Homegrown Talent | The Designers Shaping Toronto’s Street Style
Matte PR shines a spotlight on five of the most electrifying talents emerging in the Toronto Fashion scene
Toronto is fast becoming a city recognized internationally for its stirring street style. We listed five of our favourite local designers that are truly unique to not only Canada, but the world. From breaking gender boundaries to redefining street style, here’s our selection of the city’s most noteworthy contemporary clothing designers.
Scroll down to find your next favourite brand.
In Objects We Trust
For the past seven years In Objects We Trust has been known as the place to go to for one-of-a-kind jewelry. Two years ago, founder Jesse Tempest expanded the brand to offer non-gendered clothing that is unlike anything else Canada has seen. Much like their accessories and their visuals, the conceptual clothing is high impact and made to “exist outside of the normal boundaries” of the fashion world. This brand is more than just clothing and jewelry, after just a short time spent browsing their Harmony Korine-esque IG feed you will want to be a part of the In Objects We Trust club. You can shop In Object We Trust online at https://inobjectswetrust.com/shop/.
Neoteny
Founded by Lex Brown in 2016, Neoteny Apparel is a Toronto-based lifestyle and fashion label defined by its sustainable production, level of craftsmanship and unique personal style. With Neoteny, driven designer Lex has set out to bridge the gap between the genders clothing companies currently market towards. Originally from Hamilton, Lex Brown had always set out to have her voice heard within the industry. Since the launch of Neoteny, she’s made a point to have her clothes represent messages that are important to her, such as sustainability and gender representation. You can shop Neoteny online at https://neotenyapparel.com/collections/all.
PRETTY DENIM
Built on a strong belief in the power of simplicity, stylist Tahnee Lloyd-Smith founded PRETTY DENIM to create timeless capsule collections that pair the durability of denim with timeless tailoring. Each collection is produced in small batch quantities and crafted to the highest quality with distinct silhouettes. They maintain a slow and ethical fashion stance. PRETTY DENIM acknowledges that they will be leaving a footprint, but is confident that footprint will be thoughtful. While the brand is vocal about sustainability, Tahnee also uses her designs to celebrate powerful women, naming each style after a strong female. You can shop PRETTY DENIM online at: https://www.prettydenim.com/
Caitlin Power
After graduating from a local fashion design program in Calgary in 2011, Caitlin Power decided to take her namesake womenswear brand to Toronto. Back then, the brand gained media attention from Elle Canada, Flare, FASHION, ETalk, CBC and others for being bold, confident and sophisticated. In 2019, Caitlin decided to take a new turn with the RELEASE 2.O collection, venturing away from more traditionally feminines styles and into the world of streetwear. Holding a hype-fueled launch party to present the brands new design style, the bold mission for the clothing line still remained “to empower the modern woman and instill confidence in her through high-quality fashion.” Caitlin Power is a brand dedicated to the future of fashion, not only are her pieces made completely in Canada with a slow fashion philosophy, but she has made huge success recently with her collection of CPPE masks with 100% of profits being split between Black Lives Matter (Toronto) and Act Blue. You can shop Caitlin Power online at https://www.caitlinpower.com/shop.
Adidem
Feeling like industry outsiders, designers Nicko Bruno and Xavier Miller launched their mens and womens clothing brand, Adidem. Created to act as a more sophisticated alternative to this decade’s surge of streetwear, their line offers endlessly clean clothing that adds another dimension to street style. With workwear-inspired tees, shirts, trousers and outerwear, the brand is consistent in its cool, subdued vibe. Both designers have been vocal about their struggles as Black designers, however they both strongly believe there will be “a brilliant future for Black designers. We’re Black, and we’re it”. You can shop Adidem online at https://adidem.world/.
