Last Wednesday I rolled into Montreal after a seven-hour trip, with just 20 minutes to drop off my bags and change into clothes that weren’t wrinkled and smelling like Megabus before running to the Rialto Theatre.

Needless to say, I was feeling a little self-conscious about attending POP Montréal’s annual Fashion POP show in this state, but after seeing WORN’s preview of the six emerging designers’ work, no way I was going to miss a chance to see those clothes in person.

I didn’t envy the judging panel (which included WORN’s Emily Raine and last year’s winner Angie Johnson), as every collection was incredibly impressive but each so different from the last. How do you compare the fun and whimsy of Catherine Durocher’s Prototype—which included a bright cartoon-like fox in the collar of a dress and an owl’s face in the back of a hood—to the clothes of Market Market, which were beautiful in their sheer simplicity and lack of unnecessary detailing?

Winner Natasha Thomas struck the perfect balance between these two extremes: she worked with simple, classic pieces (primarily trench coats), but turned them on their head with unexpected cut-outs, exaggerated shapes and surprising lengths. Hers was the collection that made the woman sitting next to me whisper, “I want to own all of that,” into my ear as the last model left the runway. And I must confess, fantasies of playing Inspector Gadget or Sherlock Holmes while wearing her trenches have been running through my head since Wednesday.

Congratulations to Natasha for winning the $1,000 prize, a $500 gift certificate from Le Chateau and (most exciting, in my biased opinion) a feature in Issue 12 of WORN Fashion Journal. We’re all looking forward to working with you!

Thanks to Puces POP’s Amy Johnson and Marilis Cardinal for organizing such a fun event, and to our well-dressed and witty hosts, Raji Sohal and Julien Ceccaldi.

- Jaclyn Irvine

Now that you’ve had the weekend to mull over half the contestants for Montreal’s FASHION POP, meet the rest!

THIRD EYE BY MARIE-JULIE DESSAIVRE

What is the theme of your collection?
The theme is ‘Ego’. I wanted to convey the character of a dark and severe woman who is sensual and irresistible: a woman possessed by her egos. The collection is dark, structured and plays with textures.

If you designed the costumes for a movie, which genre would it be?
Right now I would totally be into a movie about a wild 1970’s rock band with amazing show costumes and attitude or a really trashy/industrial/electronic band. I always wished I were in a band.

What is the most difficult part of designing a collection?
The most difficult part is the transition from thought to concrete. It’s hard with limited time to achieve what I had envisioned. After that it’s all about the finishes.

Do you wear your own designs?
No, I don’t wear my own designs. I design pieces for a woman that I admire and envy and I love my garments but I can’t imagine myself wearing them.

What do you think makes the Canadian fashion industry different than the American?
I can only speak for Montreal but it is definitely more European. Style is more important than brands and our industry is more and more conscious of environmental issues.

PROTOTYPE BY CATHERINE DUROCHER

What was your process for creating these six pieces for POP?
The theme was ‘zoometry’: the study of shapes and animals. But the first inspiration came from a geometric vase I bought last winter! My first step is going through all my boxes of fabric. I sort them by colours and textures to stimulate my imagination. Then I always draw. Sketching is my favourite part as I explore without limits. I study the shapes, the pattern making and the sewing difficulties. For this Fashion Pop event I want to bring a unique perspective to arts and crafts, more couture than basic.

What inspires you?
A million things! I’m inspired by geometric shapes, origami, architecture, animals, cactus, carnivore plants, insects, shades of yellow and grey, environment, society, psychology, astronomy, dreams and music.

If you designed the costumes for a movie, which genre would it be?
I like German Expressionism, film noir and strange movies like those of Tim Burton and Guy Maddin. I saw ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson’, and I would totally enjoy making all the tiny costumes for the characters in that movie.

What is the most difficult part of designing a collection?
To have a cohesion between each piece, to find a connecting thread. For me each garment tells a story. I much prefer creating separates than coordinated outfits. Finding the right fabric for sampling is simple but when it’s time to buy it for the production months later, the real challenge begins!

What do you think makes the Canadian fashion industry different than the American?
Canadian designers have the talent and ability to be artistic. We just need confidence, promotion/advertising and a little financial push from the industry. The Canadian population is 34 million compared to 300 million in the States, which tells you everything! On the other hand, maybe it’s good for the Canadian to have a smaller population, it forces us to become innovative and wise regarding our production.

