Montreal fashion designers get $1.15M in grants

CBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | 8:02 AM ET

[PHOTO: Montreal leather goods designer Rudsak is getting a $950,000 grant
from the province. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)]

Two prestigious Montreal clothing design companies are getting a financial
boost from Quebec to market their wares outside Canada, in a bid to help the
city’s fashion industry weather the recession.

Against the backdrop of Montreal’s Fashion Week, Quebec announced a $1.15
million grant for Rudsak and Harricana to expand exports.

Quebec has a unique fashion industry and the government wants to support it,
said Economic Development Minister Clément Gignac. "It’s about innovation.
It’s about design, and here in Quebec, we have the talent," he said Tuesday.
"It’s no longer mass production."

"When you have a Canadian dollar that’s reached 97 cents, we have to
reassess the Quebec economic model. So, if we want to be able to in fact
compete with China, it’s more in the high-end, or les haute-gammes. And this
is what it’s about now in Montreal."

Rudsak, which designs and produces leather goods, will receive $950,000 to
explore the U.S. market.

Rudsak founder Evik Asatoorian said the boost is especially welcome at a
time when fashion producers are feeling the recession’s pinch.

"They understand our industry," Asatoorian said from the sidelines of a
runway show Tuesday. "Our market has changed, it’s gone to Asia. Today, it’s
very clear for the government."

The money will allow Asatoorian to open a showroom in New York City for
starters, he said.

Another $100,000 is going to Harricana to help the luxury recycled silk and
fur producer break into the U.S and European markets.

Montreal is the third-largest fashion exporter in North America, after Los
Angeles and New York.

Montreal’s Fashion Week runs until Oct. 15 at the Bonsecours Market.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress