By Editor.
This week a very momentous occasion took place in the world of Canadian Fashion. Real Style Network along with the fashion and media elite came to fete one of our fashion icons: Jeanne Beker on the 25th Anniversay of Fashion Television.
If you read our posts you know we are big fans of this energetic woman. 25 years ago, before most ‘fashion bloggers’ were even born, a little Canadian television show, which was to profoundly change the way real people experienced fashion around the world, went on the air in Canada. The show went on to air in over 140 countries. That show was Fashion Television, produced by Jay Levine and hosted by Jeanne Beker.
The premise was simple, go out and tape the fashion shows and interview designers. In 1985 this idea was revolutionary. No one else was doing it. Most regular people and fashion loving teenagers could not even get near a fashion show or even imagine what one looked like. The fashion world was only available to the industry insiders and a shopping elite.
In the first five years of being on the air, Fashion Television showed us fashion from the runways of Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and more. Like children tasting ice cream for the first time, we were ecstatic!
In the 90′s Fashion Television profiled emerging designers such as Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors who went on to become household names. Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi was dead on when he said, “The changing definition of the word style is in large part due to Fashion Television.”
At the Fashion Television 25th Anniversary Party one phrase heard over and over again was, “I saw my first fashion show on FT. I fell in love with fashion because of FT.” What an incredible achievement it was to change how a whole generation was to view fashion going forward!
And just how influential was this show? Well you know Dean and Dan of the uber famous Dsquared fashion brand? 25 years ago when the ‘boys’ were getting started they would wave placards with their names on it to get noticed by the Fashion Television cameras. Pretty amazing , isn’t it?
The Fashion Television retrospective special airs this Sunday, September 12 at 7 p.m. on CTV. It’s a must see!
In the meantime enjoy a peak at the Fashion Television 25th Anniversary party:
Tags: editor feature, FASHION, fashion show, fashion television, Fashion Television 25 years anniversary, Jay Levine, jeanne beker, television
Love Fashion Television and Jeanne Beker…actually she IS Fashon Television!!
Love Jeanne, congratulations FT!
Congratulations to FAshion Television and Jeanne Beker..people should never forget the pioneers who started it all!