Want Les Essentiels to curate Ryerson University fashion show

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Mar 30, 2017

Leather goods and accessories designers Byron and Dexter Peart from Want Les Essentiels have been appointed to curate Ryerson University’s School of Fashion’s annual fashion show.
 
Baptized Mass Exodus, the annual fashion event set to take place on April 8 at Daniels Spectrum in Toronto, a new off campus location, showcases the final collections of fourth-year Fashion Design students in a runway show, as well as the capstone projects of Fashion Communications students in an exhibit.

In their role as curators, the Montreal-based co-founders of Want Les Essentiels will review the collections shown throughout the day at Daniels Spectrum and select approximately 15 students to showcase their design work in the curated invite-only evening show.

  
This selection process is followed each year to ensure that the final curated show reflects the School of Fashion’s “guiding principles of diversity, innovation, heritage and community,” Ryerson University explains in a news statement. Last year, fashion designer Todd Lynn was named curator of Mass Exodus 2016.
 
“Dexter and Byron Peart bring a wealth of experience in business and fashion, having built one of the top global accessory brands with functionality and culture at its core,” says Sandra Tullio-Pow, interim Chair of the Ryerson School of Fashion. “We’re thrilled to welcome the designers to Mass Exodus where they will provide Ryerson’s emerging fashion designers with invaluable insight into global trends and best practices.”

Three separate runway shows will take place on Saturday, April 8 at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. where fourth-year design students will present their collections. The twin brothers will then make a selection for the final invite-only curated show, which will take place that evening.
 
“We are very excited to participate in Mass Exodus. This a great opportunity for us to see the next generation of Canadian design talents taking shape with their own unique perspectives and aesthetics,” adds Byron and Dexter Peart.
 
Launched in 1988, Mass Exodus 2017 is in its 29th year of production. It is the first time in more than 20 years that the event will be held off campus.