Real Women on the Runway at LG Fashion Week

Cheri Milaney, a Vancouver-based designer is presenting a collection for the first time this spring at the LG Fashion Week in Toronto. Viola, her fall/winter 2009 collection, will mark the company’s 10th Anniversary with a groundbreaking show, which she is dedicating to the women who inspire her daily.

The first designer to embark on the movement that is positively changing the way advertisers speak to the female consumer, Cheri Milaney has enlisted Ben Barry, a leader in scouting and training real models and the author of Fashioning Reality, and ArlineMalakian, co-author of Be A Woman: expressions of life to help her bring to life a long time dream of showing her designs on real women, facing everyday challenges positively, each with a story to tell.

The designer has also partnered with the Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) in a multi-layered partnership that includes collaboration with the Ben Barry Agency in scouting some of their members who have courageously overcome the challenges of cancer and have become celebrated role models for all women. Cheri Milaney will donate a portion of each garment sold in her Viola collection to support the Look Good Feel Better program.

While this ground-breaking event is a timely occurrence in the history of international fashion, it’s also the result of a decade of commitment on the part of Cheri Milaney.

With a passion for fashion since age six, her design sense and creativity has been influenced by her multi-faceted career. Traveling often to Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Beijing, London and New York, she also lived in Japan, and in Italy where she has established long-term business relationships. Cheri Milaney believes her rich life experience has enabled her to better understand her core customer; women 35-55 whether they are a size 2 or 16.

Cheri says, “It’s my goal to inspire the women who buy my designs, to wear them with confidence and in ways that truly reflect their style and celebrate their life.” In fact, the designer believes that, “in projecting our true self, we automatically look and feel confident.”