Local fashion news

Featured

MAY 1ST: the nobility of recycling

From clothes that have already been worn, designer Ysaline Lannes creates pieces designed to last. With her brand 1ER MAI, she will be one of the twenty designers present this weekend at the 17^e edition of the Recycling Craftsmen’s Market.

It is mainly from old jeans, clothes unearthed in thrift stores or unused fabrics that she finds at local designers that Ysaline Lannes designs high-end clothes whose “streetwear” style is inspired by uniforms, work clothes and the counterculture. In her Montreal studio, she cuts them, combines them and assembles them to create new pieces that are in many cases unique, even tailor-made for the one who will wear them. Associated with spring, the name 1ER MAI echoes this second life that she gives back to materials, as well as International Workers’ Day and the smell of lily of the valley that marked her early years of childhood, spent in France. .

“Denim is a really durable material that lends itself well to recycling,” notes the designer. Jeans age with us, they follow the shape of our bodies. It’s a bit like a second skin. There are places that are weaker… I found it really interesting to work with that and reshape the material. »

To give it back a certain nobility also by betting on loose but straight cuts, quilts graphics, an altogether minimalist aesthetic as well as craft techniques such as weaving, macrame and embroidery. Because yes, the very variegated stereotypical image of upcycled fashion still needs to be changed, according to her.

Even though her brand is less than two years old, she has already walked the catwalks twice, as part of the Mode + Design Festival. Last August, she presented her favorite piece there, her version of the emblematic aviator jacket, available in several materials (jeans, corduroy, brocade), as well as kimonos and jumpsuits. On stage, mountains of used clothes evoked the textile dump of the Atacama desert, in Chile. “When you work in fashion, you have to be aware of what’s going on,” says the one who studied fashion design at Cégep Marie-Victorin and who has held several jobs in the industry. You see, the waste […] It was natural for me to go to something that already exists and give value to it, just with my hands. “When she buys new fabrics, it’s always wondering if she really needs them, she says.

Her pieces are made to order, by her alone in her Mile End workshop. You can find a selection of them in his online store. His unique creations can serve as inspiration for special, custom-made orders.

Ysaline Lannes is a finalist at the second edition of the mmode gala, which will take place on December 8, in the President’s favorite and Public’s favorite categories. It will be present at the Collectors’ Craftsmen’s Market, at the Maison du développement durable, from December 2 to 4, as well as at the How Bazaar at Espace WIP, on December 16 and 17.

Well designed Christmas markets

In the absence of the Souk this year (the event site announces a return in the fall of 2023), the most prominent Montreal designers have been picked up by a host of other markets which will follow one another during the month of december. The annual event that was once held at the Society for Arts and Technology, before moving to Place Ville Marie, has given way, among other places, to the chic Halles of the PHI Center. Until Sunday, there will be around thirty designers who will be selling their recent productions there, including some more well-known names (Heirloom Hats, Eliza Faulkner, Odeyalo, LLY Atelier) and others to discover, such as the new jewelry brand from Quebec queens of “dental jewellery” (grillz), named Coming Age, the colorful knits of Caulis and the pretty clothes of dorsaLi. A few artisans from Les Halles will do it again the following weekend (December 9 to 11), at the Livart winter market. Added to the list, among others, is the designer of whimsical clothing Lafaille and the high-end leather goods brand Partoem.

A showcase for indigenous crafts

A rare ephemeral showcase for Aboriginal art in Montreal, a small market organized by the promoters of the ODEA real estate project will be held inside their sales office on December 3, 4, 10 and 11. The creations of several Aboriginal artisans will be presented, including the fringed handbags of Onquata (known above all for her decorative paddles), made in Wendake by Huron-Wendat artisans, the jewelry of Deborah Ratt of Cree-Ations, designed using of the traditional technique of beading, as well as the products of several artisans represented by Les Productions Feux Sacrés.

780 Wellington Street, Montreal

The 66^e Crafts Fair at the Olympic Stadium

The 66^e edition of the Crafts Fair is held from December 8 to 18, exceptionally this year at the Olympic Stadium. More than 180 artisans from all over Quebec will be there to show off their know-how. This is the time to meet ceramists, jewelers, cabinetmakers, fashion designers, cutlers, leatherworkers, glass artists, hatters and many other artisans. Fashion columnist Lolitta Dandoy is the show’s fashion ambassador and is launching the 1001 reasons contest for up-and-coming designers, on the theme of textile recycling and recovery. And as Christian Bégin, spokesperson for the event, says: “Buying art from here, for me, is not about consuming, it’s about choosing, it’s about choosing YOURSELF…”

I love Haiti

Montreal brand Je Love Haïti is hosting a Christmas sale on Saturday, December 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at m0851 at 3526 Saint-Laurent Boulevard. The brand’s fourth collection will be launched on this occasion, and features t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags and scarves by Haitian artists Frankétienne and Pascale Faublas. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to the KANPE Foundation, which helps disadvantaged rural communities in Haiti achieve self-reliance.