Unconventional, unabashed, and unparalleled: That’s how one can describe what’s being unleashed on the runway in the unbelievable lineup of leading design at the 21st edition of Montréal Fashion Week (MFW), in collaboration with P&G Beauty & Grooming!

Canada’s most creative fashion week is anticipated the world over as it takes its place on the international Fashion Week calendar. The global status of MFW is even further reinforced by the continued presence of international press and designers (from Paris and Germany this year!) 

From September 6th to 9th, our daring designers will once again unveil their distinctive designs for the spring-summer 2012 season, at the beautiful Marché Bonsecours, Old Montréal. 

Groupe Sensation Mode, producer of MFW for the past six years, pushes the envelope even further this time around – putting extra emphasis on the fresh, new, cutting-edge talents that inspire us with their intrepid interpretations of style. 

“Since Groupe Sensation Mode first took charge of Montréal Fashion Week six years ago, we’ve continuously highlighted the boundless creativity and leading-edge design of our national talents and international guests through the programming we present,” states Jean-Francois Daviau, co-founder of Groupe Sensation Mode. “We’re proud to be delivering an exceptional schedule of forward-thinking designers once again this season. We’ve succeeded in producing a tailor-made Fashion Week where national and international press and buyers can come to discover the uniqueness and authenticity of our fashion designers.” 

THE SAUCY SCHEDULE
The avant-garde attitude and the edgy excitement overflow at MFW 21, with shows from: 

Denis Gagnon
Barilà
Dimitri Chris
Harricana par Mariouche
Soïa & Kyo

MARTIN-LIM
UNTTLD 
Anastasia Lomonova
Travis Taddeo
Mulcair
DUY
Andrew Floyd

Label Europe :
Les Chats Perchés (France)
Monsieur Chat L’Heureux (France)
Eugène bijoux (France)
Katharina Kruppe (Allemagne) 
Celiaczerlinski (Allemagne)
Rhum raisins by Victoire Vermeulen (France)
Finnegan-Bell (London) – (Taekyung Joo designer lauréat du Prix spécial de la Jeunesse au festival de Mode de Dinard, en France)
85/86 (France)

Veinage (ModEthik)
Rescued (ModEthik)
ChromoZone(ModEthik)

And of course, MFW’s signature creativity and innovation show up strong with:

Dinh Bà Design
Mélissa Nepton
IRIS Setlakwe Collection
Second
Samuel Dong

Zenobia Bawa présentée par le CIMM
Ronen Chen présenté par le CIMM
Simon Chang présenté par le CIMM

Annie 50
!Nu. I by Vickie
Anomal Couture présenté par Misencil

Marie-Sophie Dion
Bijoux Caroline Néron

LABEL EUROPE SHOW
On Wednesday, September 7th, get a taste of international flair at The Label Europe Show; an exclusive presentation of MFW, in collaboration with the Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse (OFQJ – Franco-Quebec Youth Bureau) and L’office franco-allemand pour la jeunesse. Make sure to purchase your tickets for this exclusive event! Tickets available on www.admission.com 

P&G Beauty & Grooming:
Proud Partner for a 13th Season 
For the past six years, P&G Beauty and Grooming has been a dedicated supporter of Montréal Fashion Week, and as a result, a supporter of the Canadian fashion industry as a whole. MFW is very proud to have such strong and continued involvement from P&G, which is crucial to the continued development of our designers on both the national and international levels. 

“P&G Beauty & Grooming is committed to helping Canadians make their beauty dreams real, and we are proud to be a trusted source for beauty products and tips from brands like Pantene™, COVERGIRL™, Olay™, Clairol™, Sebastian™, Wella™ , Gillette™ and Crest ™,” states Stefanie Valkonen, External Relations Director, P&G Beauty & Grooming, Canada. “Witnessing the level of creativity of the artists working backstage using everyday beauty and grooming products is pure inspiration.” 

CONFERENCES
Worth Global Style Network (WGSN) returns once again to Montréal Fashion Week on Wednesday September 7th when Carly Stojsic, Canada’s Market Editor for WGSN, will present an insightful report on the macro-trends for the fall-winter 2012-2013 season. 

ALAI Canada (International Literary and Artistic Association) presents “La mode sort ses griffes” on Friday, September 9th, when they will shed light on important issues such as counterfeit designs, intellectual property in fashion and design, and more. Tickets for this conference may be purchased at: www.alai.ca 

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL BUYERS
The recruitment of national and international buyers remains one of Groupe Sensation Mode’s top priorities. Thanks to the MDEIE (Department of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade) GSM will once again be welcoming a select panel of national and international buyers who will not only discover the expertise of our designers here at home, but also offer them the opportunity to develop new markets. 

In the wake of a strategic repositioning, Groupe Sensation Mode announces the temporary closing of Le Showroom; a unique concept the organization launched to great success three years ago. Each season, approximately fifty designer brands benefitted from the outstanding visibility & opportunities provided by Le Showroom. Stay tuned! 

