Lida-Baday-Toronto-fashion-designer

A gorgeous look from Lida Baday spring/summer 2014.

Toronto fashion legend Lida Baday recently announced that she’s closing her namesake line after almost three decades of delighting women with her elegant, impeccably crafted clothes. "It is with much sadness that Mario [Zuliani, general manager and Baday’s husband] and I must announce that after 26 years of business, we have taken the very difficult decision to close Lida Baday," Baday told us in an email. "As we grew into a larger company, it’s been a struggle to maintain my hands on approach and influence in all areas of creative development, which we felt was the foundation for our success." The ELLE Canada team are huge Lida fans—between us, we probably have 30 pieces. Below, we share our favourite fashion memories of a Canadian icon and the pieces we’ll wear forever. "A few days ago, when I was deciding what to wear on such a dreary, rainy day, I instinctively reached for my blue silk top from Lida Baday. When I wear it, I feel content and elegant. The power of her clothes to influence emotions—mine especially—is remarkable and rare. Her pieces are like that friend who knows exactly what to say at the right moment. She makes you feel authentic and confident. I shall miss my ‘fashion friend’ very much. I had the opportunity to wear many of her pieces to events outside of Canada. Invariably someone would ask me ‘who I was wearing.’ I was always so proud to say it was Lida Baday. I would then go on to describe how much I admire her work because her aesthetic is stylish yet effortless, unique but not showy. Her designs always conveyed a certain intelligence and focused simplicity that is timeless." —Noreen Flanagan, editor-in-chief
Read more: Our editors share their favourite Lida Baday pieces and memories
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