Fashion shows can happen almost anywhere, and that is one of the things I enjoy most about producing them. Every venue brings its own challenges, and the job is to understand those limitations while finding a way to make the final presentation feel effortless.

For Reitmans’ Fall 2026 launch, that venue was Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and the runway was a basketball court.

The event was presented in collaboration with the Toronto Tempo and brought together more than 200 influencers and guests, all dressed in Reitmans, for the launch of the brand’s fall 2026 collection. The event combined fashion, sport, entertainment and content creation, with the Tempo dancers also contributing to the experience.

My role was specifically the production of the fashion show. I wasn’t involved in developing the Reitmans rebrand or the broader Toronto Tempo partnership. Those elements were already established. My team’s responsibility was to take the vision we were given and execute a fashion presentation that worked visually, technically and creatively within one of Toronto’s largest event spaces.

Turning Scotiabank Arena Into a Fashion Show Venue

I have produced fashion shows in arenas many times, but every arena is different. Each has its own protocols, union requirements, technical restrictions and operating procedures. You have to understand who is responsible for what, when things can happen and what you are permitted to do.

There is also the question of time. In a venue like Scotiabank Arena, there can be an event the night before and another one scheduled later the same day. For this production, everything had to be installed in one day, and once the show was finished, the teardown began immediately. As soon as the last guest left, we were already taking everything out.

That kind of production requires a very organized team and a lot of planning beforehand. Reitmans was extremely organized, and so was our Toronto team, which allowed us to work through the venue requirements and keep everything aligned.

Giving Reitmans’ Fall 2026 Show a Fashion-Forward Edge

One of the things I found particularly interesting about this project was the direction Reitmans has been taking as a brand. It has become much more fashion-forward, and the presentation needed to reflect that evolution.

We couldn’t simply put a traditional catwalk inside a basketball arena. The show needed to feel modern and elevated, with the kind of visual impact you might expect from a presentation in Milan, New York or Paris.

The basketball court actually gave us a strong foundation for that. It already had scale, energy and movement. Rather than fighting the environment, we made the court the runway and allowed the space to become part of the presentation.

Lighting a Runway for Photography and Video

Lighting was especially important because the show was going to generate photography and video for social media, web and print. The clothes needed to look exceptional not only to the audience but also through the camera.

Interestingly, we didn’t need an enormous amount of additional lighting. We brought in follow spots, which allowed us to keep the models beautifully lit as they moved through the space. The front lighting was particularly important because that is what the audience and cameras were seeing.

The follow spots also had beautiful filters that helped create a flattering, polished image while maintaining the detail in the garments. You could see every stitch.

For me, good production is not about using the most equipment. It’s about understanding exactly what the environment requires and finding the right technical solution.

Designing a Fashion Show for the Camera

Today, every fashion show is also a content production. You are not only creating an experience for the people in the room. You are creating photographs, video and social content that will continue to live long after the event.

That was particularly relevant for this event, where the audience was dressing up the room, as well. And, at the same time, these influencers became part of the visual experience, capturing and sharing what was happening live.

Which means that the show had to work and look great from every angle. It had to look good from the seats, but it also had to translate through a phone camera, in photographs and in video.

That is now an essential part of fashion production. The physical event is only one part of the experience. The content that comes out of it becomes another.

Where Fashion Production Meets the Event Vision

The collaboration with the Toronto Tempo brought another dimension to the event, with the Tempo dancers adding a short performance to the show. My team was focused on making sure the fashion presentation was properly scripted and that all of these elements worked together within the overall event.

For me, that is always the balance. There can be many different components in a large event, but the audience should experience them as one cohesive presentation.

What I appreciated most about the Reitmans launch was how well thought out the production was from beginning to end. The planning, the creative direction and the execution were all aligned, and that allowed us to focus on what we do best: making the client’s vision real. And make it look great. 

The challenge was never simply to put a fashion show on a basketball court. It was to make the basketball court feel like the right place for fashion.

That is what I love about producing fashion events. The locations change, the brands change and the challenges change, but the objective remains the same: take a vision and make it come to life.  And that’s exactly what The Image Is… is all about!