Fashion and fundraising go together like a needle and thread. The best-known example of this is New York City’s Met Gala, the annual over-the-top pageant of celebrity style. Here in Canada, we have a more modest tradition where couture meets cause – through, of all things, bathroom tissue.

Every year since 2004, the Cashmere tissue brand has hosted the Cashmere Collection, in which top Canadian fashion designers join the fight against breast cancer by creating couture pieces from tissue. At the 2024 edition, the efforts of 16 designers were unveiled in Toronto at a live show on October 30, capping Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lainey Lui and Traci Melchor of CTV’s entertainment show, Etalk, served as hosts.

New Brunswick-based womenswear designer Chavah Lindsay was proclaimed the people’s-choice winner, and Cashmere donated $50,000 in her name to help charitable initiatives for breast cancer. “I’m still in shock, and I’m walking with a different stride through the airport today,” said Lindsay, as she flew home to Saint John the day after the live runway show.

Lindsay revealed the inspiration behind her winning design. “First, I thought something short and fun. Then I thought, ‘How can I inject my experience with my mom’s journey through cancer into this?’ With the ‘bloom’ theme, I went with little buds on the corset. I thought about the journey and how we grow and evolve. There’s good and bad through it all.”

Lindsay elaborated further: “What’s giving the skirt volume is all the flowers beneath it. So, the idea is that we all have strength, and sometimes it’s not seen, but it’s what helps get us through this journey.”

Ultimately, Lindsay’s mother lost her fight with cancer. “She didn’t make it in the end, but this dress is dedicated to her,” Lindsay said in tribute, adding that the live show was especially meaningful for both the win and the memories it conjured. “When my mom was in her last days in the hospital, she said, ‘Whenever you see a butterfly, I want you to think of me. I’m always with you.’ Last night, I was chatting with my model backstage, and I realized that the stylist had actually put a butterfly necklace on her, not knowing the butterfly story. Just to truly feel connected to my mom again was so special.”

According to the Government of Canada, breast cancer is the second-most common cancer in Canadians overall, and the most common in women. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

To date, fundraising for the Cashmere Collection has delivered over $5 million to support the Canadian Cancer Society and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.

Beyond its fundraising goal, the Cashmere Collection gives parent company Kruger Products the opportunity to talk about its stake in protecting the environment. Kruger’s sustainable manufacturing practices include responsibly sourced fibres, reduction of environmental impact, made-in-Canada production, and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certifications that signal responsible forestry and paper standards for the Cashmere, Purex and Scotties paper brands.

This story has been edited and condensed for clarity. Read the original version in the Fall/Winter 2024 edition of driver magazine.

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