The Festival Mode & Design takes to the streets, theatres, conference rooms and museums of Montreal for its 18th edition August 20-25, with an eclectic program of fashion, music, dance, conferences and films.
Among the highlights: talks by Robert Lepage, editor Caroline Issa and two Christian Dior luminaries, nose François Demachy and historian Vincent Leret, all moderated by the courtly Stéphane Le Duc.
I will also be participating in the conference series, with the showing of six videos on the history of Montreal, followed by a discussion on stage with Le Château founder Herschel Segal.
The videos were created last year by me and photojournalist Dario Ayala as part of the 375th anniversary of Montreal commemorations. There are six capsules: fur, the development of Ste. Catherine St. as a shopping artery, retail, manufacturing, design and the future in smart wear. Segal, a visionary retailer, will share his thoughts on Montreal fashion, past, present and future. He’s thoughtful and wise, and is sure to share lessons in fashion as well as life.
The conference series is at the Wilder Building, 1435 de Bleury. My talk with Segal is on Aug. 21 at 4 p.m.
Herschel Segal, founder of Le Château, at the retail chain headquarters. PHOTO DARIO AYALA
On the fashion front, retailers like Dynamite, Alton Gray, La Vie En Rose and Ardene will take to the big stage at the Place des Festivals, with Ardene launching its fall Kendall & Kylie collaboration.
About a dozen local designers are on the agenda, including the much loved Ève Gravel, as well as emerging labels Marie-Eve Aubry, Robert Atelier and Autre Riche Genderless. The blog Ton Barbier will present Gentleman Urbain, showing the best of local men’s fashion.
DJ sets with Cherry Lena, hiphop with Alexandra “Spicey” Landé, popup shops, fashion school presentations, Karaoke and much, much more are on the lineup. See the full schedule here. http://festivalmodedesign.com/toute-la-programmation/
Festival Mode & Design, 2015 edition. Photo, Sebastien Roy
Bon festival!
If you are interested in the history of fashion in Montreal, please consult the essays I wrote to complement the videos. They are all here on my blog.
