In the past couple of years, weed has infiltrated almost every business sector imaginable: from wellness to beauty, fashion to the food industry. This was the focus of the first annual “On A High event,” presented by the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) and sponsored by the Business of Cannabis, which envisioned cannabis as a meta-category that will infiltrate an unlimited number of business sectors.
The event took place in Downtown Toronto on May 29th and mainly focused on the intersection of cannabis, fashion and beauty. The first panel focused on a major issue plaguing the cannabis industry: misconceptions around CBD. Aphria Medical Cannabis’ director of education, Michelle Latinsky, founder of MC2Industries Inc., Melani Chong, and CEO of Calyx Wellness, Danielle Blair examined the role of CBD, the “rock star ingredient” taking the beauty industry by storm, and its rapid ascent to the front line of the industry.
All panelists concurred that false advertising, cost and shallow education continue to plague CBD’s reputation in the beauty and wellness industry. One main point conveyed by Mrs. Latinsky was that, despite the fact that only the surface has been scratched in terms of what CBD can do, it is the duty of the top people within the beauty industry to be really careful about labeling; brands owe it to consumers to be responsible with transparency on their labels.
The second panel, moderated by Fashion Talks podcast host Donna Bishop, addressed the synergy between fashion and cannabis, and how design and aesthetics could become excellent media to help craft the future of the cannabis space. The female-owned brand Sackville & Co, a brand founded by Lara Van Brunt and Hayley Dineen, who were present on the panel, has a clear philosophy: to experience cannabis the way they do the rest of their lives–aesthetically and with style.
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Mrs. Dineen pointed out that, in par with cannabis’ exponential growth, there are endless ways for consumers to interact with weed, and therefore there can be infinite mediums, and that fashion is just one of them. “Fashion is just a sign of the times,” said Mrs. Dineen to reporters present at the panel. “And the fact that [cannabis] is appearing more in fashion makes sense.”
The panel will take place once a year in late May, and undoubtedly represents a great opportunity for those who aren’t so familiar with cannabis to hear from the top people in the industry, from those who have made cannabis their lifestyle, and created brands around it.
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