Swag at Toronto's Film Festival
Sponsors offer neakers, skin cream, board games
From September 8 to 14, stars can pick up diverse gifts at the Toronto International Film Festival
Deep in the heart of the Hotel Intercontinental in Yorkville is the swag suite of the Toronto International Film Festival. That room, along with theatres across the city, is likely to be jam-packed during the annual celebration of global cinema.
The Celebrity Tastemakers Lounge is essentially a room where celebrities who can afford the priciest and trendiest items will get them for free. Movie Entertainment and Flare magazine are the official media sponsors of the lounge, which will be open from September 8 to the 14.
This year, 17 companies, including both classic brand names, as well as fresh Canadian designers have opted in to foist everything they possibly can on the world's most glamorous trendsetters.
As outlined in a detailed press release from rock-it promotions, Gus Design Group will lend their line of contemporary home furniture to the lounge. Petals, Stems and Leaves are bringing colour to the room with an assortment of floral displays. Cynar Drinks will serve their premium, Italian-style lemon soda, The Original Gassossa No. 45, because, when stars are snatching up great stuff for free, their throats tend to get parched.
Participants in the lounge include: Annie Thompson, a Toronto-based designer and artist who has created bold and innovative garments for women. Thompson hand makes clothing, hats and bags, paintings.
Outfitter to the economical, Banana Republic introduces a fragrance collection with five distinct scents, Alabaster, Jade, Rosewood, Slate and Black Walnut.
What's the point of smelling good if your skin looks like gravel? Enter Bioxxin, anti-aging skincare. Then there's the Canadian designing duo, Chip & Pepper, whose denim brand is sold in more than 42 countries. Now they've expanded the line to include knitwear, hats, and a children's collection.
Cobian has collaborated with high-end shoe designer George Esquivel to develop a line that provides comfortable laid back, California-style hand-crafted sandals. The old chestnut, Converse, now offers 400 versions of Chuck, its ubiquitous Taylor All Star sneakers. (Though they won't have such a huge selection in the suite.)
But the swag suite isn't just about looks. This year, filmy types can pick up !dentity Crisis?, a new party game from the co-inventor of Balderdash and Out and About Games. This is a board game for pop culture addicts and celebrity watchers. Although why film stars themselves would be interested is unclear.
