This is what a fashion show inside an iconic 60-year-old Toronto bakery looks like
A 60-year-old Toronto bakery is throwing a fashion show to show off their brand new line of merch.
Tre Mari Bakery on St. Clair West has long been supplying the city with arancini, pasta and Italian groceries for great prices, but they're bringing their business into modern times with a virtual fashion that rivals the likes of Yeezy.
In a video of the show where the bakery acts as a runway, models wear hats made of literal bread, instead of spending bread on designer lids.
Some models also wear "wigs" made of fluttering Tre Mari ribbons, one sporting a shirt made out of what looks like crocheted taralli.
It's all to draw attention to the other things their wearing and carrying: merch like tees and totes promoting Tre Mari. The show is called "Don't Forget the Bread," which for a long time has been the bakery's slogan.
"The idea of launching the merch with a fashion show came to mind after watching all the spectacular digital runway videos that came from the big fashion houses," says Tre Mari co-owner Franco Deleo.
"Without having to seat audiences, these fashion houses were completely unrestricted and able to create these crazy runway videos in unexpected settings and custom built environments. We thought, why not launch the merch with a fashion show in the bakery?"
The best part is, the models aren't skeletal supermodels: they're regular neighbourhood customers. Also, Deleo's husband Mark Savoia is responsible for making the ribbon wigs, bread accessories and taralli shirt.
They even came up with a virtual accessory for the fashion show, a filter that looks like a "headpiece" made of bread that springs up like crown, so you can take a selfie as a true carb queen. It was created by a local AR studio.
Though this all might seem a little bit silly, it was all inspired by a common practical questions customers often ask.
"For years, customers have been asking to buy the TreMari t-shirts and hats worn by staff as uniforms," says Deleo.
"We didn't want to just throw a logo on a shirt, so instead we created designs that pull from traditional Italian imagery, but present them in a fun, contemporary way."
The bread hats will be displayed in the bakery's window, looking like a retail boutique, and merch will be available from the store and Tre Mari's online shop.
Tre Mari Bakery
