World MasterCard Fashion Week (WMFW) kicked off yesterday, with a slate of returning sponsors set to activate throughout the week at the IMG Fashion event.

Hosted at David Pecaut Square in Toronto, WMFW expects to attract more than 30,000 guests from Monday March 17 through Friday March 21. Sam Galet, VP, managing director, IMG Canada, tells MiC that while WMFW remains primarily an “industry event,” it also reaches a secondary audience of fashion lovers in the general public who are an average age of 30 to 35, skewing about 65% female, typically from urban areas.

Galet says that sponsors are increasingly requesting to activate through social media to reach that secondary audience. For example, in previous seasons, Kim Crawford Wines’ sponsorship had been confined to “inside the tent” says Galet, but this year the winemaker is launching a social media giveaway that will give followers the chance to win tickets to various Fashion Week events.

In addition to presenting a fashion industry panel discussion, global sponsor DHL is launching an activation new to Toronto this season called “DHL Exported.” The shipping and logistics company is sponsoring a program that will see selected designers’ collections make international debuts at a Fashion Week in New York, London, Milan or Tokyo.

Other returning sponsors include the Toronto Fashion Incubator, MasterCard Canada, Rowenta, Joe Fresh, Peroni, Maybelline, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, NeoStrata, The Ritz-Carlton (Toronto), Town Shoes, Pandora Jewellery and Redken.

Galet anticipates announcing five to six new sponsors in October for fall Fashion Week, which is typically when new sponsors begin their partnerships.

Image by George Pimentel, courtesy of World MasterCard Fashion Week