/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Style

Four things we learned about Robin Kay

By Fraser Abe
Copy link

It’s fashion week, and that means Robin Kay, president of the Fashion Design Council of Canada, is in the public eye again. Last year, more famously than all the clothes and celebrities in attendance, she delivered an incoherent drunken rant that ended with her being escorted off the runway. On Friday, the Toronto Star published a piece on Kay as she prepares for this week’s festivities. Here’s what we learned.

Kay likes gays She follows the all-important rule of fashion divas: have plenty of gay men around to compliment you in banal ways. “One of them runs up to Kay, flaps his hand in her direction, shouts, ‘You look FAB-u-lous!' and runs away before Kay can reply.” We’re guessing he used up his daily allotment of the word “fierce.”

She does not run her own errands When Kay complains about feeling ill, she asks the crowd of anonymous fashion week workers if anyone has a Tums. When one staffer tells Kay she can get them across the street, she responds with a “death stare.” “Well, shall I go and get them?” she asks incredulously. We want to know how she picks up her dry cleaning.

Kay is media savvy She has talking points written down that coach her to avoid speaking about the drunken fashion week debacle. “Do not discuss the incident at all. If brought up, focus on the future.” Too bad she read the note aloud to the reporter. Even her staff knows a thing or two about managing the press, e-mailing the Star reporter to ask that anonymous sources be “minimal” in his piece.

Kay is a recessionista When the reporter visits Kay’s Liberty Village office, she shows off an objet d’art that she had “plucked from the trash.” That’s practical and economical.

And hey, if things go awry for Kay again this year, she’ll probably get a reality show offer. We know it’d be better than Carlawood.

Read the original article from the Toronto Star here.

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

"Success is random—all you can do is keep improving": Max Kerman of Arkells on his new memoir, Try Hard
Culture

“Success is random—all you can do is keep improving”: Max Kerman of Arkells on his new memoir, Try Hard

Inside the Latest Issue

Inside the Latest Issue

The April issue of Toronto Life features the anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.