British Columbia’s Cheri Milaney has had an interest in fashion design since she was a little girl.  At the age of six, she sketching different outfits.  When she finished high school, she studied fashion merchandising at Alberta’s Olds College, and spent some time training and then started her own line, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.  Since her launch, her collections have been presented all over the world, including Torino, Italy (for the 2006 Winter Games), China and at home in Vancouver.

This year, Ms. Milaney decided to do something different for her Fall/Winter 2009 collection.  For Toronto’s LG Fashion Week, she decided to forgo using “regular models,” and opted for “real women.”  After all, clothes should reflect the women who wear them, and not all women are tall, young and skinny.  It’s all about a good fit, and the ability to bring out the “sparkle” in the wearer. To bring her dream of using non-skinny models to life, Ms. Milaney enlisted the help of modelling agent Ben Barry to help her find non-models for the show. This is not only Ms. Milaney’s first time using non-models for her show, but the first time any designer has at Fashion Week in Toronto.

Ms. Milaney’s Fall/Winter 2009 collection, called Viola, was presented at LG Fashion Week on March 18.  The line, which featured many different shades of purple, was, according to the designer, influenced by her many fabric sourcing trips to Italy.  The show started off with a viola player, prior to the first woman’s entry.  The player continued to play throughout the show.  Everyone on the runway looked fabulous, and the variety of sizes did not take away from the show.  After all, everyone on the runway reflected the women who would wear Ms. Milaney’s line – size 2 to 16, with a target age group of 30-something to 50-something.  It was actually much more realistic.  In addition, they looked just as professional as models on the other shows.  Considering how successful the Cheri Milaney show was, perhaps we’ll see more shows like this, where models are a variety of different sizes.

Cheri Milaney is available boutiques across Canada.  She is available in a few stores in the United States as well.