{"id":39954,"date":"2025-12-19T11:35:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T16:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/?p=39954"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:45:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T16:45:55","slug":"local-designer-shines-at-fashion-art-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/2025\/12\/19\/local-designer-shines-at-fashion-art-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"Local designer shines at Fashion Art Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 3\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>A vibrant display of creativity, craftsmanship, and determination lit up Fashion Art Toronto on Nov. 16, as local designer Lory Beauchamp Guest presented a nine-look menswear collection that captivated the audience with its artistry and emotion.<\/p>\n<p>Guest, a lifelong sewer and maker, learned her craft from her mother, who sewed, embroidered, and knitted. Over the years, her skills expanded from home decor to clothing, including wedding gowns and formal wear. She even returned to Sheridan College in her 40s to study interior design, honing a blend of technical skill and creative instinct. Guest\u2019s journey to the runway was anything but conventional; she transformed her passion for sewing and design into a fully realized runway show, blending traditional menswear fabrics with bold, unexpected details.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started with the fabrics I had,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey inspired the designs and the stories I wanted to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Guest Label collection opened with a sheer nude organza suit, representing vulnerability and openness, and progressed through heavier, structured pieces layered with intricate details like hand motifs and spikes, reflecting resilience and life\u2019s challenges. The final look, a voluminous organza coat adorned with roses, offered a light, ethereal conclusion \u2013 symbolizing hope and renewal. Each garment balanced narrative and aesthetic, demonstrating that fashion can be both expressive and wearable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>\u201cI was just sewing, letting the process guide me,\u201d Guest said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure where it was going, but I kept going, trusting my instincts and the story the fabrics were telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her dedication was evident behind the scenes of the show and \u201cwas a seven-month full team effort.\u201d From her son, who helped with the complex application, Lucas Giffen, who modelled for the promo photos, family and friends who kept her sane in moments of panic, to the backstage team at Fashion Art Toronto, \u201cEveryone understood the story,\u201d said Guest. \u201cThey wanted to show it because they could relate to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The collection was inspired by men\u2019s mental health, however Guest emphasized that the project was ultimately about creativity, storytelling, and the joy of making.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was about expressing something meaningful and bringing it to life,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether or not anyone else saw it, I had to create it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fashion Art Toronto, which has celebrated artists and designers for over 20 years, provided the perfect platform for this ambitious project. Seeing her work come to life on the runway, Guest described the moment as \u201cincredible, emotional, surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Guest, the experience was not just a professional milestone \u2013 it was a personal triumph.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been creative my whole life, sewing, designing, making things by hand,\u201d she said. \u201cBut taking it out of my home and into the world, sharing it with others, was something completely different. It taught me that if you\u2019re willing to step out of your comfort zone, amazing things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, Guest hopes her work sparks broader conversations about mental health, particularly for men.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a real need for more immediate support for people in crisis,\u201d she said. \u201cHospitals don\u2019t always have psychiatrists available, and emergency mental health treatment can be delayed for months or even years. We need better systems, more understanding, and more care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>Looking back on the experience, Guest is reflective and joyful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t doing this to launch a career \u2013 I\u2019m 65,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it has inspired me to think about another collection. Let\u2019s see what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A vibrant display of creativity, craftsmanship, and determination lit up Fashion Art Toronto on Nov. 16, as local designer Lory Beauchamp Guest presented a nine-look menswear collection that captivated the audience with its artistry and emotion. Guest, a lifelong sewer and maker, learned her craft from her mother, who sewed, embroidered, and knitted. Over the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":572,"featured_media":39938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/572"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creemore.com\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}