Suzanne Rogers Presents
Photography by George Pimentel
Style

Suzanne Rogers Brings the Fashion Industry to Toronto for a Victoria Beckham Spring 2020 Runway Show

A portion of the sales will be donated to charities.

By Bernadette Morra

Date November 8, 2019

The tangle of Bentleys, Teslas and Range Rovers in the streets around Loretta Rogers home brought a few blocks of Toronto’s tony Forest Hill neighbourhood to a standstill yesterday. The source of the mayhem was Victoria Beckham, in town to present her Spring 2020 collection as part of Suzanne Rogers Presents, the biannual fundraiser spearheaded by Loretta’s daughter-in-law. Suzanne, the city’s number one fashion cheerleader, and event co-chair Sylvia Mantella, who ranks a close second, welcomed guests inside a massive tent erected in Loretta’s backyard. Around 300 (mostly) women roamed amid several bars before heading to the dining area to take in the parade of ‘70s-style pantsuits and plunging caftan-y dresses (hello Halston!).

“You all have order forms at your table and I’m going to be lurking around so if anyone has any questions or wants styling advice, please feel free to come and ask me,” Beckham said, reminding all that, thanks to the support of Net-a-Porter, 20 per cent of the take would benefit Camp Oochigeas and The Penelope Neuroblastoma Foundation, named for a 4-year-old who died of the disease and whose parents were in the crowd.

And what a crowd it was, dressed to thrill as has (thankfully) become the norm in this city.

“Is this what women wear to lunch these days? Backless and sequins?” one society matron mused surveying the scene. In the age of Instagram, and Rogers/Mantella-level fashion enthusiasm, the answer is yes.