Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.
Let’s face it: mall fashion shows can be a bit of a yawn. But when we heard about Flare Magazine stopping in at Bayshore, we snapped to attention. After all, this is the (Canadian!) mag that, in addition to covering fashion weeks around the world on a regular basis, is also reportedly bringing on lit it-girl Sheila Heti as a columnist.
So we wanted to know more. We tapped our sources.
The event is one of a series billed as the Flare World Runway Tour. With stops in six Invahoe Cambridge malls across Canada — Vancouver’s Oakridge Centre kicked things off in September — Bayshore was an easy pick as it is actually one of the more fashion-forward of the chain.
James Jefferson of Blackbook Lifestyle, the Bayshore PR team, painted an image of classy (and heated) white tents set up in the parking lot near HomeSense and Winners. Like all of us who spend time bringing style to the city, Jefferson was excited that Ottawa was getting a all “fashiony” this month, as Ottawa Fashion Week starts just days after the Flare presentation (check out Shop Talk’s post on that event here).
Flare fashion director Liz Cabral will host the event, bringing anecdotes and insider gossip from her adventures covering fashion weeks in Milan, London, and New York. While Lois Lee of Daytime Ottawa plays the role of MC, Liz will dissect each outfit and describe how they reflect international trends. Liz describes it as a “fun, insightful” night for anyone interested in fashion.
Local fashion journalist Erica Wark covered Ottawa Fashion Week for Flare in 2011. She said she was thrilled to hear that Ottawa was one of the lucky cities in Canada to be participating in the series. “It’s another piece of evidence that Ottawa is slowly but surely making its mark on the Canadian fashion scene.”
So, is Ottawa getting cooler? Well, there’s no doubt that malls are starting to up the ante in terms of hosting events and boasting exclusive stores. (Check out the October issue of Ottawa Magazine for an in-depth look at how — and why — retailers like Nordstrom, Apple, and Target are shaking up the local shopping scene.) In any case, it should help to shake the label as the worst dressed city in the world.
Flare World Runway Tour. Wednesday, Oct. 10. 6 p.m. Bayshore Shopping Centre. 100 Bayshore Dr. $32. Buy tickets here.