Mercedes Benz Start Up

Hosts: Jarrad Clark of IMG Fashion and Project Runway Australia and JoAnne Caza of Mercedes-Benz Canada.
Model: Fred Lamarche

Winners, Simon Belanger and Jose-Manuel St.Jacques (UNTTLD) and Pao Lim and Danielle Martin (Martin Lim)
Guests: Carolyn Quinn of the FDCC (center) and Shawn Hewson of Bustle Clothing and judge to Project Runway Canada (far right).
Designer Denis Gagnon and myself.

Blogger Candice Pantin (www.montrelinfashion.com) and myself.

Last Thursday I attended an event called the Mercedes-Benz Start Up; a national initiative to discover and mentor up and coming Canadian fashion designers. The event took place at l'Usine C and was organized by IMG, the same public relations company responsible for organizing the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The program was designed as a nation wide competition, in which Canadian designers were mentored by a panel of industry professionals on the process of building a sustainable business. The winner of the Canadian wide search will receive their own show at Toronto's LG Fashion Week by l'Oréal Paris. I attended the first round of semi-finals, which included the top five designers/labels of choice, including "Martin Lim" by Danielle Martin and Pao Lim, "Faren" by Faren Tami, "Travis Taddeo" by Travis Taddeo, "Anastasia Lomonova" by Anastasia Lomonova and "Unttld" by Simon Belanger and Jose-Manuel St.Jacques. At the end of the runway show a panel of judges announced the two winning finalists, which were "Martin Lim" and "Unttld". The four lucky winners will move onto the final round in Toronto in October, during the Fall/Winter LG Fashion Week to represent each of their labels. Ironically, both sets of winners are not only partners in fashion and design, but also in life. Whoever said couples can't work together is sadly mistaken! In conclusion, it was a lovely night of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, a runway show and mingling with some of fashion's best.

All photos by myself, Amy Lee Corkum

www.corkumphoto.carbonmade.com

5 Bloggers 5 Looks

While attending the Festival of Fashion and Design I shot one particularly special runway show. This year for the first time the festival presented a show crafted by five influential Montreal bloggers, including Gabrielle Lacasse, Robyn Chalmers, Patrick L'Aristocrate, Lolitta Dandoy and Marie Darsingny. Each blogger styled five outfits and the show was appropriately named "Collective: 5 Bloggers, 5 Looks". The show was a beautiful demonstration of the knowledge and love that bloggers have for fashion and authenticated that bloggers know style and know what they're talking about. Each blogger's style ranged drastically from vintage and lace to dark and modern, appealing to all demographics in the audience. One blogger in particular, Lolitta Dandoy, who is a blogger for fashion magazine, Clin d'oeil featured one of my photos on her web blog post. It was a pleasure meeting Lolitta, along with all of the other bloggers and it is wonderful to see my photograph on such a credible website. Thank you, Lolitta!

Follow this link to Lolitta's blog: http://blogues.canoe.ca/clindoeil/festival-mode-et-design-2011/1000e-post-defile-des-blogueurs-au-fmdm/

(Top Image: www.festivalmodedesign.com All other photos by Amy Lee Corkum)

Festival de Mode et Design de Montreal

Last week from August 3rd-6th Montreal celebrated it's 10th fashion and design festival. The festival took over McGill College Street and where cars usually pass, models strut down runways. Each day of the festival offered incredible shows, including the highlight of the festival, Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2011/2012 collection. Gaultier also displayed a runway show demonstrating some of his most iconic designs and influential models, including Montreal's own Francisco Randez and Eve Salvail. I had the privilege of being able to photograph the festival with a press pass, giving me access to the perfect location for great shots of the show. I couldn't believe that I was seeing a Jean Paul Gaultier runway show right in front of my lens, just as it had been shown in Paris Fashion Week. Being a girl who grew up in a small town in New Brunswick, it is in moments like this that I realize how lucky I am to live in a city like Montreal, which presents me with incredible opportunities such as that.

I have recently teamed up with successful fashion blogger, Candice Pantin of www.montrealinfashion.com and I work with Candice as her photographer, attending events such as the Fashion and Design Festival. It is my job to document every fabulous moment to provide her with beautiful imagery to compliment her wonderful writing on her blog. I am very lucky to work with Candice, who gives me the opportunity to attend these amazing events and meet lovely people in the fashion industry, such as Fashion Television's Glen Baxter! In addition, my photography is featured on her blog each time we cover an event together and is viewed by all her loyal readers. Be sure to browse Candice's amazing blog and see all my photos from the Montreal Fashion and Design Festival : www.montrealinfashion.com

On Top of the World

All photos by Patrick St-Arnaud (www.patrickstarnaud.com)

Recently I assisted photographer, Patrick St-Arnaud on a rooftop location photo shoot. As I climbed the awkward metal stairs to the rooftop, I approached closer and closer to utopia. My newly elevated height gave me a bird's eye view of the beautiful city of Montreal and I felt like I was on top of the world. The buildings appeared to be lined up like rows of dominos, seperated only by small ally ways, and in my imagination I dreamed of leaping from one building to the other, as in the film Mary Poppins, during the "Chim Chimney" scene. That day we worked with two lovely models, Kim and Sara, and stylist Melodie Wronski. The wardrobe for the shoot was very colorful, tribal, light and flowy. Absolutely summer and lounging appropriate. My favorite articles of clothing were those from the newest collection by Rachel Roy, whose pieces are available at The Bay downtown. The rooftop gave photographer, Patrick a lot of space and locations to work with and each shot is uniquely different, all while staying fluent with the rooftop look. Altogether, the shoot was an absolute pleasure to be a part of and the team was a pleasure to work with. Be sure to check out Patrick's other work on his website at: www.patrickstarnaud.com and browse stylist, Melodie Wronski's blog at: www.mode34b.com