Spring/Summer 2009

Day TWO

Montage's Jessiann Gravel with
Giovanni booker Matthew Parsons Modelresource spent a good part of Day TWO visiting the agencies and getting their perspective on Montréal Fashion Week. The general feeling is there is a lot to be improved upon.

For the models in Toronto that always hear about how much more money there is in Montréal, well, it doesn't extend to the runways unfortunately.

Two of the four agencies I visited said they felt embarrassed to ask their models to show up for castings that - for those models successful enough to win a spot in the lineup - would be followed by a two hour rehearsal and the runway show itself (which, of course, also has the models arriving hours before the runway portion). The small amount of money allotted to the models isn't worth the time, which explains why some of the models I came here to see have passed on doing shows altogether this season.

If it doesn't turn around soon, it risks getting the reputation Toronto (enjoyed?) a couple years ago. In fairness to Toronto, where rates aren't much better, at least a model has the opportunity to do several shows in the same day, and the rehearsal are generally less onerous. The spotty schedule in Montréal makes it difficult to justify a model interupting her/his real life.

The shows here are big on production value, not like the 12-minute runway presentations I'm used to in Toronto. The Québec audience seems to love a big event. It's not really my taste, as I find it distracts from clothes. The reason I'm a bit of a runway fanatic is because I love seeing how a model can sell the wardrobe.

This might be the only update today as the runway schedule jumps around a bit, but at least I have more photos to share, thanks largely to Martin Rondeau's photo exhibit at Espace B51.


Specs' Katrina for Helmer and Folio's Delphie for Rush Couture.
photos: Jimmy Hamelin


Montage's Stephanie and Felix for Envers.
photos: Jimmy Hamelin


Specs' booker Eve Mathieu and agency owner Marie Josée Trempe
prior their Helmer exclusive


Next's Josh Milko with his adoring booker Jenny Perzow


Giovanni's Tori Leach


Montage's Renee Thompson with Folio's Francisco Randez


Next's Yamal with Montage's Felix


Folio's Nadine - a runway tour de force


Giovanni's Victoria Denofrio


Montage's stunning Stephanie Rudyk


One of two walls of Modelresource articles on the wall
at Next! How happy was I???