QUOTED: Mackage designer Eran Elfassy on why Toronto Fashion Week isn’t up to snuff

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“We find sometimes it’s not really selective. Anybody who wants to do Fashion Week can do Fashion Week. You need to have a jury.”

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—Eran Elfassy, one half of the design duo behind luxury outerwear label Mackage, when asked by the Star to name one thing that needs to be done to elevate Canadian fashion.

The Star asked the same question to seven other local designers, including Pink Tartan’s Kim Newport-Mimran, who said that the industry is already elevated, and Bustle designer Shawn Hewson, who thinks that fashion designers need more funding from the government. While Elfassy’s statement is refreshingly bold, it’s not entirely accurate. Sunny Fong of Vawk estimates a typical runway show costs $10,000. (The Project Runway winner even started an Indigogo campaign to fund his Fall 2014 collection.) Clearly, not anyone can do Fashion Week. Just anyone with enough cash.