Architecture and fashion come together at RAW WEAR
By Newinhomes on Jul 08, 2019
One of the most highly anticipated events in Toronto’s architecture scene is RAW Design’s annual community event. This year, RAW WEAR took over an abandoned auto body shop in one of the city’s hottest up-and-coming areas.
The Geary Ave. area (near Ossington and Dupont) has been labelled as one of Toronto’s “most exciting streets” by BlogTO. It’s kind of funny because BlogTO also has an older post from 2016 that’s about how Geary Ave. is “still Toronto’s most interesting street.” So, Geary’s been cool for a few years now.
Photo by Arthur Mola Photography
RAW partnered with local fashion designers, Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell, from Hoax Couture to bring RAW WEAR to life. The event raised money for Dare to Wear Love, a campaign that raises funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s LGBTQ Africa Initiative. As far as we know, this is the first year that RAW’s event raised money and awareness for a non-profit organization.
Photo by Arthur Mola Photography
“We love what RAW does in creating community with their events,” says Searle, Co-Designer at Hoax Couture and Co-Founder of Dare To Wear Love. “It’s inspiring to merge the fashion and architecture worlds to create a fusion of creative ideas, with the bonus of raising awareness for Dare To Wear Love 2020.”
RAW WEAR featured interactive, high-fashion installations co-designed by RAW and Hoax. There was a lot of textile use and plenty of photo ops. The pops of colour, dramatic lighting and geometric designs were typical of RAW’s event aesthetic.
Photo by Arthur Mola Photography
“Our goal with our events has always been to make people think about our built environment and urban landscape in a different way,” says Roland Rom Colthoff, Founder of RAW Design. “We’re blurring boundaries of traditional industries and exploring how convergence can open up new opportunities.”
Photo by Arthur Mola Photography
RAW’s first annual party was in 2013 (RAW ENERGY), and every year they come up with another interesting way to engage and partner with related industries. They’ve partnered with developers, City officials, designers, urbanists, and now they can add fashion designers to the list. We’re curious about who RAW will work with next for their 2020 party!
