Next Saturday, August 22nd, at 10 p.m., I will be presenting a brand new collection as part of the MAD Festival, at Place des Festivals in the Quartier des Spectacles, in downtown Montreal. This runway show will officially mark ten years of Guillaum Chaigne and, honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to present a collection to you.
This fifteenth season is probably the most important one of my journey so far. It represents a rebirth, a renewal, and a new way of approaching my work. Over the past few months, I seriously considered leaving the fashion industry completely. I no longer really felt like I belonged in it. I often say it, and I truly mean it: I don’t love fashion, I love style. To me, fashion is simply an accumulation of styles that are brought forward by the influence of the moment. What truly interests me is what comes from the minds of my fellow designers. Their vision, their creativity, their ability to tell a story through a garment. That freedom has always been what inspired me.
After taking a step back, I reminded myself of something very simple: creating is the thing I love most in the world. It has been my passion since I was a child and, despite all the doubts and questions I’ve had recently, I couldn’t imagine stopping something that has always been such a big part of me. This new collection was born directly from that reflection. It represents a new chapter for the brand, but also for myself.
While preparing this runway show, I found myself looking back at my memories and thinking about my very first runways. Long before the MAD Festival, before the major events and large-scale productions, there were school fashion shows. That is truly how I first stepped onto a runway. In 2016, I received an invitation from Stéphanie to participate in a fashion show organized by Université Laval in Quebec City. I presented eight silhouettes from my very first capsule collections at the Musée de la civilisation de Québec. At the time, I obviously had no idea where that invitation would lead me, but looking back today, I realize it was the starting point of a series of events that would completely change the course of my journey.
After that, everything started falling into place. Following those first school fashion shows, the MAD Festival gave me my first opportunity on the largest outdoor fashion stage in North America. In 2018, I presented Underestimated, my first major collection. Fifteen silhouettes walked the runway with messages such as “F*ck Your Standards,” while a giant screen behind the runway displayed the words “Go ahead, underestimate me.” That moment will forever remain engraved in my memory. It was the first time I was able to present my universe on such a large scale, in front of thousands of people.
Today, eight years after my first MAD Festival runway, I have the chance to return once again. This time, it will be to celebrate ten years of Guillaum Chaigne with what will be the biggest collection I have ever created. For months, I have been working on this project, and I chose to pour everything that represents who I am today into it. There will be a lot of new elements, several surprises, and pieces that I truly cannot wait to share with you. I wanted to create a runway show worthy of this anniversary and deliver a presentation that will remain memorable.
I would love to invite you to come celebrate these ten years with me. Whether you have been following my work since the beginning or you are discovering my universe for the first time, I sincerely hope you will be there on Saturday, August 22nd, at 10 p.m. at Place des Festivals. I truly believe this Saturday night finale at the MAD Festival will be a memorable moment, both for Guillaum Chaigne and for the festival itself. I can’t wait to share this new collection with you and celebrate together everything we have built over the past ten years.
Here is the event link 🖤
0 comments