Awards never go out of style for the Collingwood Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA).
On April 17, the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) held the 2023 BIA Awards, and Collingwood took home an award of merit in the special events, marketing and communications category for their 2022 Collingwood Fashion Week event.
“It was wonderful. Staff worked really hard on that,” said Sue Nicholson, executive director of the Collingwood Downtown BIA. “We had an amazing team of volunteers that put that together.”
Nicholson said many of the downtown fashion retailers played a part in the success of the event throughout the week, noting one of the most popular events last year was the Saxx fashion event at Black Bellows.
“It was great fun,” she said.
Collingwood Fashion Week ran its inaugural event in 2021, and in 2022 held a more expanded version that saw many events sell out.
Events included in-store fashion shows, designer trunk shows, makeup and styling tips and elevated shopping experiences. Micro-events took place at local retailers and restaurants.
Nicholson said that as the event was first floated during COVID, there were a lot of events that couldn’t take place at that time. However, now that things are open again, this year’s event is planned to be bigger than ever.
“I’m in the midst of writing another grant application for this coming year, that is more tourism-focused and would reach out to a broader audience,” she said.
The OBIAA’s BIA Awards saw nearly 50 submissions this year in categories such as business retention, recruitment and expansion, COVID-19 response and recovery and streetscaping/public realm improvements.
Dates and plans for the 2023 Collingwood Fashion Week have not yet been publicly announced.
