Denis Gagnon

Denis Gagnon is one of the most renowned Canadian designers of his generation.

The Quebec couturier Denis Gagnon was born in Lac Saint-Jean, Alma (Quebec province). In 1988, Denis Gagnon begins developing his passion for fashion at College LaSalle and soon discovers a hidden talent. With his diploma, he then improves his art and his technique by making theatre costumes. In 1993, his audacity guides him to accept a job as a moulding teacher in Casablanca, Morocco. Upon his return, in 1995, the creator returns to make costumes for diverse theatre troupes. The talent and the creativity of Denis Gagnon doesn’t go unnoticed for long as designer Yso convinces him to work with him in 1999. The artist’s vanguard stylistic approach, which becomes very popular in the fashion industry, leads him, in 2000, to launch his solo career. From then on, his name and his career will develop at a very rapid pace, and his style will quickly conquer the fashionistas. In 2004, Denis Gagnon becomes a supplier at Holt Renfrew by providing the store with two collections per year. It is then that the company Denis Gagnon inc., presided by the designer, takes off. Since then, the brand and the character himself acquiresd both provincial and national notoriety. Tagged since his beginnings as an enfant terrible of fashion, the constant positive critiques only accentuates the keen interest of the creator to surpass his limits and create moving sculptures that increasingly become more innovative than the last. During the following years, the designer withdraws himself from the industry to focus on his art. He comes back in the spring 2009 with the presentation of his eponymous show “Denise Black” at the Darling Foundry in the presence of Montreal’s trendsetters. The next shows, critically acclaimed, attract large crowds, and the designer imposes his style. 2010 marks 10 years in the career of Denis Gagnon: Fashion Television honours him during Montreal Fashion Week, and the designer creates a limited edition collection for BEDO. On October 18, 2010, Denis Gagnon becomes the first designer from Quebec to step into the Montreal Fine Arts Museum to present his most recent Couture collection. The show kicks off the exhibition “Denis Gagnon shows all” at the Museum from October 19, 2010 to February 13, 2011.