Septembre Anderson
A&E Reporter

Guest lecturer and photographer Arline Malakian is set to unveil her exhibit, Black on Black, next week at [FAT], Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week.

“I wanted to create a challenge by photographing black garments against a black background and on a black model,” said Malakian.

[FAT] showcases the works of non-mainstream fashion designers, visual artists, musicians, performers and dancers.

There will be something for everyone, and fashion and promotion management graduate Gail McInnes is excited about what people will get to see.

“There’s photography, there are videos, there are performers,” said McInnes. “Even during the shows there are contortionists, someone is going to be doing aerial acrobatics.  It’s non-stop!”

Event founder and director Vaina Vasic also said visitors will get quite a show.

“They should expect a spectacle,” she said.

The show also gives emerging artists the chance to show their work to a captive audience, said Vasic.

“It gives them a space, a venue and to be part of a community,” she said.

The festival is in its fourth year and explores fashion as a form of expression rather than a mere commodity, said Vasic.

“It’s sort of putting fashion in the context of art,” she said.  “I think it’s important to have a venue to experiment and be a little edgy and avant garde and get more attention.”

McInnes agreed with Vasic, and said anything celebrating the arts, creativity or expression is important.

McInnes also takes the time to guest lecture photography students, sharing her wisdom and experience with young artists.

“I do it because I love connecting students to the passion of photography,” she said. “It’s a very competitive market and you have to be passionate about expressing something or searching your own expression.”