Sask. Fashion Week model selection based on skills, not size
Co-founder says Fashion Week models reflect the diverse clients designers want to reach
This year's Saskatchewan Fashion Week is just around the corner, and the call for models went out on Saturday. Of the 230 models who applied to walk the runway in Regina, 90 will make the cut.
While many people see the modelling world as an exclusive place populated by the incredibly thin, the director and co-founder of Saskatchewan Fashion Week, Chelsea Petterson, says models in this case will be chosen based on their skills and confidence, rather than their size.
We have a diversity in designers — and the models need to be able to portray the clientele that the designers are trying to get — so we have a diversity in age, size, ethnicity- Chelsea Petterson, Sask. Fashion Week
Petterson says it's always been a goal of the event to reflect all kinds of diversity on the catwalk, including diversity in model size.
"Because fashion is so diverse, in order to create a strong platform that people can grow and develop in our province, we had to create an inclusive event that everybody wants to be involved in," she said.
France has just banned super-skinny models from its fashion industry and some other countries have a code of conduct to protect models as well.
Petterson says models are chosen for their confidence and skills. It's also important to have them appeal to shoppers in the crowd.
"Because we have a diversity in designers — and the models need to be able to portray the clientele that the designers are trying to get — so we have a diversity in age, size, ethnicity," she explained.
Saskatchewan Fashion Week was launched in 2012. It runs from May 7–9 this year at the Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios on College Avenue, which is also known as the Soundstage.