Association des nouveaux créateurs de mode du Québec (ANCMQ)

Founded in Montreal in 1984, the Association des nouveaux créateurs de mode du Québec (ANCMQ) differed from previous associations because it represented only professional fashion designers working in Quebec. The Association’s goal was to promote designers to the industry, the media and the general public. In 1986, Hélène Cohen, the Association’s president, defined the organization’s mission as follows: “This Association was born of a need to bring Quebec fashion professionals together to prevent professional isolation, overcome economic challenges, and enhance the prestige of its members and their products.”

The ANCMQ published three editions of Grif Design, a magazine that was one of the primary vehicles for achieving its aims. It also organized several group fashion shows, some in collaboration with the École des hautes études commerciales, as well as the “Coup d’envoi” series that began in March 1986 at Les Cours Mont Royal. After several years, the Association changed its name to the Association des créateurs de mode du Québec, in order to better reflect its openness to all designers. At its height, the Association had as many as 50 members. In 1989, after presenting the Quebec Ministry of Industry and Commerce with a last-resort request for funding, the Association ceased operations.

Designers who sat on the Association’s Board of Directors: Gina Antinozzi, Lucie Arbic, Edwin Birch, Marcelle Charland, Hélène Cohen, Chantale Gagnon, Claude Gagnon, Normand Martel, France Paquette, Maryse Roy, Giuseppe Spinelli and Michel Vaudrin.