Michelle Lowe-Holder Event at Rue Pigalle Boutique

Rue Pigalle's Isabelle Fish

On the evening of Thursday, August 14th, fashion admirers alike gathered at Isabelle Fish's beautiful Rue Pigalle Boutique, on Queen Street West, to meet Canadian accessory designer, Michelle Lowe-Holder. Isabelle is renowned in Toronto for sourcing top couture designers around the globe and bringing them to Torontonian style seekers. She hosted a meet and greet event for Michelle and her customers to get together and talk fabulous fashion design! (Image right courtesy of Isabelle Fish) Visit the Rue Pigalle website at RuePigalle.ca

Michelle Lowe-Holder

Michelle was born in Canada and graduated with a BFA Honours in Fashion Design from Pratt Institute in New York and an MA in Knitwear at Central St. Martins in London. In addition to showing her own line, she has participated in numerous projects with top global brands that include: TopShop, Science Museum, M and Shwop and Nike.

In 2009, London College of Fashion and the College of Sustainable Fashion invited Michelle to attend a mentoring program to help develop a more sustainable approach to fashion. Her AW'10 Collection "Ribbon Reclaim" marked a change in Michelle's designs. She shifted her focus to accessories, primarily, and began to use heritage handcrafts, vintage detail, zero waste and upcycling, by using ends of lines and "cabbage" (scraps from previous collections) to produce her designs. You will see them in the images below!

Michelle is currently working on a Grant Award from Fireup to develop 3D printed pieces in 2014 and also lectures at Istituto Maragoni. She now exhibits her collections twice a year in Paris, and her designs are sold at boutiques internationally. (Image via Michelle's website)

Chatting with Michelle and her Mother Suzanne

While Michelle was very busy during the Rue Pigalle meet and greet event, she took the time to chat with each and every person in the boutique. Her Mother Suzanne, was also in attendance, proudly supporting her daughter. As we are a Mother-Daughter blog, I was interested to hear about Michelle's fashion design from the designer herself, but her Mother as well! Suzanne told me that she knew from a very young age that Michelle would pursue fashion as a career.

I was also interested in the eco side of Michelle's designs. She takes vintage pieces and then incorporates and modifies them into new designs. I was intrigued to learn that one of her bracelets was made from a vintage pin cushion! For her, the possibilities are endless!

We don't often have the opportunity to meet the talented designers whose work we admire! It was wonderful spending time at Rue Pigalle and getting to know Michelle and her Mother and the beautiful creations Michelle had on display. Visit Michelle Lowe-Holder's website to see and learn more!