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Sarah Stevenson Crowned Toronto Fashion Incubator’s New Labels 2013 Winner

by The Backseat Stylers | May 8th, 2013

On April 30, Toronto Fashion Incubator held its annual TFI New Labels fundraising gala at The Carlu in Toronto. Chaired by Suzanne Rogers and emceed by a David Dixon-clad Dina Pugliese, the evening’s main event was the design competition runway show presented by Target and the crowning of this year’s New Labels winner.

Suzanne Rogers and Dina Pugliese

The show was the culmination of a six-month long competition that saw the field of contestants narrowed down to a very talented final four that included Christopher Paunil by Chalo Barrueta and Christopher Paunil, Paria Shirvani, Sarah Stevenson and SEVENTHIRTYONE by Maiko Suzuki and Defne Husrevoglu. With the support of beauty partner P&G Beauty & Grooming, the finalists presented four very distinct and well received collections in front of a discerning crowd of industry insiders that included designer Arthur Mendonça, model Stacey McKenzie, The Room’s Nicholas Mellamphy, and sponsor Mantella Corporation’s Sylvia Mantella.

Gabrielle Miller and Stacey McKenzie

If their audience didn’t already have them shaking in their fashionable boots, then the New Labels judges surely did. This year’s distinguished panel was made up of FLARE Editor-in-Chief Miranda Purves, TNT Boutiques’ Arie Assaraf, Target Divisional Merchandise Manager Elisha Ballantyne, Target Senior Vice President, Merchandising John Morioka, TFI President David Dixon and gala chair Suzanne Rogers.

Winner Sarah Stevenson with the esteemed judging panel after her win

After a short but tough deliberation, the judges named Sarah Stevenson, who presented a cohesive line-up of looks featuring gorgeous prints and laser-cut detailing, the 2013 TFI New Labels winner. In addition to bragging rights, the Toronto native’s prize haul included a $25,000 cash award donated by Suzanne Rogers, a full-page feature in FLARE Magazine, and the opportunity to design a collection to be sold exclusively in Target locations across Canada in 2014. Congratulations Sarah!

Table #8!

Check out the gallery below for 40 images from the 2013 TFI New Labels gala, featuring Canadian fashion both on and off the runway.

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Events

Toronto Fashion Incubator Celebrates 25th Anniversary With Glamourous TFI25 Gala

by The Backseat Stylers | May 9th, 2012

Honorary chair Suzanne Rogers and sponsor Sylvia Mantella

On May 3, Toronto Fashion Incubator celebrated its 25th anniversary with a fundraising gala at the Royal Ontario Museum, aptly dubbed TFI25, that was attended by a who’s who of Toronto’s social set and fashion industry and fit for Barbie herself. Chaired by Suzanne Rogers and emceed by a Greta Constantine-clad Jully Black, the evening featured a VIP dinner, a Barbie-inspired celebrity runway show, the annual TFI New Labels design competition fashion show and, of course, an after-party.

Singer and TFI25 Master of Ceremonies Jully Black

After a 6 month long competition, finalists Patrick Larrivée, Sid Neigum, Jameson Kane by Genevieve Pearson and Stanley Capobianco, and [blak] – i by Diego Fuchs and Helder Aguiar showed four very well received collections that made the TFI New Labels judges’ decision that much more difficult to make. “Judges are in big trouble from @SusanAtTFI”, FLARE Magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Tant tweeted, ”because we can’t decide and won’t come out.”

FLARE Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief and TFI New Labels judge Lisa Tant

Tant was joined on the judging panel by TNT Boutiques’ Arie Assaraf, Toronto Star‘s Derick Chetty, TFI President David Dixon, TFI Executive Director Susan Langdon and the gala’s honorary chair Suzanne Rogers, who donated the $25,000 grand prize. In the end, Edmonton native Sid Neigum was named this year’s TFI New Labels winner, taking home a prize package valued at $60,000, which included a feature in FLARE Magazine and a design studio at the TFI sponsored by Arie Assaraf.

TFI New Labels winner Sid Neigum and model

Those weren’t the only prizes up for grabs at TFI25. The Barbie-inspired fashion show featured celebrity models like Dina Pugliese, Tanya Kim and Trish Stratus in designs by VAWK, Arthur Mendonça, Anastasia Lomonova and more. While past TFI New Labels winner Sarah Nicol of Sar Couture was awarded the $10,000 cash prize, it was actress Tara Spencer-Nairn in VAWK who stole the show with her robotic runway walk, tweeted FASHION Magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief Bernadette Morra.

Dina Pugliese in Barbie-inspired dress by Stema

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Events

Spotted from the Backseat: LG Innovators’ Ball 2011 Edition

by The Backseat Stylers | May 14th, 2011

Butter PR’s Shawn Rusich and SC\PR’s Susan Chong (in Greta Constantine)

On May 5, 2011, the Ontario Science Centre hosted its annual fundraising gala, the 5th annual LG Innovators’ Ball: A Night of Sensory Deception. The evening included an after party that featured everything from a Joe Fresh manicure lounge to an oxygen bar, from a Porter Airlines lounge with Glenfiddich tastings to an overabundance of gourmet food stations.

It was one of the most entertaining charity gala after parties I’ve had the pleasure of attending this season. In between gorging on Babybel cheeses wrapped in prosciutto and testing our pain thresholds in a bucket of ice, Mr. Backseat Styler and I scoured the dance floor for the night’s most stylish partygoers.

Toronto Star’s Derick Chetty and Greta Constantine designer Kirk Pickersgill