World MasterCard Fashion Week is in full force. The must-be-in-town week for the city’s who’s who and fashion industry elite kicked off on Monday with a celebratory toast hosted by IMG Fashion and World MasterCard in the studio at David Pecaut Square. The hour-long reception was in advance of the showing of the Spring 2013 collections by Holt Renfrew, Pink Tartan and Pavoni.
Sparkling as well as red and white wine flowed freely as guests, who included Canadian fashion industry icons like Jeanne Beker, Bernadette Morra, Robin Kay and Stacey McKenzie, local celebrities, pretty fixtures on the city’s social scene and the Mercedes-Benz start-up contestants, mixed, mingled and talked shop. As expected, most guests looked like they had just stepped off the runway themselves, with Monday’s balmy weather allowing for flexibility in footwear and the option to leave coats at home.
Suzanne Cohon, Dinah Deif, Ainsley Kerr
Food was provided by the Ritz-Carlton (including their famous coconut shrimp), which is also the official hotel of the event. Connected to the studio is a media lounge sponsored by Target that housed no shortage of laptops, snacks and cocktails to fuel frantically typing top fashion media.
The week officially kicked off through a toast by Peter Levy, Senior Vice-President, Managing Director IMG Fashion Events and Properties (as you’ll recall, Toronto Fashion Week was sold to IMG in August), who thanked former Executive Director Robin Kay for her years of dedication and shaping the rapidly influential week.
Nadene Barhouche, Charbel Abi Nahade
Of course the bustling first-night energy was felt throughout the entire tent, with guests crowding the bar and photo walls and sipping cocktails while waiting for makeup touchups and mini manicures. Not that they needed them.
Click here to see the night’s gallery.
Top photo: Jeanne Beker, Bernadette Morra