Canada’s newest power players in the fashion industry aren’t just based at home but making major waves around the world. From
Canadian fashion designers to bloggers to business execs, meet our country’s most fashion-forward influencers.



1. The Editor: Joe Zee

Zee is a cliché Canadian. In the cutthroat fashion industry, the Creative Director of Elle Magazine (US) has developed an unusual reputation for being (gasp!) nice. Considered one of fashion-dom’s most respected and influential style leaders, this season the Toronto-bred Zee turned his expertise to reality TV with the launch of his own show,
All On The Line.

2. The CEO: Daniel Lalonde

Who knew a kid from Quebec could go on to become head of one of the world’s leading luxury products group. Paris-based Lalonde moved up the ranks of Louis Vuitton to become president and CEO of LV’s North American market and was recently promoted to CEO of Moet & Chandon, the world’s leading champagne brand. We’ll drink to that.


3. The Blogger: Imran Amed

Armed with an MBA from Harvard and consulting gigs for some major luxury brands, Calgary-born Amed launched
The Business of Fashion, a London-based fashion blog that set out to show ‘”the thoughtful side of fashion, beyond the gloss of parties, champagne and celebrity that is covered elsewhere.” In just a few short years, BOF has become essential reading for the fashion elite.

4. The Zelig: Brad Goreski

Rachel Zoe’s former right hand man has flown the coop. Just months after parting ways with the super stylist, Port Perry, ON-born, LA-based Goreski landed his own Bravo reality show,
It’s a Brad, Brad World, and book deal with his upcoming memoir
Born to be Brad. Ba-na-nas.


5. The designer: Erdem Moralioglu

For whatever reason London lays claim to several Canadian raised fashion stars like Thomas Tait, Jean-Pierre Braganza,
Mark Fast and Todd Lynn but none shine brighter than Montreal-bred Moralioglu. His decadent use of prints and embroidery found a fan in KMiddy herself, The Duchess of Cambridge.

See who else topped Canada’s list of infuential fashion players on the next page…

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6. The Stylist:
Leslie FremarIf Fremar’s name isn’t altogether familiar, perhaps the character of Emily, the uber-bitchy senior assistant in
The Devil Wears Prada, for which she was very much based on, will. After stints at Vogue and Prada, the Toronto-raised, NYC-based stylist now counts starlets like Julianne Moore, Charlize Theron and Reese Witherspooon as clients.

7. The Mogul: Brandusa Niro
It may not as be biblical in scale as Vogue, or have the brand recognition as Cosmo but come fashion week, there isn’t a self-respecting fashionista or front row regular who doesn’t pore over
The Daily,
The Daily Mini, and fashionweekdaily.com – and Romanian-born Niro is the creative czarina behind it all. The founder and editor in chief honed her fashion and business sense in Toronto’s publishing scene long before
The Daily took off in 2003 and has since expanded the publication outside New York to Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Miami.


8. The Brand Consultant: Yvette Quiazon

We’re still not sure what Quiazon means when she refers to herself as a “global ethnographer” but there is no doubt that this Vancouver-born, NYC-based founder of Why Q Inc. is a branding guru. Creating marketing campaigns and strategies for everything from Levi’s jeans to luxury watch brands – not to mention a few little known companies like Apple and Nike – Quiazon is a one woman fashion powerhouse.


9. The Beauty Guru: Lloyd Simmonds

No other Canadian can make the world more colourful than Lloyd Simmonds. Hailing from British Columbia, the newly appointed International Makeup Artist for Yves Saint Laurent forged his reputation as a creative dynamo working backstage for couture houses such as Valentino and Dior and has created catwalk looks for labels like
Stella McCartney, Gucci, Lanvin, and Versace. Now based out of Paris, Simmonds’ debut collection is in stores now and you can count on seeing his exceptional artistry in YSL’s visionary ad campaigns.


10. The Entrepreneur: Hannah Bronfman

While her mom is actress Sherri Brewer of “Shaft” fame and dad is Montreal-raised Edgar Bronfman Jr., chief executive officer of Warner Music Group, but this 23-year-old isn’t just your average heiress. Bronfman is also a model, DJ, sculptor, and ultra-chic eco-warrior that co-founded an environmentally conscious company comprised of a record label, blog, and organic clothing line for which she designs. Bright young thing, indeed.

Read more:
Fashion designer style: Top 10
Street style superstars: The fashion editors who you might not know by name
Designer DNA: Erdem