ART vs FASHION
GSM is proud to announce that the much-adored “Art vs Fashion” art gallery open house, which made its debut during Montréal Fashion Week in 2008, is back! The tour of art galleries will unfold in the streets of Old Montréal to showcase the creative talent that thrives here at home. Galleries will remain open until midnight for the occasion, with rue St-Paul closed off to vehicular traffic. Many well-known establishments including: Impact Galerie, Café des arts- Galerie MAM, Galerie AKA, M Galerie d’art, Espace Pepin and Galerie Michel-Ange will be taking part in this one-of-a-kind event!

The SDC du Vieux-Montréal (Old Montreal Commercial Development Corporation) is pleased to be joining forces with Montréal Fashion Week to produce the special ART vs FASHION event. It is particularly proud of having such an outstanding partner adding more excitement to the area’s 2011 calendar of cultural activities; a schedule that, in turn, contributes to the growth of Montréal Fashion Week. 

MFW 21 DESIGNER SELECTION COMMITTEE
In an ongoing effort to respond to the needs of the fashion industry and promote the success of its designers, Groupe Sensation Mode created The Designer Selection Committee. 

The committee came together recently to critique the many designers’ submissions, with the goal of assuring that the standards and criteria for participating in MFW are met. This season the committee welcomed:
Lara Ceroni, senior web editor ELLE Canada;
Cynthia Cooper, Head, Collections and Research/Curator, Costume and Textiles McCord Museum;
Michelle Germain, owner and principal buyer of Shopgirls Gallery Boutique, Toronto,
Britta Kröger, Director of Paris office and buyer for women’s Designers collections, La maison Simons;
Stéphane Le Duc, Editor-in-chief, Dress to KILL Magazine & Educational Director, Promedia;
Franco Rocchi, Senior Vice President, Sales and Operations, Le Chateau Inc;
Melanie Trevett, fashion consultant and business owner. 

PARTIES AND OFF-SITE EVENTS 
Take your disco nap, push back your next-morning’s appointments and get your party boots on – it wouldn’t be Fashion Week without the notorious nightly after-hours frenzies that everyone loves to land in on! 

Red carpet, cinema and fashion unite for the launch of the Dress to Kill magazine fall issue « Special CINEMA ». Don’t miss the chance to partake in a glamorous night featuring Canadian movie stars and end this exceptional soirée by viewing a photo exhibit by Carl Lessard. On Thursday evening – by invitation only. 

TICKETS FOR ALL FASHION-LOVERS!
For the first time ever, MFW in collaboration with ELLE Quebec will be selling advance tickets to its 6:30 pm fashion shows on www.admission.com. And as usual, last-minute tickets and exclusive fashion packages for select shows will be sold through www.lavitrineculturelle.com. 

MFW Live on Your Screen!
Those who can’t be there in person at MFW21 are invited to tune in and watch selected MFW shows and exclusive interviews with notorious fashion figures, bloggers, celebrities and more, live every night on Ustream! The public can also watch free live streaming of all the fashion shows on the official Facebook page of GSM: www.facebook.com/#!/SensationMode. Thanks to the support of bureau de la mode for making this possible. 

MAKING IT HAPPEN
Montréal Fashion Week 21, produced by Groupe Sensation Mode (www.sensationmode.com), is made possible through the invaluable support of its major partner, P&G Beauty & Grooming, as well as Rowenta and Rowenta Beauty, and the Montréal Eaton Centre, Heineken and Hotel Le Westin Montréal. A special note of thanks as well to the ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation du Québec (MDEIE — Department of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade), the ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire du Québec (MAMROT), the Bureau de la mode de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal and Société de développement commercial (SDC) Vieux-Montréal. 

A GROUPE SENSATION MODE PRODUCTION
After a lively and exceedingly busy decade, Groupe Sensation Mode continues to produce and present some of the most prominent fashion events in Canada and around the world. It has also created such singular new concepts as the Fashion & Design Festival, the Fashion Theatre (staged in Berlin, Tokyo, New York and London), the Fashion & Opéra Runway Show in Los Angeles, and Montréal Fashion Week. Over the past 11 years, the innovative events organized by Groupe Sensation Mode have provided an increasingly visible window on the creativity and talent of fashion designers. Having forged partnerships in some of the world’s leading fashion capitals – Paris, Berlin and Tokyo – Groupe Sensation Mode is proud of its pre-eminent position among North America’s fashion and design leaders. 

Follow us:
Twitter: Sensation_Mode – Hashtag : #SMM21
Facebook: SensationMode
MFW Blog: blog.montrealfashionweek.ca 

NOTE TO MEDIA: 
pdf of the the complete schedule of events for MFW 21 

Members of the press wishing to attend this edition of MFW are invited to complete the accreditation form available on the following Website: montrealfashionweek.ca, and return it before August 29, 2011. 

Source : Groupe Sensation Mode, www.montrealfashionweek.ca