MARKET MARKET BY AMÉLIE TESSIER (WITH ISABEL VINUELA)

What is the theme of your collection?
Our collection is about exploring the typical American look. We created subtle movement, changed lengths, used ‘wrong’ textures, changed the volume of some pieces and made others disappear. We made the collection as simple as possible, bringing a small touch of conceptual design to it because the truth is, you’d want to wear it! And we thought about that!

What was your process for creating these six pieces for POP?
Over a supper on St-Hubert Street, we made a collection like freaks, bringing to the table what we thought about separately during the week before. The funny thing is this collection has really something from both of us.

If you designed the costumes for a movie, which genre would it be?
A transparent gown that would magnify the details of the skin. The skin would become the colour and the texture of the dress by projection. It could be for the American adaptation of the book ‘Traumnovelle’ (’Eyes Wide Shut’). But to create the fabric is another story!

What is the most difficult part of designing a collection?
The moment when you become neutral about your creations, when you worry that your collection is like any other you ever made.

How big a role does saleability play in your designs?
We can’t change the rules, we know it’s important but sometimes we feel like it stops us from going further. In another way, making our complex clothes sellable by simplifying them gives us an amazing challenge.

Interviews by Max Mosher

Call it impatience brought on by being part of the internet generation, but we can’t wait for this year’s Fashion POP event in Montreal. The juried show will feature mini-collections from six up and coming new designers, with a chance to win a $1,000 prize, a $500 gift certificate from Le Chateau and their very own feature in WORN Fashion Journal. We’ll be judging the competition as well, along with last year’s winner Angie Johnson (and once again, you can see her winning designs in issue 10 of WORN).

We’ve interviewed half the contestants below (the rest will be featured Monday!), so start picking your favourites and placing those bets.

JOSE MANUEL ST-JACQUES

What is the theme of your collection?
I am dressing the Báthory Countess [the notorious 16th century serial killer] with night butterfly chrysalis; the proper attire for a virgin-hunt right before a bath of blood.

What was your process for creating these six pieces for POP?
This contest for me is an excuse to make outrageous pieces without having to think about the oh-so-dull commercial aspect of fashion for once.

What inspires you?
Imagine the Frankenstein-ish daughter of Yoko Ono and Fellini adapted by Jean-Paul Goude and Nina Hagen dancing to Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’.

What is the most difficult part of designing a collection?
The interviews.

Do you wear your own designs?
ALL THE TIME. It’s important for me to do a “test run” so I know it’s comfortable, durable, and I still feel other-worldly in it.

NATASHA THOMAS

What is the theme of your collection?
It’s about the perception, distortion, and the interpretation of reality.

What was your process for creating these six pieces for POP?
I started with classic garments like the trench coat as the basis for ‘stable reality’. From there I distorted them in different directions like scale, exaggeration, misplacement and layering.

What inspires you?
Everything and nothing. I always have a camera in my bag and I take pictures of things that catch my eye. Sometimes I use them, sometimes not. Lately, I find old men pretty cool. They wear amazing outfits.

If you designed the costumes for a movie, which genre would it be?
A dark detective movie with pops of bright color.

What was the first garment you ever designed and made?
A Batman costume for my troll doll.

& MANY OTHERS by CAROLINE LAQUERRE

What is the theme of your collection?
This collection was inspired by the way memories are made and how the layers of memory stack on top of each other.

What inspires you?
Graphic design and visual art are important in the creation of my look. It’s an important part of my inspiration especially for the shape and textures of my collections.

If you designed the costumes for a movie, which genre would it be?
I would love to design for an erotic movie from the end of the 1960’s, beginning of 1970’s. The first ‘Emmanuelle’ with Sylvia Kristel or ‘Bilitis’.

What was the first garment you ever designed and made?
I think the first garment I’ve designed was a pyjama, white with red heart patterns. A few years later, I made a pair of rainbow-striped pants.

What do you think makes the Canadian fashion industry different than the American?
I could say ‘We’re so different, blah blah blah,’ but sincerely I don’t think we are. Globalization is very powerful these days.

Interviews by Max Mosher

Puces POP’s fashion show is coming back this fall, and it wants you to show off your stuff - providing you are an up-and-coming Montreal based fashion designer.

Fashion POP is on the hunt for all you Jeremy Laings and Raf Simons in training to present a 6-look mini-collection to a panel of industry judges. You can win a cash prize and a spread in our very own WORN Fashion Journal (check out last year’s winner Norwegian Wood in issue 10). The fashion show will go down on September 29th to kick off the festival.

You have until August 1st to e-mail a short bio, description of your collection and a minimum of 3 photos of your work to marilis @ popmontreal.com. Good luck!