Montreal designer Catherine (Cat), Préfontaine, founder of Maison Préfontaine, has been eliminated from the Crave Original series Project Runway Canada.
The program is hosted by renowned Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha, also part of the judging panel alongside fashion media icon Jeanne Beker, and CAFA award-winning designer Spencer Badu. Providing designer mentorship is Vice Chair of the Council of the Fashion Designers of America, Aurora James. Préfontaine is one of two Montrealers on the show; the other, Maya Ginzburg, remains in the hunt for the title of Canada’s Next Great Designer, from TD, a career launching investment of $100,000, and a coveted feature spread in an upcoming issue of Elle Canada magazine. The series was filmed earlier this year at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and produced in collaboration with Fashion at The Creative School.
In Préfontaine’s latest episode, which began streaming last Friday, she and her competitors headed to the Bata Shoe Museum. They were each asked to choose from a selection of footwear. Préfontaine grabbed a pair of pink boots. The contestants had two days to complete their project, including a 30 minute $500 shopping spree to purchase materials. She included ruffles in her outfit, which did not seem to suit well with the judges.
A disappointed Préfontaine said she was proud of her creation and she plans to make the ruffled sleeves design available via her website. “I loved the look of my design,” she told me an interview, which was embargoed until now. “I really like the ruffle look and I am proud of what I achieved. It is not easy finding the right fabrics in only 30 minutes. Honestly, I thought it would be easy; but it wasn’t. I could not execute all of my ideas.”
Préfontaine’s initial interest in design and photography led her to study film. After a few years, during which she acquired tools that would later prove invaluable, her passion for fashion prompted her to reconsider her priorities. She took the courageous decision to reorient herself and enroll at Cégep Marie-Victorin’s École de mode, where she obtained her diploma in Fashion Design Technique.
Upon graduation, in the midst of the pandemic, Préfontaine was chosen to represent her institution at the Fashion Preview festival, then presented in virtual format.These extraordinary years also gave her the opportunity to spend a few months in Virginia, working with horses, another of her great passions. It was during this retreat that she began creating dresses and outfits for local equestrian events. It was here that the idea emerged to fuse her contrasting impulses: the simple life in the great outdoors, her creative instinct tinged with a gentle, self-assumed subversion, and her guilty pleasure for theatricality, into a single collection. And what better than denim to embody both the freedom of a rural dream and urban casualness? Her long-term vision is to design with a minimum of waste, for example by sending off-cuts to organizations that recycle them, or by reusing materials, accessories or supplies in original ways that have been abandoned by major industries. It also aims to promote local production and make eco-responsible choices. Collections are deliberately produced in smaller quantities, according to demand, or even to order, to avoid waste.
Préfontaine feels she brings Western edge to Montréal cool. Balancing raw texture with runway polish, she’s dressed Canadian stars like Marina Bastarache and Lou-Pascal Tremblay—and made her mark at Montreal’s M.A.D. Festival. She hopes that the exposure she received from being on this prestigious TV show will provide an additional boost to her career.
The show streams Friday nights on Crave.
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