On Monday, September 21, 2026, the opening night of Montreal Fashion Week, Core Fabrics announced the four winners of its first Concours Mode Durable, a sustainable fashion contest for Quebec designers. The awards evening took place in our new event space in Montreal's Chabanel garment district, and it brought our community together around a belief we all share: fashion can, and should, be made more sustainably.
At the origin of it all was the Design Toolkit by Fashion Takes Action, Canada's first nonprofit focused on sustainability, ethics and circularity in fashion. Since 2007, FTA has been pushing the industry to do better, and its toolkit gives designers a practical framework tailored to the Canadian market. We wanted more Quebec designers to discover it.
With Fashion Week on the horizon, we asked ourselves what better way there was to celebrate the people designing clothing and accessories here at home. A contest felt like the answer, and the Concours Mode Durable was born.
Three bursaries of $1,000 each, a People's Choice award, and a circular economy training from CSMO Textile for every winner.
Our call for entries brought in 30 applicants. Each one filled out a form built around the 11 pillars of the Design Toolkit, grouped into four themes:
Every application was carefully reviewed by two juries. The first was made up of members of the Cirque du Soleil Costume Workshop. The second brought together Marianne-Coquelicot Mercier of Chroma Conseil, Alicia Aikens of Fashion Takes Action, Ariane Brunet-Juteau of Textilab, and Marie-Eve Daniel of Cirque du Soleil.
From those thirty, nine finalists rose to the top, three for each bursary. What followed was a rich promotional campaign shining a light on their work, and we loved every minute of it.
We gathered in the event space of our new offices on Saint-Laurent, at the corner of Chabanel, right in the heart of Montreal's garment district. Lolita Dandoy, a journalist devoted to local and sustainable fashion, hosted the evening with the warmth and authenticity she's known for.
More than 75 guests joined us, glass and bite in hand, to toast sustainable design. The nine finalists' creations stood on dress forms around the room, and it was a joy to watch people lean in to study a seam, a finish or a fabric choice up close.
Toward the end of the night, we announced our four winners. Each took the floor to share her company's vision for innovation, social impact, sustainable sourcing and community support.
Congratulations once again to these four women committed to a more sustainable fashion future:
Since 2021, Ysaline Lannes has built 1er Mai around textile reclamation, turning discarded materials into one-of-a-kind pieces that push back against overconsumption. With more than ten years of experience and training in fashion design, she relies on demanding handwork like weaving, embroidery, beading, quilting and patchwork to give those materials new meaning and value. Her environmental work has already been recognized by the City of Montreal and the Conseil des métiers d'art du Québec.
Jennifer Glasgow has been championing Montreal's creative community from the Mile End since 2003. Her shop began as Local 23, later General 54, a place where local designers, artists and musicians could sell and perform alongside vintage and local fashion. Today it's both a fashion house and a boutique that supports independent designers through a slow fashion lens. Jennifer believes real change comes from collective action, transparency and continuous improvement, and she's determined to inspire the next generation of designers.
Under the creative direction of Nancy Drummond-Hay, Montreal's Sloe Design Studio puts responsible sourcing at the heart of its work, with real transparency around its eco-design and sourcing practices. It stands out for its exceptional natural textiles made by Canadian artisans. Even its name spells out the philosophy: Simple silhouettes, Luxurious textiles, Original design, Eco-responsible practices. The studio also restores and alters vintage garments, giving pieces that already exist a longer life.
Manika Gaudet founded Manik Fashion in 2013, bringing inclusion, originality and eco-responsibility together in one brand. Her collections are made locally in small batches, and she extends the life of garments through alterations, repairs and custom textile painting. This year she also took home the Creative Industry award at the 2026 UNIO gala, which celebrates the business community of Montreal's Centre-Sud-Ouest.
None of this would have been possible without our many partners: Cirque du Soleil, Fashion Takes Action, Régitex, the Conseil des métiers d'art du Québec, CSMO Textile, mmode, Marianne-Coquelicot Mercier and Ariane Brunet-Juteau.
And to all thirty designers who put their work forward: thank you for showing us, once again, that Quebec fashion is creative, thoughtful and built to last. We can't wait to see what you make next.
Emmanuelle
Emmanuelle is in charge of our marketing department and is voice behind our product descriptions, newsletters, videos, social posts, and blog. If there’s a textile pun to be made, she’ll find it.
