Photo: cafawards on Instagram 

Yesterday, the Canadian Arts And Fashion Awards announced their official 2017 nominations at the Thomas Landry Gallery in Toronto’s Distillery District. The annual awards honour talented emerging and established Canadian designers, and will be held on April 7 this year at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York.

For the fourth annual event, the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award nominees include Beaufille, Lucian Matis, Sid Neigum and Smythe. Founded by two Canadian sisters, 29-year-old Chloé and 26-year-old Parris Gordon, Beaufille was launched as Chloé Comme Parris in 2009. The label is known for its jewellery, and for earning a celebrity fanbase which includes Lady Gaga.

Toronto designer Lucian Matis has dressed Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, and is known for creating intricate evening gowns. Sid Neigum, who arrived in the Canadian fashion scene as an emerging talent, showed his edgy architectural designs at London Fashion Week Fall 2016. Meanwhile, co-creative directors Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe are known for their tailored blazers, which have been spotted on the likes of Kate Middleton.

Photo: cafawards on Instagram 

Designer duo Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow of Bustle were also nominated for Menswear Designer of the Year, along with Montreal-based Christopher Bates. Rounding out the Menswear noms was rising label The Feral, which is headed by Toronto designer Zakariah Milana.

Canadian designers who have found success overseas will also be honoured, for the International Canadian Designer of the Year. The 2017 nominations include Erdem, which has found much success on the London catwalks, designer Tanya Taylor (whose pieces have been worn by Michelle Obama) and self-taught 19-year-old talent Vejas Kruszewski. 

Read our interview with Tanya Taylor here

The Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent in Fashion is also awarded every year to a promising up-and-comer. This year, Nina Kharey’s Calgary-based label House of Nonie was nominated, along with ethical fashion label Malorie Urbanovitch. Maram, led by Egyptian-born and Parsons Paris-trained Maram Aboul Enein, also found a place on the list. Matthew Gallagher (who was born in Nova Scotia and studied fashion in Milan) made the list, for his eponymous label known for its ladylike designs.  

Photo: cafawards on Instagram 

The CAFAs are also set to recognize 2017’s Vanguard Award Honoree, a major award given every year to a Canadian fashion icon. This year, the Vanguard has been chosen as Business of Fashion founder and Harvard Business School graduate Imran Amed, who founded his successful website in 2007. Calgary-born and London-based Amed was working at financial firm McKinsey, before the launch of the fashion blog.