Article of February 2, 2020

The affirmation of Canadian fashion on the international market

Canada took advantage of the end of the Second World War to make a name for itself in the fashion and haute couture world as early as 1946. It benefited from wide media coverage at the time as well as word of mouth from customers. Madame Martha (Toronto) set up an export market for Canadian creations to the United States, all this in order to stay ahead of post-war France, which had serious economic consequences (including in the fashion industry).

Canadian fashion began to make itself known in the 1950s and 1960s, but especially in the last decade with the conclusion of agreements that were made through major fashion houses, which made it possible to promote Canadian fashion in the world and to draw attention to the 1967 World's Fair taking place this year in Montreal.

An even greater recognition of Canadian designers led to the creation in the mid-1970s of the Fashion Designers Association of Canada, whose purpose was to raise awareness of the impact of fashion in the Canadian economy. The association was dissolved in 1980.

Canadian fashion began to be exported massively in the 1980s and especially in the 1990s; one example is the "Parachute" clothing line which, according to an article published in 2017, would have been present in nearly 500 points of sale around the world.

Canada now has a major place in the world of fashion and, like Antwerp in Belgium, has designers who have prestigious positions in major houses but also designers who make themselves known through their own brands (like Yumi Eto at the end of the 1990s, now creative director at Aritizia).

Article of February 5, 2020

New York, one of the world's leading fashion capitals...

When people talk to us about the Capital of Fashion, we think of course of Paris, one of the cities that stands out next is the " Big Apple" New York. A city that acquired an important place in the second third of the 20th century to become one of the most important places for fashion and haute couture today.

Eleanor Lambert was the instigator of the first "Weeks of the Press" as early as 1943. The aim was to highlight American fashion at a time when Paris (Fashion Capital before the Second World War) was occupied by the German forces of the Nazi regime, an opportunity to stand out and make American fashion recognized.

Ruth Finley (who died in 2018) joined her in 1945 and was one of the pillars of the organization of this "fashion calendar" for over 70 years and was recognized as a highly talented planner for the New York Fashion Week.

The same Eleanor Lambert founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1962, whose purpose was not only to promote mainly American fashion designers, but also to raise the standards of the profession or to set the dates for Fashion Week in New York. It also set itself the goal of supporting up-and-coming designers and stylists.

Like Paris, New York is one of the major fashion centres, along with Paris and Milan, and is even on the way to becoming the most renowned of the Fashion Capitals. It would thus take the place of "World Fashion Capital" in Paris.

Article of January 23, 2020

Paris, world’s capital of fashion

Paris is a city that crosses times and fashions since its presence on this market goes back several centuries and even before the French Revolution. Whether it was the era of rococo and new classicism (17th - 18th century), the belle époque or the Roaring Twenties (late 19th - early 20th century) or even today... Paris has always been one of Europe's and then the world's fashion centres with renowned designers such as Christian Dior, Yves-Saint-Laurent, Louis Vuitton or Jean-Paul Gauthier.

Apart from the many creators such as those mentioned or Coco Channel and many others who have taken up residence in Paris. Many major brands have shops on the "most beautiful avenue in the world": the Champs-Élysées like Gucci, Versace or even Abercrombie and Fitch benefiting both from the reputation of Paris in the field of fashion, but also from the very strong attraction that Paris enjoys in the field of tourism.

It also hosts some of the world's biggest fashion shows during Fashion Week, which takes place twice a year and during which the biggest fashion houses present their latest creations. The place that Paris occupies in the fashion world could be summed up in a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau: "Fashion dominates the provincials, but Parisian women dominate fashion. ».

Paris is not only the "City of Love", one of the largest tourist cities in the world, but it is THE fashion capital of the world.

Article of January 26, 2020

Antwerp, a fashion hot spot

Like Paris and New York in particular, Antwerp is one of the top haute-couture venues. It enjoys a rich heritage dating back to the Renaissance thanks to its port, which made it one of the largest European ports of that time, a heritage that still endures today as it is the second largest European port. It became one of the high places of fashion during the 1980s with the "Antwerp Six", a position it still holds today (notably thanks to the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, which offers one of the best training courses in the world).

This central position in the field of fashion and haute couture is also represented by the presence in this city of the Flanders Fashion Institute, which offers support to fashion designers in the management and promotion of their creations on an international level.

Antwerp gained notoriety at the end of the 1990s and during 2000 and 2010, with the appointment of some of its creators to senior positions in major houses such as Christian Dior and Calvin Klein.

Antwerp is a city not to be neglected in the field of fashion; despite its relative youth in the world of fashion and haute-couture, it now enjoys an international reputation that allows it to be recognised as one of the emerging fashion capitals.

Article of June 15, 2020

Universities to be used as venues for the selection phases of the competition

PCJ Holding and Best Designer Contest have chosen universities as the locations where the selection phases will take place. We choose the universities to organize the selection phases in order to reach a wider public (students in particular); this also allows us to benefit from locations that are generally very accessible for the candidates, most of which are close to public transport.

In this way, we hope to reach a wide audience, through the organization of the selection phases in the universities, whether they choose to participate in the competition as a candidate or new spectators and viewers who will vote for the creators they judge to be the most talented.

We will come back to you during January or February 2021 to inform you of the cities and universities selected to host the selection phases of the first edition of the competition dedicated to Fashion Designers.

Article of May 2, 2020

The fight against racism and discrimination is as strong as ever

For decades, but even more so in recent years, the fight against discrimination and racism has been ongoing.

Restrictive measures against transgender persons in the United States Army envisaged, police or judicial violence affecting persons from the black community or other minorities are among the multitude of discriminatory and racist acts perpetrated in the name of an intolerant and racist ideology promoted by organisations of all kinds.

PCJ Holding and each of its commercial entities strongly condemns all this violence committed in the land of freedom where everyone must be considered as a human being, and not because of supposed characteristics that would justify (in the eyes of some) their banishment from society. Our internal policy goes against what is put in place at the federal level, by putting in place measures to fight against any racist and/or discriminatory act as well as appropriate sanctions that can go as far as dismissal for serious misconduct.

We consider it a serious and inexcusable offence to discriminate against a person for any reason. PCJ Holding promotes diversity and equal opportunity within each of the business units of our group; we reiterate our firm condemnation of all discrimination and racist acts perpetrated in recent years in the United States and around the world, including murder.

Article of May 25, 2020

The pandemic reveals our dependence

This global pandemic will have had the merit of showing our over-dependence on China in many areas, particularly in the areas of manufactured goods, medicines, clothing, etc.

It only took one thing, the closure of China's borders and the brutal halt of its economy, to cause a good number of inconveniences (disruptions in supplies, stock...), thus showing once again the strategic position of the "Factory of the World" occupied by China that could be stopped.

This reinforces our policy of having our own production workshops to remain independent of possible incidents in China, to increase the quality of our productions and those of the independent Fashion Designers in our network.

Article of May 29, 2020

The list of countries of the first edition of our fashion competition is finally revealed

PCJ Holding and Best Designer Competition are proud to present the list of countries for the first edition of our competition which will take place during the Summer and Fall of 2021.

We have selected 12 (twelve) countries on 3 (three) continents, some of which are among the most reputable countries in the fashion world with renowned designers (such as France, Canada and the United States) or countries with an emerging market (such as Brazil, for example). Each of these countries has between 1,000 and 5,000 participants, the number of participants having been determined by the geographical weight of each country.

The twelve countries in the competition are: