Shirts pressed into Kensington Market

Two Canadian designers showcased their clothing line at the grand opening of Urban Sidewalk.

Urban Sidewalk, a clothing and tattoo shop featuring the latest trends in fashion opened its doors Jan. 18.

Jake Muttart, 25, the owner, used to sell clothes out of his car but turned his dream into a reality. He wanted local designers to use his shop as a stepping-stone for their work.

“I wanted to help Canadian designers, help promote my brand, I wanted to help people out,” Muttart says.

Sheldon Halstead, designer of F B D clothing
Photographer: Angelica Sydney

Sheldon Halstead, 22, is the designer of F B D clothing. He  started his clothing line two years ago.

His uses Adobe Illustrator and free hand sketching to design the prints and logos he used in his line of  to printed T-shirts, hats, crewnecks and sweat pants.

“I would be somewhere, I would be walking down the street and I see a street sign and I would want to make it into a design,” Halstead says.

Torrin Blades, 20, owner and creator of  the urban lifestyle company F O U R  (Forever Obtaining Unlimited Riches) says his design inspiration comes from the arts, history and nature.

“Our brand expansion is to work on design and videos. It’s more pushing local art and culture all together,” Torrin says.

Torrin Blades, owner and clothing designer of FOUR clothing
Photgrapher: Angelica Sydney

For these two Canadian fashion designers, the chance to showcase their creative designs at the Urban Sidewalk grand opening in the market was a great experience.

“Kensington Market is the most cultural place in Toronto. It is literally the traditional heart of Toronto. I felt it would be the perfect place to start, getting a good vibe to what we’re about. It is really an eclectic sense of people,” Torrin says.