Robin Kay, President of FDCC (middle)
She Stays.
Yes, even after a, what some would say, rather highly unprofessional “drunken rant” for her opening speech during the most recent Toronto L’oreal Fashion Week, Robin Kay will remain the President of the FDCC.
Oh and it’s LG Fashion Week not L’oreal Fashion Week. That would be because LG is now the official title sponsor as L’oreal has opted not to renew their contract?
Can’t say i’m surprised by this news. It’s not the first time Kay has been ridiculed, negatively put in the spotlight, and managed to survive it. The difference in opinion from the general fashion public is torn both ways. Many believe she should be dismissed as President for her reoccurring inappropriate behavior and misrepresentation of the Canadian fashion industry, yet many also believe she’s still got what it takes.
Having seen her at the past four seasons of fashion week and having been in her presence, I honestly can’t say I think she is the most appropriate person for the job. I don’t think the issue is her ability to fulfill her job requirements but more so the level of professionalism she brings to the job. As the face of the Canadian fashion industry, it was and still is her responsibility to proudly and properly represent it. I can assure you that this is not her first time giving an opening speech at fashion week “tipsy”, but this is by far her worse time. But I do not deny that she must be doing something right to maintain her position as President of the FDCC and growing and developing Toronto Fashion Week to what it is today.
Quoted by the Toronto Star, in a recent interview with Joseph Mimran, chair of the FDCC, and owner of the best cheap chic label, Joe Fresh Style, he delivered a key message about Kay. “Robin clearly regrets what happened and has apologized and has strictly assured the board it will not occur again,” he was also adamant that, “the change of the title sponsor from L’Oreal to LG had nothing to do with Kay’s behaviour at a late-night fashion show [on] Oct. 20 [and] we want to take the focus off the incident.”
Mr. Mimran’s public address to the incident is the first step in the process of restoring the public’s faith in the FDCC, versus the panic stricken apology issued in the Toronto Star by Robin Kay post her “tipsy” speech. She cannot undo her embarrassment to herself and Toronto Fashion Week, but she can, if she hasn’t already, work towards restoring her public image by incorporating an in-house Communications team to advise and help her come up with a new strategy to (as a statement of the obvious), restore the public’s trust in the organization, rebuild broken relationships with the Toronto fashion publics and build new relationships with Toronto and international fashion publics to fulfill it’s mandate in establishing and promoting Canadian fashion.
Perhaps this will mark her turning point, but regardless, I am sure she will put the public’s criticism to rest for now and present another somewhat successful Toronto fashion week, taking us a little closer to where we hope Canadian fashion will be one day.
The F-word. 