White Cashmere Collection 2016 Reveals Rosters of Four LaSalle College Designers

As part of the White Cashmere 2016 contest, four LaSalle College renowned designers have been selected to present their interpretation of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The world’s first and only fashion collection entirely crafted in luxuriously soft Cashmere Bathroom Tissue, this year’s collection will present a celebration of Canada’s landscape, diversity and climate, with the vision of a future without breast cancer. A total of 16 Canadian designers are vying for the grand prize. 

UNNTLD – Spring 

Simon Bélanger (LaSalle College alumnus and winner of the first-ever White Cashmere Collection Student Competition in 2006) and José Manuel St-Jacques have been racking up fashion accolades ever since meeting in an electro/rock club nearly 10 years ago. Most recently, their UNTTLD collection won them CAFA’s (Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards) 2016 Emerging Talent Award. 

Jon De Porter – Spring 

A chance excursion to the Beijing pearl market in 2008 set Montréal-born, Toronto based Jon De Porter on an unexpected journey into the world of high-end contemporary jewellery design. Now dubbed “Canada's Prince of Pearls," LaSalle-trained De Porter’s distinctive, bold-scale, ”uptown" parures earned him finalist status for the Swarovski Award at CAFA last year, an eponymous bridal accessories range at Kleinfeld Hudson’s Bay, as well as a classics line at Montreal’s La Maison Ogilvy and Indigo.ca. 

V-FRANZ – Winter 

It’s fitting that a cheeky fashion designer like Vfranz Bernil would attach a silent V to the front of his name. That same dare-to-be-different attitude pervades his V-FRANZ collection of sporty, casual-chic, often skin-baring women’s and menswear, with its signature play of structured fabrics against drape-y jerseys and chiffons. This high-energy, multi-talented Filipino-Canadian launched his line in 2012 during his sophomore year at LaSalle College in Montréal and has since seen his clothing featured in numerous publications (Dress To Kill, Clin D’oeil, and The Gazette). Did we mention he also designs footwear for ALDO?

DIODATI – Winter 

Luca Galardo’s destiny was never in doubt. He bought his first sewing machine at age 16, studied fashion at LaSalle College, apprenticed with Travis Taddeo and mounted his first full runway show in 2014. The buzz for his DIODATI label and its edgy aesthetic has been non-stop ever since. Primarily a menswear designer, the Montrealer’s signature androgynous minimalism is easily adapted to his women’s wear assignment for the 2016 White Cashmere Collection. 

All designers will present their creation on September 28, at the Art Gallery of Ontario. 

About the White Cashmere Collection 

A stunning celebration of Canadian fashion that unites Cashmere Bathroom Tissue, designers and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the White Cashmere Collection™ is a stunning showcase for Canada’s established and emerging design talent and has featured more than 150 top Canadian fashion designers since 2004. 

An annual fund- and awareness-raiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the White Cashmere Collection is the first-of-its-kind in the world, and entirely crafted in pure, luxuriously soft sheets of Cashmere Bathroom Tissue.