Montreal Biggies

This is again, way delayed seeing as I got back from Montreal two days ago.  However, instead of raving senselessly about something I've seen a matter of hours before posting, I thought I'd better take it slow and try and paint a picture instead.  No, not an ACTUAL picture because my brush strokes are rubbish and you may get an impressionistic mess.  Actually, that might aptly describe the sort of picture I'm going to be painting here because you might think you get a sense of the place you're in after a whirlwind tour, but there are so many nuances that can be missed and Montreal definitely falls into the category where complexities are rife in its creative scene.  Therefore, apologies if this may seem a bit sketchy for those that have a proper grasp of the city's fashion scene…

I was there to attend Montreal's Festival Mode et Design, a public event to effectively 'entertain' audiences with fashion.  It featured an array of Montreal's most prominent fashion designers but of course, the real treats were to be found going around their studios and seeing how they actually work.  I thought it best to start off with these so called 'biggies' before I delve into a younger and less-established scene in my next post.  Of course, international 'biggies' who have come from Montreal like Rad Hourani and Complex Geometries have made the leap to international prominence but of course with that, comes moving their bases to bigger cities like New York/Paris, so the ones I'm talking about here are ones that are based solidly in Montreal, seeing them flying at differing stages in their businesses. 

All the cities that are yearning to build up their reputation in fashion seem to have quirks that are unique to their own fashion industry but the common denominating problems seem to all crop up.  Not enough international exposure, problems with production, problems with acquiring stockists, not enough funding for young designers… etc etc etc… age old tales.  Though for Montreal specifically, the fact that it lies within a province that in itself has an almost separatist stance from its English-speaking wider country, seems to me, either hinders or aids designers depending on their approach.  Another thing I'd probably consider is whether so-called international success is even something that is requisite for these designers, or perhaps, even something that they yearn for?

So to start off… I have to thank designer Marie Saint Pierre for a) bringing me to Habitat 67 where she lived for ten years of her life which in itself was probably an inspiring place because I certainly was gawping for the fifteen minutes that I was there and b) really demonstrating how a mound of loyal and local affection for a designer can make a business.  With a career spanning two decades (and she really knew how to articulate the way the creative scene has changed over the years since the 50s…), Saint Pierre designs probably for a slightly older clientale given that her designs emphasise on strong shapes in muted colours.  I hesitate to use 'avant garde' but I suppose if you were looking at it and you wanted to be very generic, you could say, her clothes look a little… well… Belgian.  In particular I loved her use of viscose which on its own may not be a luxe fabric but the way she bonds layers together, it creates a neoprene-like material (minus the sweating properties!) that gives an architectural structure to her clothes.  Impressively, she's able to control her production well, with fabric cutting and finishing all done in-house, leaving no waste for fabric scraps as she aims to keep waste to a minimum.  Saint Pierre has two stores in Montreal as well as being widely stocked in Canada and whilst she can afford to expand abroad, building at a local level is a priority for her so that she can sustain the aforementioned production mode.  I loved what Saint Pierre said about her role as a designer that for her the satisfaction is to create clothes that people wear as opposed to artifacts that can only hang on a rail/mannequin.  Might be my old age catching up with me but suddenly this made sense.  Of course what one would consider wearable is still mighty subjective making me prone still to think that so-called artifacts are wearable… but that's another story…    

Space galore… was getting studio jealousy every time I saw massive spaces…

From the A/W 10-11 collection…

Me thinks the fabric scraps that Saint Pierre inspects ended up here…

Nope, it ain't my beloved neoprene but a bonded viscose…

Some images from the very stark S/S 10 collection…

More from the A/W 10-11 collection which is heavy on texture but also streamlined with its use of the double bonded viscose and jerseys…

Moving onto another established but vastly different Montreal-fashion biggie is Harricana.  Mariouche Gagn√© happed onto her route of recycling fur for her label entirely through chance as after several design competitions, she developed a knack for mining Inuit inspirations as well as taking her mother's old fur coat in aiding her work.  In 1997, she started Harricana with a small collection of recycled fur pieces and now she has over 130 retailers worldwide as well as an e-store, doing well in climates obviously that require the furry stuff.  It was sort of mind blowing how she is able to acquire fur coats and pieces on a regular basis for her to recycle but then again I don't live in a country where it could reach minus 40 degrees Celcius.  My stance with fur is neither here nor there really; I have worn faux and real (though vintage) and I don't really stick to rules such as "Oh, I only wear vintage fur!" thinking it's the ethical highground to take.  All I know is that Gagn√© has effectively taken raw materials that will have existed for god knows how long and made it into a viable business that is again, specific to her locality – well, climate specific anyway…

