Toronto Fashion Week Interview: Dwayne Kennedy of THE COLLECTIONS

Dwayne Kennedy is a stylist, creative brand director and Co-founder of THE COLLECTIONS, a creative consulting, events, and designer management agency. His work has extended internationally to include producing runway shows during New York Fashion Week as well as a guest feature on Britain’s Next Top Model. Kennedy has also secured media appearances on ET Canada, MTV, CBC, MuchMusic, CityTV and Fashion Television. His expertise has awarded him advertising clients such as Danier, Scotiabank, IKEA, Dole, Nissan, Ford, McDonald’s and MasterCard, as well as editorial coverage in FASHIONmagazine.com, Zink,  Dress to Kill, Sharp, Fiasco, Pulp, Clear and Vogue Pelle.

We got the chance sit down with Dwayne to ask him a few questions just before the busiest time of the year for him – Toronto Fashion Week.

How did you start THE COLLECTIONS and who is part of THE COLLECTIONS team?
After working under The Fashion Collective for several seasons with the FDCC, my partners and I started THE COLLECTIONS (TC), a creative production, events, and designer management company.

TC was officially launched in October 2012 over a two-day, six designer showcase featuring SS13 collections at the historical Burroughes Building. The event and initiative were well-received, which lead us to forming a relationship with IMG to build a cohesive calendar bringing the designers we work with under the tents at WMCFW. We’ve been collaborating with IMG now for the past three seasons, presenting 26 shows. 

THE COLLECTIONS team consists of three partners:
Dwayne Kennedy – Fashion Director, Co-founder
Mel Ashcroft – Brand Partnerships, Co-founder
Brian A. Richards – Production Director, Co-founder

Stephanie Mclean – Public Relations/Social Media
Brendan Primeau – Graphic design/Social Media

What is THE COLLECTIONS’ involvement in World MasterCard Fashion Week?
When IMG Fashion became the owners of World MasterCard Fashion Week, they reached out to us to begin a dialogue about returning to the tents and to the official schedule and helping them identify emerging talent that would benefit from showing at the event.

The reality is that for designers it makes more sense to show on schedule and benefit from the critical mass of editors, buyers and industry professionals who are in attendance and it makes it easier for guests who don’t have time to waste running around town.

What is your day-to-day schedule like?
I enjoy the diversity about my job. Meetings, press appointments, editorials, campaigns, sponsorship, castings, events, and advertising work all fall into my day-to-day, which keeps everything extremely fresh.

What is it like a week or two prior to fashion week for you and your designers?
This season we are working with our founding designers, whose collections have been ready for months prior to fashion week as they are on the international timeline for sales. The week or two prior are mainly focused on the show and the production elements that go along with it; castings, fittings, model bookings, hair and make-up, lighting, sound, runway configurations, meetings, and final show pieces. Our days prior are sponsorship, public relations and production driven.

What goes on after fashion week?
We generally do a wrap-up for the designers and build our media kit for the following season. We are really excited about our fashion film festival, DIScONNECT, which will be happening July 9th at the TIFF lightbox. Post fashion week, we will be immediately be directing our focus from fashion week to fashion film.

What are you most excited for at this coming fashion week?
I think to be working with such a strong roster of designers makes me most excited. All of the designers we are working with really are true artists. I also enjoy getting to see everyone who I may not see as often as I like. There is a great energy about the week.

Do you have a favourite designer?
Each designer offers something unique, so it makes it difficult for me to choose a favourite. I love the passion it takes to be a designer, and really respect them all for taking that risk as an entrepreneur. 

What is your best memory of Toronto Fashion Week?
I have so many. I think working with Rad Hourani was a highlight for me. I have followed his career from the beginning, and I remember the day they confirmed that they would show with us. It was such an amazing feeling to have someone you look up to trust you and let you work on a project with them that is so close to their heart. It was also an incredible experience to work with international brand JNBY to produce their first-ever North American runway show in Toronto. 

Many people don’t take Toronto Fashion Week as seriously as other cities’ fashion weeks. How do you think you have you changed Toronto Fashion Week and why do you think it is important in the city and relevant in the world? 
People have to remember that fashion weeks in general are more of a marketing tool than a sales tool. Toronto gets a lot of slack for being so late in the buying season, but to be a designer you must understand international sales timelines. The designers we work with are done months before fashion week and have completed most, if not all, of their buying appointments before their collection is even shown at fashion week. I think people should also focus on more of the positive changes that are happening in the city. Huge global companies are coming to Toronto, such as IMG, and this shows the growth of the city as a whole. I think Toronto fashion week is an amazing place to launch your brand and feel out where you should be taking your brand internationally.

 

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