By Michael Baxter
“The message Toronto is sending is to take us seriously. That we’re not just New York’s baby brother. We have our own culture.”
‘We Made It’. Those words come from Bryan Brock of 1LOVE T.O., one of many Toronto designers helping to make Toronto one of the most up-to-date and fashionable places around. It’s safe to say that Toronto is on top of the map these days (and not just in a literal sense anymore either). In everything from music, to art, to sports it’s easy to see that Toronto has become a major player on the international scene, a designation that wasn’t always so easily afforded to ‘We the North’.
“Toronto has always had incredible talent, but over the past few years a giant magnifying glass has been hovering over our city, allowing the world to see what we have to offer,” says Brock. ”There’s no denying the fact that international success from local artists such as Drake and The Weeknd have helped in making our city popular.”
With Drake, arguably the most popular hip-hop artist on the planet calling Toronto home and the Raptors basketball team finally finding its footing after years of mediocrity, it’s no surprise that Toronto has become a place that people are finally recognizing as an up-and-coming mecca for all things cool.
With this popularity designers have begun to use Toronto, in all forms, to fuel artistic, creative and decidedly Canadian designs and clothing lines. These designs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the constant is an edge that has been missing from the design scene that only Canadian designers could provide. While each brand does their thing in their own way, they all get the point across that it’s Toronto’s time now and the city is going to run with the spotlight while we have it.
“I started noticing it last year when 5ives on Top made the Scarborough hat and it sold out in 20 minutes,” says Taurean Scotland, Manifesto’s Freshest Goods programmer speaking about the increasing number of brands incorporating a Toronto focus into their designs. “Last year Manifesto launched the T-Dot hat and we saw huge sales. Right now there is a lot of hometown pride, people are proud to be from Toronto and they want things to represent that.”
While a few different brands use Toronto for small parts of a line, or as a nod to the local culture, there are some brands that take it up a notch and have completely based their brand around ‘the 6’. Brands like The Four One Six and its owner Jermaine Finn feels like it’s a long time coming.
With The Four One Six brand the name of the game is making something to unite the Greater Toronto Area. The brand is extremely new (only having been around for half a year or so) but is already making noise in the Toronto area. According to Jermaine, The Four One Six is looking to differentiate itself as a Canadian brand by separating itself from a CN tower-centric design focus, featured on many Toronto designs. By representing the city as a whole and not focusing on one aspect of the city, Jermaine has managed to create a brand that represents a whole community and not just a singular idea or image.
Toronto designers show that the city has more to offer than the world thinks.
When asked about the message that Canadian, and specifically Toronto designers are trying to send to the rest of the world Finn says, “The message Toronto is sending is to take us seriously. That we’re not just New York’s baby brother, we have our own culture.” Adding to this sentiment Brock describes 1LOVETO’s creative process. “We brainstorm a lot. We ask ourselves what would we want to wear, and we try very hard to create something that feels inclusive. People want to represent where they’re from, and it’s our job to deliver quality goods that people are proud to wear.”
Brands like MNFSTO are showing Toronto to be as well rounded as all of its metropolitan peers. With a clothing line to accompany the ongoing festival and its other events, the brand’s aim is to reflect the community from which it emerged.
“If you look at American brands, almost any brand from New York or L.A. has something representing their city. Of course brands in Toronto would start to do that,” says Scotland. “It’s an easy sell when you go out to events even if a person isn’t into hip-hop or street wear they would still buy something with Toronto on it as long as the design is good. Especially if you’re starting out as a brand, a good way to get people behind you is something they can relate to and using the city as inspiration is a great way to go. I think there’s tons of stuff that we haven’t seen yet from designers.”
