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Montreal's Bill Waxman is on a Mission
If the tuxedo is in vogue once again, we can thank
Waxman and his tireless crusade for helping to bring
this timeless classic back into men's as well as
women's wardrobes. If one passed by the unassuming
Waxman boutique on Montreal's Parc Avenue, a fashion
house founded by Wolf Waxman in 1927, you would wonder
how those four walls could contain the bounding energy
of Mr. Waxman.
The Billy Waxman Gala had been held at the old
Locoshop Angus train yards in Montreal, a near-sacred
mecca of the industrial revolution, and its historical
influence cast a sentimental shadow on what was
perhaps one of the grandest fashion events in Canadian
fashion history. No expense was spared as the capacity
crowd was treated to the tuxedo interpretations of
nearly twenty Canadian designers, including Dubuc,
Denis Gagnon, POW, Tavan & Mitto, Nadya Toto, Marisa
Minicucci, Marie Saint Pierre, Wantstil, C'est pas
Grave and many others.
The stage was a virtual playground for Montreal's
creative thinkers, as they showed how a little
imagination could rework the tux in a big way. Mr.
Waxman himself took the opportunity to reveal his new
collection of crushed red velvet and electric blue
suede. Of course, there was a sea of black and white
to choose from. The decadent, outdoor cocktail party
and barbecue that followed proved to be the
crystallizing moment of Montreal Fashion Week.
"It's the year of the tuxedo," said Waxman. "Gucci,
Prada, YSL, it's everywhere. My collection revitalizes
the traditional values of the tuxedo (in colours as
electric as the man himself), and we even pulled some
pieces out of the archives for the show." Where does
the event go from here? "I'm taking it to New York,
Paris, and other European cities." If you aren't
already a believer in the tuxedo, spend five minutes
with Billy Waxman and I guarantee you'll think twice
about leaving home without your bow tie.
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