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!

Designer Josiane Perron recently launched her eponymous label, and has now launched three collections of elegantly constructed vintage-like women’s garments, all made entirely in Montreal.

How and when did you get into making clothes?
At the age of ten, when I would amuse myself tracing Betty & Veronica comics, I decided to make a job of it. I was fascinated by Betty’s ability to make her own clothes and by the scope of Veronica’s closet.

What was your personal style like in high school?
I passed through a classic phase, a vintage phase, and a designer brands phase. In high school my personal style was marked by a transition from grunge style to skater, but there was always a touch of Britpop. My biggest influence at the time was music, especially Elliott Smith and Blur.

What’s your favourite item in your wardrobe?
My Second yoga jeans! The slightly tiedyed wash is superb, and they’re incredibly comfortable. It’s a real addiction, it’s impossible to wear other jeans once you’ve tried yoga jeans. The only thing that beats my yoga jeans is the pleasure and lightness of wearing a dress.

What are your biggest influences when you design?
The 20s and 60s remain by far my biggest influences, but it’s above all ambiances that give direction to creating each of my collections. These ambiances come from places, images, blogs or TV shows like True Blood, Six Feet Under, and Mad Men.

What inspired your last collection?
My spring-summer 2010 collection is inspired by hot summers and the 60s-70s. It has a bit of a folk, western allure in the white, grey, khaki, mustard and red tones. A bit of flowered print, fringe, recovered buttons and flounce give the collection a feeling of lightness.

Josiane’s Favourite Designers…
Wren
Orla Kiely
Marc Jacobs
Paul Smith
A.P.C.

…plus a few of her favourite up and comers
Dace from Vancouver, for their simplicity and dreamy brand image. Their ambient video clips are unforgettable.
Betina Lou in Montreal, for her magnificent and feminine dresses inspired by yesterday’s muses.
Noir Bonbon from Vancouver, for the comfortable materials and a simplicity always underlined by fascinating details.

Interview by Emily Raine
Photos by Karine Perron

I’m really excited that Montreal is taking the idea of the classic artisan fair and giving it a modern spin. Each designer has been hand picked by the Smart Design Mart curators, and has been asked to create a mini boutique within the space. Housed in a 15,000-square-foot former garment industry loft, the show will have roomy aisles (yay!), food, drink, music, and live art in addition to shopping.

Saturday November 28, 11AM-9PM
Sunday November 29, 11AM-5PM
5333 avenue Casgrain. Suite 602. Montreal
www.smartdesignmart.com

Exhibitors: anastasia lomonova, aria jewelry, atelier b., audrey cantwell, betina lou, bijougraphie, bipede, brazen, broundoor, bruxe, camiondepompier, catchframes, cheap opulence, château gâteau, colorblindsmarties, crzline, elaine ho, en masse, fabesko, furni, general 54, grandma, headquarters, hq vintage, jonathan pitoscia, josiane perron, kevin ledo, la fete, la raffinerie, love, tallulah!, matt forsythe, mauve naif, mes trois soeurs, miasma, miju, mimi traillette, mir handbags, monastiraki, nerdburger, noemiah, noir de mars, norwegian wood, pattern recognition, pin pals, poids plume, rapapla, red sofa, rose & ruby, sebastien kauffmann, simone’s rose, supayana, sweet grodnasse, tee-frame, this ilk, tyson bodnarchuck, uranium, yummy pocket

Even though we love our new home of Toronto, WORN misses Montreal!

We’ve decided to hook up with Slow Dance Night once again and throw an issue 9 release party and bring you the formal you’ve been waiting for since high school. Think of it as your second shot, but without the bad hair, embarrassing chaperones, and excruciating, hormone-flooded insecurity. This is an event that demands you step up, dress up, and step out.

Saturday, November 21st, 9pm-1am Eastern Bloc, 7240 Clark Ave.
10$ formal ticket gets you the new issue of WORN and a dancecard!

Indulge your nostalgia. There’s not a dress too full, nor tux too ruffled – there hasn’t been a corsage made that’s too sneeze-inducing for this event. The Winter Formal Slowdance is a place to work out all your fashion wish-I-hads and remember-whens. When was the last time you really dressed up and went dancing?