Silver
Linings
> From Project Runway Canada to
staple at Toronto Fashion Weeks, designer Sunny
Fong of VAWK tells his label’s story
PHOTOGRAPHER ANTHONY JAMES GIURA
WORDS BY JAY DE BELEN MODEL PHOENIX @ SPOT 6
MAKEUP BY DANIELA MOROCCO HAIR BY DAT TRAN
LOCATION @ HOTEL LE GERMAIN TORONTO WWW.GERMAINTORONTO.COM
It’s a biting winter afternoon in Toronto the day of our
VAWK photoshoot – you see it on the squinted faces of
passersby. Sidewalks and streets are laminated with
salt-dirtied frost; the wind does not look pleasant as
designer Sunny Fong of VAWK glances through the glass
windows of the Hotel Le Germaine. Clad in a simple
white oxford shirt, well-loved grey jeans and a trendy
half-shaved head, Fong is a creative powerhouse, in a
small frame and a smaller, demure demeanour.
Floor-length windows bring some much-needed natural
lighting as we sit in the bright welcoming room/makeshift minimalist library of the hotel mezzanine. Behind
us, the shoot stylist and makeup artist fiddle with the
model’s scarlet VAWK dress, designed by Fong for his
Spring/Summer 2013 collection. Seconds later,
someone’s requesting an iron, like, ASAP. Fong jumps
into assistance, hastily brushing his hands across his
dress’s red fabric. Such is the life of a fashion designer, it
seems.
For most, Fong is a familiar face to the Canadian
mainstream; he won the second (and sadly, final) season
of Project Runway Canada back in ’09. With that came
respect, recognition, and a whole lot of cash: $100,000 to
be exact, to jumpsta 'B