I had this piece on which did make me feel like an animal had pounced on me but then again, like I said, I haven't shivered in the type of cold that Canada gets…

I probably prefer the touches of fur that adorn hats…  

… furry toys…  

… and boots…

… and perhaps a laptop bag if I need a texture to touch up in Starbucks (that's why I like dipping my hand in the beans for a few minutes whilst waiting for my coffee….)…

I hate deliberating on what is right or wrong with stances on fur because like I said, I'm sitting on a fence that is open-minded.  Gagn√© did tellingly say that the UK buyers sometimes balked at the idea of her fur pieces but once they found out they were 100% recycled and re-fashioned, suddenly they were ok with the idea.  The dichotomies/hypocrisies attached to the use of fur and animal products of course are never ending.  Gagn√© is thus working hard to hone in the point that her pieces are 100% recycled fur – me thinks a pleasingly thick cardboard swing tag will suffice.  She's also keen to try her hand at recycling other pieces for spring/summer when of course furs are not required.  This season, she's been cutting up old wedding dresses…

Harricana's success displayed in these press clippings accumulated in a decade…

 

Gagn√©'s references always seem to link back to Inuit culture which strengthens her brand as something that is very Canada-specific, something which works for her on a stockist level… 

I've not yet gone down the patchwork fur route – not quite sure why there was a mini-wave of this stuff going on but it is very pretty to look at when you see the underside…

Again, minimising waste is important for Gagn√© who uses every scrap of fur coat off-cuts into headbands, muffs, key chains as well as reusing the accumulated buttons and the inside silk linings making them into jackets/shirts…

I've left the designer who is probably the least commercially successful of the three but is a bona fide darling of Montreal, Quebec and possibly Canada's fashion scene.  It can only be Denis Gagnon, probably the only designer I had heard of coming from Montreal, before the likes of Rad Hourani came along.  That said, my knowing his name isn't quite indicative of full-on international recognition.  In fact, The National Post ran a story a few months ago questioning why exactly Denis Gagnon wasn't more well-known abroad.  Whilst he's had a career spanning ten years, which in itself is being feted with a show at the Mus√©e des beaux-arts de Montr√©al in October for his S/S 11 collection as well as a retrospective in a separate exhibition, he's also had a career where he's declared bankruptcy a couple of years, barely making any money over the years to sustain his business.   

Yet the affection and love for Gagnon is quite admirable… as he was showing us his upcoming S/S 11 collection (no pics allowed but it is extraordinarily beautiful… FRINGE galore…), the people with our group were cooing "Oh Denis….!" with tears practically running down their eyes.  His appearance strikes an instant impression with his oversized Lanvin glasses that look like part-protection as well as designer trademark making, much like Karl's ponytail or Alber's bow tie.  Effectively Gagnon is intrinsically artisanal which perhaps hinders his success but his status as an 'artiste' in Montreal was definitely felt as everyone uniformly holds him in such high regard…  I felt like I was not showing enough respect by not following suit with the cooing…

Here are some deets from the A/W 10-11 collection which makes zippers his central motif.  I'm reminded of elements of Iris Van Herpen's work and in the leather work for which Gagnon is known for, parts of Rick Owens.  However, the way he works the zippers into the curves of dresses, skirts and tops actually makes the effect less harsh than it sounds like it would be on paper. 

I couldn't get a good picture of the fringe pieces but his fluid way with fringing of course gets a big tick from me… it also again, softens the leather/zipper elements…

A Queen from up North would definitely appreciate these…

The fringing elements can be seen here in these pics from his A/W 10-11 collection…

I get the feeling that someone will always swoop in to support for the designer because he is so well-regarded, and with upcoming collaborations with local retailer Bedo , money woes may not be an ongoing issue.  Going back to that article's question over why Gagnon hasn't made 'it' abroad, I would counter that perhaps he doesn't wish to.  With such a grand security blanket with Montreal, it might be like starting afresh for a designer that has been feted for such a long time…

Je m'appelle Denis Gagnon, a documentary about the designer by Khoa Le might offer more insight into the designer's personality… I'm not about to go about assuming the ins and outs of where his design path might lead him but I am certainly going to be reporting back on that S/S 11 collection which by any standard is astounding stuff. 

More on Montreal's young uns' tomorrow as I sift through a mound of photos…