fashion promotion. She believes the presence of multiple fashion showcases creates more opportunities for emerging designers and creative professionals across disciplines.
Vasic also challenges the notion that Toronto must conform to international standards. “What does Toronto fashion look like?” she asks. “We have a distinct identity and a distinct voice.” She believes this year’s fashion season signals a turning point, with growing support for Canadian talent and creativity from within the country itself.
Though Toronto may still have work to do to match the clout of Paris or New York, its fashion leaders are no longer waiting for validation. They are forging ahead, building a uniquely Canadian platform — one collaborative event at a time.
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