CAFA 2022 Nominees: The Full List of Canada’s Top Talent in Fashion and Beyond

The most stylish crowd in Toronto gathered at the Design Exchange on Tuesday morning for the highly-anticipated CAFA 2022 nominees announcement by the Canadian Art and Fashion Awards for its eighth annual gala — and news that the red carpet gala will once again be held in person.

The awards gala will be held on Oct. 15 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.

“After two years of celebrating virtually, we are very much looking forward to gathering everyone together in-person to celebrate our industry and recognize the incredible talent we have here in Canada,” said CAFA’s President, Vicky Milner, who took to the stage at the breakfast reception to announce this year’s honourees, including the co-founders of SSENSE—Rami Atallah, Firas Atallah and Bassel Atallah—who are receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award “for their ground-breaking direct-to-consumer and retail innovation as well as the cultural influence they have garnered.”

Designer and founder of Fleur du Mal, Jennifer Zuccarini, will also be honoured with The International Canadian Designer Award for “her illustrious career and innovative approach to fashion.”

In addition to the full list of nominees across seventeen categories, Milner announced that applications are open for The Bay Fashion Fund, an initiative to support and foster emerging BIPOC designers and brands in Canada, from now till Sept. 8, at CAFAwards.ca. The fund will award the winning designer or brand with a grant of $25,000 and a three-year mentorship program. 

Without further ado, here are the nominees for CAFA 2022:

Womenswear Designer of the Year Award

Greta Constantine LECAVALIER UNTTLD Hilary MacMillan Silk Laundry

Menswear Designer of the Year Award

Mr. Saturday SECTION 35 École de Pensée Christopher Bates Raised by Wolves

Award for Emerging Talent, Fashion

Adidem Asterisks Kathryn Bowen Lafaille Maria Karimi RVNG Dorian Who

Award for Emerging Talent, Accessories

Jewels & Aces Combinist Goods Maguire Mas Steff Eleoff Cyntia Miglio

Accessory Designer of the Year Award

L’intervalle Biko Maple Ecksand Melanie Auld Jewellery Heirloom Hats

Outerwear Brand of the Year Award

Kanuk Nobis Quartz Co Sentaler Noize

Fashion Innovation Award

Blanka BlackCart Calico FoldsWear

Fashion Design Student Award

Gabriel Paul Caron Suki Chow Kevin Quang Thai Nguyen Lynne Hey Mihaela Stoica

Image Maker of the Year Award

Renata Kaveh Carlos Alyse William Ukoh Conor Cunningham Justin Wu Norman Wong

Stylist of the Year Award

Florence O. Durand Nadia Pizzimenti Nariman Janghorban Amanada Lee Shirreffs Skye Kelton Georgia Groom

Fresh Face of the Year Award

Monywiir Deng Belle Vanderkley Mase Somonall Willow Allen Sihan Guo

Model of the Year Award

Ash Foo Awar Odhiang Kirsten Owen Ariish Wol Steph Shiu

Fashion Impact Award

Knix Izzy Camilleri Wide The Brand Elita Wuxly

Digital Fashion Creator Award

Laurence Fortin-Cote Liv Judd Myles Sexton Sean Brown Lexson Millington

The Sustainability Award

Triarchy Kelly Drennan, Fashion Takes Action Ecologyst Bedi Thesus Wuxly

Makeup Artist of the Year Award

Leslie-Ann Thomson Julie Cusson Emily Cheng Mimi Choi Nisha Gulati Viktor Peters

Hair Artist of the Year Award

Janet Jackson Kirsten Klontz Chanel Crocker Matthew Collins Kristjan Hayden