DESIGNING FOR CHANGE
Cutting-edge creatives team up for a good cause, while CAFA fetes the fashionable
Who doesn’t love a dinner party? How about 11 individual dinner parties, happening in the same room, at the same time? Well, there was nary a dull moment at the recent Monogram Dinner by Design at the Design Exchange to benefit Casey House and the DX. The event featured 11 original dining installations with styles ranging from cutting-edge to classic opulence courtesy of Burdifilek, Candice & Alison, Castor, Colette van den Thillart for NH Design, Hariri Pontarini Architects, I-V, KPMB, Mason Studio, Partisans, Sarah Richardson Design and Uufie. Food and wine pairings did not disappoint, with Top Chef winner Rene Rodriguez and Biff Bistro’s
Amanda Ray at the helm. “Partnering with GE Monogram and Casey House, a vital Toronto institution, was an important initiative as it highlighted a new approach to fundraising — creative collaboration,” said
Shauna Levy, president of Design Exchange. “It also provided a unique opportunity and platform for some of the country’s top architects, designers and decorators, as well as our guests, who were able to interact with the very people who designed their bespoke dining environment. There are so few opportunities in Canada when we can get close to creators and
innovators, hear their stories and celebrate the outstanding design talent we have. Helping to facilitate that for Monogram Dinner by Design was a thrilling opportunity for DX.” Highlights? MC Tommy Smythe’s charisma, compassion and dedication to the causes that he cares about. Also: wheat. Yes, it was all about the wheat for designer to the stars Colette van den Thillart. If you didn’t get a chance to peruse the exhibit this time around, it’s a mustdo next year as the individual spaces were a fine example of over-the-top creativity.
From the best in interiors to the most forward-looking thinkers in fashion, Swarovski and CAFA celebrated the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent nominees with an intimate, seated supper at Soho House Toronto, a members-only hideaway. Not unlike the jeweller’s sparkling creations, it was a glittering crowd who were in attendance, including Swarovski Emerging Talent nominees Chloe and Parris Gordon, Matthew Gallagher, Malorie Urbanovitch, Sid Neigum, Alex Circa, Noelle Hindi, Kat Marks and Jon De Porter. “It was a great pleasure to partner with CAFA in celebrating the very best in Canadian fashion for the second year running, and to support the its vibrant fashion industry’s next generation through the Swarovski Awards for Emerging Talent,” said company executive Nadja Swarovski. “Canada is alive with exciting new creative talents, and I would like to congratulate Sid Neigum and Chloe and Parris Gordon of Beaufille.” The dinner was the kickoff to the second annual CAFA gala, coverage for which will be featured on these pages next week.