The Toronto Week of Style was conceived by a group of individuals, (that later formed the Style Council of Canada), in 2004 out of a frustration created by a combination of a lack of true support of the Canadian Style industry by existing properties and governmental organizations and seeing an opportunity that was being wasted to grow a community that was quickly burgeonging due to a shift/growth in the pop culture landscape that style (and all that is under its' umbrella) is a pillar of into an industry.

The main purpose of the event is to showcase, promote and support the up and coming talent in the style industry. It does so by creating a promotional channel for all creators of lifestyle components (including but not limited to fashion, cosmetics, hair care, liquor, phones, and cars), with a secondary focus on providing marketers with a viable marketing channel to communicate directly with the cultural tastemakers that create and drive the movements/trends that guide the mass consumer (being both the creators of style and those that partake in it).

We believe that fashion is the foundation of style and will always remain an important part of it. Fashion weeks around the world still play a vital and important role as its sole purpose is to feed the retail distribution channels so that fashion designers can earn a living. Whereas, the Toronto Week of Style is important because it provides a direct channel to the consumer for both the brand/fashion designer and the store that sells the product, whether that brand is a huge fashion icon or an up and coming designer.


Who is producing the show?

bamboo - media arts & strategy agency has been hired to produce the event for the Style Council of Canada. With over 10 years experience in producing live events, the team at bamboo was hired to manage all aspects of the event, (including coming up with the name the Toronto Week of Style).


Why is it necessary?

The fashion industry is still a growing industry in Canada. While great leaps have been made over the last decade, with the exception of a handful of designers/brands, it still has a bit to go before it can compete with the likes of New York, Milan, Paris and London in prestige, attendance and most importantly sales. Currently, there is already a property on the market that tries to cater to the behind-the-scene players, (such as the buyers and the designers themselves). However, due to this focus on industry-types coupled with a lack of a real vision and plan on how to correctly support and grow the fashion industry, this event has ended up excluding the consumers. In fact, there is currently no property on the market that caters directly to the consumer. (As a result of the introduction of the Toronto Week of Style, there has been some lip-service as of late that has leaned a bit in this direction, however, the fact of the matter is that there hasn't ever been and still isn't an event that connects consumers to brands in the style industry the way that the Toronto Week of Style does).

This one factor is the main reason why the industry has not reached the level it can and will eventually reach. There are not a lot of retailers available in Canada for designers to show their wares to, making it increasingly difficult for an up and coming designer to grow without having to move outside of the country. Without a strategy on how to directly reach the consumer, (whom can be the industry's saving grace), this situation will not change. Hence, the reason for the Toronto Week of Style…to create a direct channel to the consumer while showcasing what style is becoming – a holistic lifestyle that transcends the ‘just-clothes’ focus which we currently know fashion know as.

The focus on style as opposed to just fashion is a natural one. Fashion is just one aspect of style and it takes a very specific personality to navigate the very exclusive world of fashion. However, style transcends that. Whereas fashion focuses on the clothes, style focuses on the lifestyle to include not only the clothing, shoes and fashion accessories but wine, scotch, music and cell phones (to name a few). This allows for consumers to buy into the event on a personal level because while it takes a very specific person to get fashion, everyone has style.