Photo by Christian Allaire
“Stampede, baby,” said Bustle designer Shawn Hewson, “it’s a stampede on the runway.”

Indeed, designer Hewson and his wife, Ruth Promislow, have brought the wild, wild west to the wild, wild north; Bustle’s fall collection was inspired by the 100^th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. And while no horses or Ferris wheels were presented at their show, there were cowboy hats, denim on denim, and bolo ties aplenty. 

“We loved the idea of building a collection around the Calgary Stampede. It’s just such a fun event; the whole city parties for a week plus, everybody gets dressed up,” said Hewson. “We just thought we had to do something based around this. There were a lot of looks on the runway that had refreshing perspective on it.”

Photo by Christian Allaire
Indeed the clothes tried not to take such a literal approach to western-style clothing. Of course, there were clichéd moments when denim pants were paired with denim jackets, which was a more obvious and fun approach to their inspiration, but subtler choices appeared in the form of decorative stitching and metal snaps. Leather panelling, done on the back or front of jackets, also toed the line between modern and Mountain Men. Even the worst-of-the-worst fabrics when it comes to cowboy couture, like chords, were tasteful when done in a tailored blazer or jacket. Dress shirts were done in chambray patterns, white with black piping, or denim – which was not off the mark considering this year’s major trends. 

Bustle shows are, really, more about the spectacle than anything else. Last season’s collection had swimsuit-clad models drinking champagne and dancing on a fake sailboat, which only emphasized that collection’s preppy Hamptons-style feel. This year was no different: beefy male models strutted their stuff with the confidence of a cowboy, which caused the audience to both howl (!) and lick their lips (!!) at male models. Stacey McKenzie was the lone cowgirl of the show, and boy did she gallop that runway. There’s just something about the energy at Bustle that is infectious: whether you find it cheesy or exciting or both, you’re definitely feeling something. Hewson is well aware of it too, saying “they call it a show for a reason.”

“We always focus so much on that. Obviously the clothes are important, but entertaining people and putting on a show and selling the whole theme is important as well,” said Promislow.

Photo by Christian Allaire
Hewson and Promislow began the label back in 2002. Prior to becoming designers, the husband and wife duo were Bay Street lawyers – and while the happy couple is expecting their second child soon, they have no plans of slowing down just yet. “We’re going to put them to work with those little hands,” joked Premislow. Unless she wasn’t joking and actually promotes child labour. Either or, their label won’t come to a halt.

Hewson hopes to see more menswear labels have fun with fashion, like Bustle does so frequentely and well.

“I don’t shop anymore, but I always did find it difficult to shop. We’re really coming along nicely in the Canadian menswear scene, and there are better options out there now,” said Hewson. “But I’d also like to see guys take a few chances, which is obviously why we like to push it a little bit on the runway.” 
________