Story of Fashion's Editorial Mission as a sketch began with our work with the talented Anna O in 2015. In this video below we speak of discovering Canadian Fashion's Story, which later evolved to the deeper story of handcraft, of artists, musicians, chefs, painters, ceramic artists, designers, everything made with personal human touch, in a strong connection to community, that we express today in each edition.
Simply put, it is everything made by hand, and authentic design, opposed to mass consumption throw away goods.
And a missing Canadian Lifestyle narrative, which is important to our Story.
Below is a video snippet of our Publisher Hikaru Kiyonaga, with renown Luthier David Wren.
Discussing his handcrafted guitars.
Below is a film created from our time pre-covid on a photoshoot dear to us that represented some of the best of our Canadian nature.
In the words of Publisher and Founder Hikaru Kiyonaga, 'There is not enough representations of modern Canadian society and culture in media, and placing a random Yellow Cab on suits to call Bay St., Manhattan just makes us half proud. I do salute the new Law and Order Toronto! finally we mention real TO streets. But for all these years, I felt we needed to show the public 'A real Canadian narrative, and show how the work of our artists, ceramic cups, jewellery, paintings belonged to a new Canadian look and feel that should be acknowledged. This helps the public to see Canadian (opposed to NYC all the time). And In order to buy more Canadian handcraft, art and design, we need to show proudly how our work lives in our real Canadian homes, hotels, restaurants, and offices. I mean, if we travel to Lisbon, we love seeing a locally made cup by a potter, in a local restaurant, not a Starbucks. We cherish this cup being made by it's culture and society. It's time we build our own Canadiana and celebrate it. This is what Story of Fashion is about."
Story of Fashion is the only 250 page, thick paper stock, upscale 9.5”x13” coffee table style book, printed for newsstands, Indigo/Chapters. That focuses on handcrafted pieces made by Canadian artists and designers, with a look into modern Canadian Lifestyle, the creator’s Story...not featured anywhere in media as a concise book.
24 years ago, OCAD alumni and artist Hikaru Kiyonaga, created this initiative to follow purpose from the OCAD Mentoring Project, whereby his wishes was to get the public out of our mass corporate shopping malls, and back to supporting local and Canadian made. This supports our Local Economy and also encourages the Circular Economy. For example the unique outfit you’re wearing, is by a designer in St. Johns, NFLD, your necklace is crafted by a metalsmith in Toronto, whom you’ve met her family and her dog. The table, you’re sitting at is by a craftsman in Edmonton. On this table is a glass of wine, from a small family vineyard in St. Catherines, the glasses are from an artisan in Vancouver. Story of Fashion encourages a complete lifestyle of living with products that are made with quality, that can also be passed on as heirlooms, as well as the story behind each piece.
Story of Fashion was born in 2000, to instill a ‘Connection’, from one person to another. Kiyonaga’s philosophy uses the word Fashion, encouraging, that we should see fashion as a way to ‘fashion’ our lives, with handcrafted pieces and creations. This promotes a lifestyle connected to many facets and disciplines of artists and craftsman from across Canada, and the world over, and what’s important is that each book Connects us to their Stories. Which are the stories of human journeys who’s gone through their lives to create what their art and designs from love and care. Which in turn, gives us substance in our lives. A product made in a factory cannot imbue upon us these stories that can enrich our lives. Each piece in this book can be passed on to another generation, as an heirloom. Pieces handcrafted are indeed cherished. In fact we preserve them in our museums and galleries as cultural treasures to humankind. Then why should we not celebrate them now?
Story of Fashion’s philosophy is an ode to William Morris’s Earthly Paradise, from the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain in the age of the Industrial Revolution. This is where the world began seeing the advent of machine made or factor mass production, thus eliminating the craftsmen where everything was normally made by hand an locally made. Such as your tailor, dressmaker, shoemaker, furniture maker. Even ceramics, that were typically created by potters locally became mass produced by Josiah Wedgewood. So imagine that now, in our world of fast fashion, and throw away quick production consumerism, that we can return to products made with higher quality, in which we can keep as heirlooms, that encourage eco sustainability as such concepts promote the Circular Economy.
The magazine's founder has often said, 'Buy handcraft, Get Out Of Walmart...please'. In Kiyonaga's life journey, this all started from his refusal to continue at UWO, where he rebelled to strict Asian parents, to aspire to become an artist and designer instead. So it started from OCAD, where he also co-founded and Chaired OCAD's first Professional Development & Mentoring Committee. (see image above). From there, after helping to connect students to mentors, he felt he needed to do something to turn the public (whom were so inundated by American media and products), to show what was being made locally. And this helped to bring our students jobs as an artist and designer. But as a new project, it was needed to educate the public into what our local artists names are. Thus this journey began.
We feel, that the awareness SOF can encourage, especially post Covid is support for our local economies, and to help revitalize the skills trade for a new generation. If enough people buy handcraft, this would help encourage local communities to grow new ideas and seed new cultural growth.
But at it’s core, Story of Fashion is a magazine that helps to promote your work as artists and designers. It’s a beautifully coffee table style book, thick paper, heavy in weight, made from the ground up in each edition. Made to collect and be used as a guide book many times over, opposed to a magazine with junk ads to toss each month. There are no ads in the magazine, only our beautiful editorials created with each designer together, to express your work to the public. SOF is a Bridge to the public. It is a 9.5” x 13” book, handcrafted itself, created for the very demographic that loves handcrafted pieces, that is one of a kind, full of the Human Experience. We also hope as well, that the closeness in community we promote through the creativity of artists and designers, can also show the beauty and respect for one another, thus encourage the value of peace, in the world we live in today.