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the designers |
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Joyce Gunhouse "I always knew I'd be in fashion. When I was six years old, I won a design contest held by "Buster Brown". My mother (Santa Claus) gave my sister and me a little Singer hand-crank sewing machine that same Christmas. We were constantly whipping up original designs for Barbie and Midge. All through my school years I was sewing and sketching, which eventually led me to attend Ryseron Polytechnic. I packed up my bags, left Victoria and headed to Toronto in the Fall of 1980." |
Judy Cornish "I'd never really thought about my future -- preferring to spend my high school days making satin tops to wear to Lou Reed, patching my jeans and creating 'stage clothes' for friends in bands. After a year in University in Peterborough, spending time traveling through Europe and living in Calgary for two years, I returned to Toronto. The early eighties found me sewing clothes for my hairdresser friends who, by night, transformed into new wave poseurs -- imagine Human League, Devo, New Order. My pleasure comes from dressing up others and then quietly watching the results. Knowing I would soon need a real job and thinking about costume design, I enrolled in Ryerson in 1980." |
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Joyce Gunhouse and Judy Cornish first met at Ryerson in the Fashion Arts Programme. Judy was working at Larry's Hide-away (a Punk Club) and would put Joyce on the guest list whenever a good band was playing - R.E.M., Husker-Du, Shriekback. Joyce was also waitressing her way through school. Their busy schedules and similar work ethic - no all-nighters, prioritize assignments, and always have time for boyfriends and secondhand shopping - forced them to work on school projects together. Just before graduation they collaborated on a few outfits that they presented with friends in a mini fashion show at an evening celebrating the first Music Videos at Larry's Hide-away. Duran Duran and the "eighties" had begun! Owners of a little independent store, Metropolis, saw the show and invited Joyce and Judy to sell their designs on consignment. As an added bonus they shared a studio with the store for only $25 a month! The business kept building: with the money from the sale of two dresses they would sew and sell four dresses, and so on. That August of 1983, Joyce and Judy presented Comrags for the first time to the press. The response from the press and fashion elite was overwhelming! Comrags continues to be favoured by Flare, Fashion Magazine, Elm Street, Chatelaine, Images and the best of Canadian media. |
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ideas |
Ideas for our Collections come from everywhere. |
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We can hear a song, read a book, or spot some granny on Spadina and be inspired. Vintage dresses and prints always interest us -- not the original, but the piece we're holding in our hands at the Sally Ann that has faded, been mended or altered. It gives us so many more ideas than a technical or historical sketch. |
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Fabrics are the starting point of any collection. Each season offers new colours, textures and possibilities. We are always trying to find easy-care fabrics that will have a long life.
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Once we've chosen our fabrics and direction, we start designing the Collection. Comrags' strength is in our signature styling. That styling is maintained because we always make our own patterns. We do very few fashion sketches, preferring to "sketch" on the patterns and "design" on the judy. Our style is defined by our unique sense of proportion. |
production |
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Our studio has a relaxed and team-oriented atmosphere. Susan, our production manager, and our seamstresses, Loan and Maria, have worked with us for a million years! Ioan, the only man on the team, is our cutter, presser and sock monkey master. Amanda works directly with us finishing samples, pattern grading and indulging our whims (ie: updating us on almost all of the reality shows). It is this team effort, along with an occasional homemade sweetie, that has brought us to where we are today. |
Over
the past 25 years, we have been involved with manufacturers (they pay us to
design their product), contractors (they produce our product in their factory)
and in-house production. We now produce exclusively on an in-house basis because
it is the best way to ensure consistent high-quality.|
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our shows When time and energy permit, we love to show the collection on the runway! Our shows are the best reflection of the season and of Comrags. We live and breathe the collection during the long preparation. Our stylist, Jimmy Moorhouse, helps us with our look by finding the best shoes and accessories in the city. We work closely with hair and make-up to get the total look. Judy pulls together the eclectic mix of music that completes the mood of the show. Months of hard work and it's all over in about fifteen minutes!
We are proud to say that Comrags is Canadian made.
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© Comrags 1998 - 2006. All rights reserved.