Written by Astrid Superstar
Fashion Art Toronto's 1664 Fashion Week's new logo.
As Fashion Art Toronto continues to blossom in the fashion landscape - not only Canadian, but worldwide - it is only natural that the next stage of the journey would elevate the event to exciting new heights.
In an official press release published earlier this week, Fashion Art Toronto has officially announced their multi-season sponsorship with world-renowned premium lager label Kronenbourg 1664. Their upcoming joint-collaboration will kick into gear at the next Fashion Art Toronto festival, running May 2nd-5th at Black Creek Assembly.
1664 has been involved with previous incarnations of Fashion Art in various sponsorship formats - many a Fashion Art Toronto attendee of the past few seasons will remember sipping on the complimentary 1664 Blanc’s, in their iconic blue bottles, stepping onto the 360-camera with their best friends for a virtual souvenir they’ll cherish forever, or even the Blue Carpet (a nod to the bottle) that beautifully garnished the Step & Repeat.
However this time, the brands are gearing up for their biggest season yet as co-collaborators. To commemorate the occasion - and as 1664 is coming on as a title sponsor - FAT is rebranding to “Fashion Art Toronto’s 1664 Fashion Week”.
Images of the 1664 bar from Fashion Art Toronto Fall 2023.
Photographed by Jillian Wilson.
As stated in the aforementioned press release, “1664 will bring good taste with a twist to Toronto’s fashion scene with engaging brand activations, stylish photo opportunities, product sampling, exciting contests and more. The brand also plans to launch its highly anticipated new product line at the Spring 2024 event.”
1664 is planning to cover the event through their @1664canada digital channels, so that “style seekers across the country” can experience fashion week content from Toronto.
Fashion Art Toronto is not 1664’s first foray into the fashion week landscape. In fact, Fashion Art Toronto is one of many worldwide fashion weeks that the brand has partnered with - but never to this intimate of an extent.
As a principal partner in this year’s London Fashion Week, 1664 relaunched their super-premium Blanc beer for the UK market. The London Fashion Week website details the collaboration between 1664 and high-end UK department store Selfridges. (Notably, a separate press release by the Carlsberg Group, the parent company of Kronenbourg 1664, informs us that this is the first time a beer brand has done so).
“To celebrate London Fashion Week’s 40th anniversary,” the LFW website explains, “1664 BLANC will offer guests an exclusive glimpse into the coveted world of fashion through its partnership with Selfridges London from Tuesday 13th February to Tuesday 27th February - the two week duration when catwalks capitalise the city.”
The "designer kiosque of the future – a modern take on the French tabac" at Selfridge's Duke Street Entrance. Photo & Quote sourced from the London Daily News.
London Fashion Week goes on to detail the various 1664 themed pop-ups in the city, “from a striking deconstruction of the 1664 Blanc bottle in the department store’s Duke Street window, to a classic meets contemporary cobalt blue interactive kiosque serving Parisian flair with every sip,” ensuring that “the collaboration will encapsulate the style-led approach of the brand.”
It is rather cheekily suggested that 1664 Blanc, with its sleek, iconic blue-tinted glass bottle, is the “most stylish member of the renowned Kronenbourg family,” as it “blends its rich heritage with a modern, contemporary twist”.
Before their London Fashion Week collaboration, 1664 has continually served the fashion-forward denizens of Denmark's Copenhagen Fashion Week and Ukranian Fashion Week with their iconic 1664 Blanc beverage.
Many of their collaborations with fashion weeks are well into multiple years, and their affiliation with the fashion industry has drawn significant praise from Marketing experts on websites like Linkedin. “1664 is a phenomenal case study of how to re-energise and relaunch a global beer brand,” says Amelia Torode, Chief Strategy Lead for London’s WPP Advertising Services. “The packaging, the partnerships and sponsorships, activation and creativity are all perfectly on point.”
Poster announcing the return of Kronenbourg 1664 as a sponsor for Ukranian
Fashion Week for the 3rd year in a row. Sourced from Carlesberg's Ukranian site.
With all of this in mind, the compatibility between 1664 and Fashion Art Toronto is undeniable. But don’t just take our word for it - FAT’s press release includes quotes from not only Founder and Executive Director Vanja Vasic, but also via Anders Jørgensen, the Managing Director of Carlsberg Canada himself.
“Collaborating with Fashion Art Toronto was a natural choice,” says Jørgensen. “1664 is renowned for its unexpected and playfully elegant twists and our iconic, elegant blue bottle design. Fashion Art Toronto is all about celebrating bold, unique style choices and embracing fashion with a twist. We truly believe that we have a lot of shared values.
1664 is thrilled to support Canada's diverse fashion scene and we look forward to seeing all the trend setters and statement makers showing off their unique twists on and off Fashion Art Toronto’s 1664 Fashion Week runway.”
Vasic adds, “[1664] coming on as title sponsor marks a huge win for Canadian fashion and this will significantly elevate the work we do to shine a light on this country’s designers, artists and creatives.”
As for what we can expect at the shows as a result of this sponsorship, if 1664’s previous innovative activations are any indication, it will be a true-blue match made in frothy, crisp heaven.
You can read the full press release here.