INSPIRATION: Before the Joeffer Caoc trench and Lida Baday cocktail skirt, there was the colourful, oversized ’80s sweater paired with the tight leather skirt. When Jeanne Beker started hosting Fashion Television in 1985, the former New Music co-host may have still been shaking off that loud rocker look, but she was astutely predicting the entertainment possibilities of bringing fashion to the masses. “It seemed to me that with their huge egos, just like rock stars, designers would make for great television, and that proved to be true,” she says.
While we’ve cringed over the times we’ve seen the FT microphone snubbed by fashion players, there’s no denying that Beker’s brass has spawned a proudly homegrown brand: there’s FashionTelevisionChannel, Beker’s editor-in-chief post at FQ and SIR magazines, that Canada’s Next Top Model judging gig and even a Bratz doll in her image. Obviously, it’s time to bury the hatchet on this sweater faux pas.
Did you know that Alannah Myles was initially considered for the FT hosting gig? We get chills just thinking about that possibility and need to wrap ourselves in a Canadian designer’s coat. (Ms Beker, a tireless supporter of our national product, would be proud.) Vintage Hilary Radley trench coat, $40. Rozaneh (442 Dufferin, Studio E, 416-534-8303, www.rozanehvintage.com).
“Colourful kid gloves serve as a punctuation mark to a feminine, sexy ensemble,” Beker recently advised in her Globe and Mail fashion column. Portolano leather gloves, $80. Elsa Reia N Studio (555 Richmond W., Suite 706, 416-777-9722, www.reiastudio.com).
Ask a room full of working stylistas what got them into fashion, and you’re sure to hear many admitting it all began with after-school viewings of FT. Passion for Fashion: Careers in Style (Tundra Books, 80 pages, $22.99) by Jeanne Beker with illustrations by Nathalie Dion.