Once upon a time, 16 years ago, designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong started Greta Constantine together. Now, the story is taking a turn. Wong has left Greta Constantine, and Pickersgill is set to steer the brand forward into a new chapter.
Once upon a time, 16 years ago, designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong started Greta Constantine together. It became a special occasion staple — they dressed gala-goers, actors and wedding parties in confidence-boosting splashes of bright colour and sculptural ruffles. They staged runway shows in Toronto, Paris and New York, picked up retailers in Canada, the U.S. and the Middle East, and through it all unlocked a rare achievement: A Canadian fashion brand with longevity.
It’s hard not to think of the pair as synonymous with the brand. But Pickersgill thinks of Greta Constantine as its own entity. “I joke that I work for her now,” he says. “It's not about him or me; it's about the house. It's about what it stands for. One day I may be gone [too], but the label continues.” He’s had time to philosophize. “It's not a sad thing, it just happens. It's like the circle of life.
Pickersgill says he and Wong “always wanted to design together.” Pickersgill moved to Milan for a stint to work at the fashion house Dsquared, but he and Wong kept brainstorming via that early-2000s touchstone MSN Messenger, and when he came back to Toronto, the pair started Greta Constantine in 2006. “We didn't have much capital, but it was the dream. We’re both immigrants from Jamaica with a dream.
Vicky Milner, the president of CAFA, notes that the designs are timeless. “I know I’ll be able to wear my Greta pieces 10 or 15 years from now, and they will look just as good,” she says. In February 2021, while the world was still closed, another pivotal moment came: poet and activist Amanda Gorman on the cover of Time magazine, resplendent in sunshine-hued Greta Constantine. Pickersgill got the call on a Friday night when he was sitting at home watching Drag Race. “I dropped my pizza and I started crying.” Gorman had chosen the dress from a rack — she knew she wanted to wear yellow, the colour of hope, of happiness. Pickersgill took it as a sign. “It changed my life.
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