The Toronto Fashion Incubator
The Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) is an award-winning and highly-acclaimed non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and nurturing Canadian fashion designers and entrepreneurs. Established in 1987 as the world’s first official “fashion incubator”, the TFI model has been adopted by cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Melbourne, Auckland, Amsterdam, and Milan. It provides critical support to creative entrepreneurs to develop the business and professional skills they need to thrive and survive. Start-up and advanced community programs include educational seminars on the business of fashion, one-on-one mentoring with industry professionals, exclusive promotional and sales opportunities, and valuable sales, marketing and trend resources.
TFI’s striking invitation for their 25th anniversary gala graced the desks of Canada’s fashion elite, solidifying the celebration on event calendars across the country. We crafted a distinctive invite worthy of the quarter century celebration. Created using 6,250 Swarovski crystals, 700 stunning Swarovski crystal buttons, 700 yards of ribbon and 500 hours of hand craftsmanship, the final piece was nothing short of stunning. “We wanted something breath-taking and unique,” said Susan Langdon, Executive Director, Toronto Fashion Incubator. Sure to make every element of the invite symbolic, the materials used were inspired by fashion including a two-holed Swarovski button, pink stitching, fabric ribbon and couture presentation boxes lined with “graphic stitching.” The flowers signify the blossoming of new talent and rise of the creative landscape in Toronto with each flower layer custom die-cut after printing and physically strung together like the pearls of a necklace. These were held together by the Swarovski button, like the closing button on a pair of pants. The flower is also a reminder to the fashion industry that we need to be conscious of our environmental footprint with the paper also being made from renewed resources, and ordered locally.
