By Katia Ostapets

Photography by Kareen Mallon

On the International Women’s Day on Mar.8, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada held the annual The Heart Truth celebrity fashion show at the Carlu, in downtown Toronto. Every guest was adorned in the signature colour of the night – red. Attendees wore red dresses, jackets, ties and, of course, the Red Dress pin that was handed out at the event and is the campaign’s official symbol.

The evening’s main attraction was the fashion show where celebrities, such as Jully Black, Jessica Steen, Gabrielle Rose and Jessi Cruickshank, modeled red dresses from major designers, including Arthur Mendonça, David Dixon, LOVAS by Wesley Badanjak and Adrian Wu.

Models line up after the show.

What were the pieces like? Two were short, three volumous, four sparkled, but each one was different. A particularly memorable moment was when Gene Simmons emerged on stage to support his wife, Shannon Tweed-Simmons, who was one of the models at the show. The couple were very charismatic and affectionate with each other, and were greeted with applause.

Gene Simmons (left) and Shannon Tweed-Simmons, who was one of the models at The Heart Truth.

After the show, the President of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Bobbe Wood said that she was thrilled with how the evening went. “All of these women and man lent their celebrity status for the support of this cause, even though it took some out of their comfort zone [since not all are models].”

Jully Black, on the other hand, looked very much “at home”, while on stage, and even did a little dance.  “There is a friendly rivalry happening with my arch nemesis Cruickshank, ever since we did a charity fashion show for Africa,” she said jokingly. “Next time I might even try a hand stand!”

All participants emphasized the importance of helping this cause, since heart disease and stroke is the number 1 killer of women in Canada. Many have personal stories of family members who have been affected. Designer Ines Di Santo is among them and says that even if she gets asked to help with this campaign 100 times, she will say yes each and every time!

The fashion show

Designers and guests

After the show