THE ASCENSION OF MARK FAST

Canadian knitwear designer Mark Fast’s rise to fashion fame has taken place seemingly over night. After causing a stir by casting plus size models in his Spring 2010 runway show, Fast’s penchant for revealing and sexy dresses and leggings (we were recently drooling over a pair from his Faster Mark Fast line worn by his publicists while he was in Toronto), has put him at the top of the game here in Canada, and abroad, in less than one year.

So, it was no surprise that Lancôme commissioned Fast to create a fashion installation exclusively for this year’s Luminato arts festival, as part of the beauty brand’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Titled the Ascension of Beauty and inspired by the rose, the ultimate feminine symbol and also the main imagery behind Lancôme since their inception, Fast created a floor-length, deep pink knit gown, sitting on top a white mannequin in the hall of Brookfield Place. The soft-spoken designer also participated in a beauty collaboration with Lancôme, a classic deep pink lipstick called Fast Kisses.

Bringing some much deserved attention to the Canadian fashion industry, at a cocktail party for the exhibit on June 15th, Fast and his fabulously dressed ladies held court with some fashionable friends: think David Dixon, Ben Barry, Glenn Baxter, Evan Biddell, Kirk Pickersgill, Stephen Wong, Thunderheist’s Isis, Andrew Sardone and Philip Sparks.