FASHION 2011: canada fashion icon Denis Gagnon launches Lancôme

Friday, August 5, 2011

canada fashion icon Denis Gagnon launches Lancôme

Canadian fashion icon Denis Gagnon launches Lancôme makeup collection in Montreal on Aug 5
If there is one fashion genius in Canada, it is indisputably Montreal’s very own Denis Gagnon.
The first time I ever shook the hand of Denis Gagnon was at a cocktail with Vancouver shoe designer John Fluevog in the presidential suite of Montreal’s Opus Hotel.
I had just told Opus owner John deC. Evans – who was jetting off to Morocco afterwards – about my good friend Roger Steffens, chair of the Grammy Awards reggae committee and nicknamed Ras Rojah by his old friend Bob Marley. Anyway, Roger met the French count Jean De Breteuil in Morocco with De Breteuil’s then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull the day after De Breteuil sold Jim Morrison his fatal dose of heroin on July 3, 1971. (You can read more about Morrison’s death and bisexuality in my blog Three Dollar Bill.)
When De Breteuil told Steffens about Morrison’s overdose, Steffens explained to me: “I thought he was full of sh– because there was nothing in the international press yet.”
When I finished telling the story, I turned to greet Denis Gagnon and introduced him to my mom Liliane, who used to model in the 1960s. Mom told Denis, “I admire your work.”
Whereupon Gagnon looked at her and said, “Which of my pieces do you love the most?”
Don’t get me wrong: Denis Gagnon is a nice guy. When his exhibition Denis Gagnon, a Couturier at the Museum: Ten Years of Fashion Design at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts ended earlier this year, he revealed to me he hopes to land his dream gig in NYC one season soon. “I would like to design purses and perfumes, like Chanel,” he said. “That’s really how they make all their money, on all the accessories. That is my dream.”
Well, Gagnon is now another step closer to realizing that dream with the launch of his new limited edition makeup collection Lancôme Paris par Denis Gagnon. The collection includes four lipsticks ranging from nude to dark plum, two pink blushes and two eye palettes. The shadows comes in blue ‘Parisian Nights’ shades and a brown ‘Enchanted Evening’ palette. The looks were created by Lancôme’s makeup artist Lora Spiga along with Gagnon himself. Prices range from $27.00 for a lipstick to $50.00 for a blush.
Gagnon will launch his new makeup collection in person (along with Lancôme’s makeup artist Lora Spiga) at the Lancôme counter at Montreal’s downtown Bay department store on Friday, August 5, from noon to 2 p.m.