World MasterCard Fashion Week gets new owner

16 Aug '12

4 min read

Robin Kay, President of the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) and Executive Director of World MasterCard Fashion Week, announced that Fashion Week will now be owned by IMG Canada and operated in collaboration with IMG Fashion, global leader in fashion event production and management. IMG will continue to work with local fashion consultants, in order to keep the event regionally significant, while working to further elevate the event to the international stage.

In 1999, Robin Kay, as president of the FDCC, created Fashion Week in Toronto to stimulate a demand for Canadian designers nationally and globally. For 13 years and 26 seasons, hundreds of thousands of fashion professionals attended the biannual event with media from around the globe covering each season resulting in countless media impressions and massive exposure for Canadian designers. Under Robin Kay’s leadership, fashion week in Toronto grew to become the second largest fashion week in North America. The FDCC commissioned IMG in 2010 to consult on a variety of event matters including production, designer outreach, marketing, and sponsorship sales.

The move marks Robin Kay’s exit as Executive Director of World MasterCard Fashion Week, however she will remain the president of the FDCC and continue to support and mentor Canadian designers and will serve a vital role as consultant to the event bringing her vast knowledge of the Canadian fashion landscape and essential industry relationships.

“Creating Fashion Week in Toronto was a career dream for me as I was able to translate my skills as a designer and retailer into a celebration of Canadian fashion that has supported so many talented people to find an audience and a global runway. In business, timing is everything, and I am confident that the time is right for IMG to take World MasterCard Fashion Week to the next level,” said Robin Kay. “I have no plans to disappear and I will remain committed to helping and nurturing Canadian designers shine on the catwalk.”

“I’ve worked with Robin for eight years on Fashion Week and it truly couldn’t have been done without her energy, vision and support,” said Joe Mimran, founder and creative director of Joe Fresh Style and chairman of the Fashion Design Council of Canada Board of Directors. “I look forward to seeing Fashion Week evolve and grow as it leverages IMG’s global infrastructure and expertise.”

Collaboratively, the FDCC and IMG made the monumental decision to include World MasterCard Fashion Week to the already impressive roster of fashion weeks that IMG Fashion owns and commercially represents.

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