See a gallery of the Cashmere designs here!
It’s rare, if ever, that toilet paper makes a fashion statement, save for trailing behind you on occasion fastened to the bottom of your shoe. But for five years now the people at Cashmere (a.k.a. Canada’s leading TP maker) and some of the country’s top designers have joined forces to create couture out of cottony bathroom tissue.
This year the designers added a touch of pink to the sewing pile with stellar results-all in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, hoping to raise awareness and in turn some much needed coin. Twenty-five cents from the sale of every package of the limited edition Pink Cashmere will be donated to help fight the disease. Not since the days of lavender sinks and avocado-coloured bathtubs has tinted bathroom tissue felt so appealing.
What’s more appealing are the sexy, girly and even avant-garde dresses designed by the likes of Ula Zukowska, who’s ruffled and silk screened creation earned points for its unique silhouette. Other designers include Canadian stalwart David Dixon, Thien Le and Evan Biddell, winner of Project Runway Canada, as well as Luican Matis, Comrags, Joeffer Caoc and golden boy Arthur Mendonça.
“The breast cancer component really fuelled my creativity and desire to participate,” says Mendonça. “I wanted to create a strong, sexy silhouette,” he says of his fun and seductive, strapless A-line gown, complete with an oversized floppy bow above the bust.
Dixon’s design also took this year’s “Touch of Pink” theme seriously which is seen in his dress’s ombré effect, which features a floor-length skirt covered with neatly clipped and shredded tissue that starts out a deep pink at the hem and softens and fades into white as it reaches the narrow waistline.
“It’s a design element that symbolizes the steady, if gradual fight to overcome breast cancer and eventually wipe out the disease,” says Dixon. “The whole idea is to convey a sense of the iconic pink breast cancer ribbon.”
His dress, as well as those of his seven colleagues will get top-billing in the windows of The Bay’s Toronto flagship store at Yonge and Richmond Street for a three-week run beginning October 3, announced curator Susan Langdon, executive director, Toronto Fashion Incubator at the September 19 show in Toronto.
The White Cashmere Collection 2007, A Celebration of Quebec Fashion which featured creations by some of the province’s most celebrated designers including Marie Saint Pierre, Helmer and MUSE par Christian Chenail, will be exhibited in the de Maisonneuve Blvd. windows of The Bay’s flagship Montreal location, for four weeks, also beginning October 3.