Is fashion art? It’s an ongoing debate, as the sartorial design industry is alternately seen as the agent of conservative materialism and a medium of individual expression and rebellion. Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week (FAT) firmly marches with the latter school, exploring how art is rooted in fashion via the participation of over 120 artists in art, music, performance and, of course, fashion.

FAT founder and executive director Vanja Vasic agrees that fashion’s role in conspicuous consumption overshadows its artistic possibilities. “When you talk to an artist and you speak about fashion, they see it as a commercial business — something you buy or sell. There’s still that idea it’s not ‘creative art.’”

FAT, an alternative week in the vein of similar ones in London and Milan, wants to challenge this attitude by supporting the work of local renegades like Paper People Clothing and Magpie Design. The week also encourages outsider involvement through the engagement of other artistic practices, revealing fashion’s multidisciplinary nature.

Jennifer A. Lopez of UsThemWe is returning to FAT for her second year and is passionate about the need for an alternative space that supports local indie designers. Her 2008 runway collection “Vanity Turns Green” is influenced by the Victorian alter-egos of Jekyll and Hyde and the existing barriers between decadent and recycled fabrics. She readily admits that her conceptually driven one-of-a-kind designs would never be featured in L’Oreal Fashion Week, which she says “doesn’t represent the kind of designer I am and the target market I go for.”

In fact, FAT faced backlash from the mainstream community when it first came onto the style scene three years ago for its timed coincidence with L’Oreal Fashion Week. Some felt it was taking the spotlight away from Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC)–approved designers, which led to FAT receiving little support from the FDCC.

Thankfully, things have changed, as testified by the backing of the Fashion Incubator and educational institutions such as Ryerson, OCAD and George Brown. Even the FDCC has come on board. “[They have] actually reached out to us more and there’s [now] a dialogue between us,” Vasic says, connecting it to the Council’s realization that “there’s absolutely room for both types of events.”

The increased participation of designers and artists has also led to corporate sponsorship, and this year the inaugural Beefeater Independent Spirit Award will give $3,000 to an artist, designer or artist collective. The alternative event is further legitimized by the involvement of established designers such as Annie Thompson (who recently closed her Queen West boutique to focus on her art) and the fact that some of their alum designers are starting to emerge on the international scene. Jasper Garvida, a Toronto-born Central Saint Martins graduate based in London who participated in FAT in 2006, recently won the UK’s Project Catwalk and later showed at London Fashion Week.
 
Which is why Vasic is excited about the way FAT celebrates designers and artists who break down the perceived conservatism of Toronto fashion. “It’s a good time for this type of event because people are ready to experiment and explore and do their own thing. People are communicating within fashion, and people are hungry for it.”