Toronto is a tough place to make a name for yourself. Everyone is too busy climbing their own ladder to care about yours. This city doesn't want to know about you until the whole world does. We don't want our peers to succeed. You struggle until you make it, and then they'll pretend like they were there all along.
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Traditional Valentines Day as we know it is over. It's hetero-normative, single-shaming, and some would say crass (me. I say that). It's 2019! We declare that Valentines Day is about self-love and giving yourself the appreciation you deserve (and wearing cool pink and red outfits)!
Harjas Singh is a frequent collaborator of Hayley's. He's graced our runways several times and is our muse for this editorial. Scroll to see how he styles HE, and read his hand-written interview.
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It sucks to have to write this letter. I have an intense feeling that I am forgetting something every morning when I wake up and start my day - that thing being Toronto Fashion Week. I see casting emails from agencies, reaching out to share photos of models that will be in town. I get invitations to shows, from designers I admire and have presented alongside for multiple seasons. I have conversations with friends and past collaborators who casually inquire about my plans for this season’s runway show. Toronto Fashion Week is a week away as I type this. Normally by now, we would have opened our doors to scores of hopeful models, all smiling nervously as they talk about what a great opportunity it is to be able to be considered for a runway show. We would have put out the open call to any and all people who felt they wanted a place at the table, to be part of the conversation. We would have reached out to models that have become friends and are always down to help us out with a last-minute photoshoot or runway walk. We would have gotten our samples in at the last possible minute, and I would have hunkered down over my sewing machine anxiously making adjustments while Connor, my brother and business manager, goes over the run of show and makes suggestions regarding casting and styling, while not-so-subtly telling me I need to start my design process earlier so we don’t have to be so last minute. I would have swiped through hundreds of photos, a blur of different faces – all heights, shapes, sizes, races, and gender identities represented. Not to tick a box or make a point, but because we put out an open call, and this is who came. Everyone. Not diversity for the sake of it, but rather representation – a microcosm of our customer base and a visual metaphor for why I do what I do.
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It's been a few months since we launched our softgoods collection, Nausea Nostalgia. I was hesitant about it's relatively niche subject matter (existential philosophies and 90s basketball and other logos), but the collection has really taken off and we're happy that it has resonated with so many of you!
This time we shot at an actual basketball court, just in time for the Superbowl! Get your head in the game!
Of course, it's not a Hayley Elsaesser shoot if there's no Nike sneakers. Once again they hooked us up with some awesome footwear.
Models: Jordan, Steve, and Anand
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Don't forget to check out Part 1 to see all the looks created from the first half of the year!
Without further adieu...
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