Fashion Shoots are “a Lot of Hurry Up and Wait”… Excitement at the Cline House Gallery

Article and Photos by Mai-Liis Renaud

Cornwall, ON – Fashion Shoots are “a Lot of Hurry Up and Wait” stated Linda Legault, FDJ President, and that is one of the things that Tracy Lynn Chisholm and Emily MacLeod, owners and operators of the Cline House Gallery, learned when the international denim brand FDJ, French Dressing Jeans shot their newest global campaign at the Cline House Gallery, yesterday, Tuesday, May 28th, 2019.

I work in the creative art field as a Graphic Designer and co-owner of the Seeker but after spending time yesterday afternoon watching the Creative Team at work and seeing how much time and energy goes into that photo during the studio shoot, I will not be able to look at a fashion photo in a magazine in the same way again!

The photo shoot featured different areas of the Cline House Gallery and showcased art pieces by local female talent, with world-renowned photographer Donat Boulerice, capturing the essence of art while working with international fashion models, Olga Kaboulova and Zosia Nowak who flew in from New York, for the brand’s campaign.

How did this all happen?

With Linda Legault, a native of Cornwall who is the President of FDJ. She was at a Baldwin House Fashion show a while ago, when she discovered the Cline House Gallery and realized that this would be the perfect setting for the next “Lookbook” featuring their Spring/Summer 2020 Campaign. FDJ puts this together for their more than 2,500 independent and speciality boutique retailers across Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa as well as other countries. By doing this Fashion Photo Shoot here, Linda hopes to bring more attention to the vibrant art community in Cornwall.

Linda told me that she has been in the Fashion industry for the past 40 years and strangely enough initially studied Criminoloy – a far cry from the Fashion World that she lives in today!

FDJ French Dressing Inc., a Montreal based company, has been offering casual sportswear of exceptional fit and quality for over 40 years. The company prides itself on being an all-women team (led by Cornwall native, Linda Legault,) catering to real women and their modern busy lifestyle. The team’s goal is to provide women with fashion that empowers them, helps them express their individuality but never sacrifices comfort for great style.

The brand is also a proud sponsor of Look Good Feel Better chapters around the world. Look Good Feel Better helps women and teenagers battling cancer look and feel more like themselves again through workshops at their local hospitals and care centres.

For more info on FDJ you can visit www.fdjcollection.com and if you want more info on the Cline House Gallery and OBO Studios please visit www.obostudios.com or better still visit the Gallery at 204 Second Street East in Cornwall (phone # 613-360-9496) where the current exhibit is the 7th Annual Group Exhibit featuring the original work of 26 local artists. This show runs until July 20th and the Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 11am to 4pm.