Fund misuse allegation hounds Fil-Canadian scenester
A Filipino fashion personality in Canada is now in the center of controversy after volunteers for the fashion events he organized accused him of mishandling funds.
A report on the news and entertainment website Now Toronto said Jeff Rustia, executive director of Toronto Men's Fashion Week (TOMFW), allegedly donated only proceeds of one show to Kol Hope Foundation when in fact it was supposed to receive all of TOMFW's earnings.
It said materials printed for the event stated that the foundation donated $85,000 to Sickkids in 2013, but in truth that was the amount it has donated since 2001, the year it was established.
The report said Rustia had explained the discrepancy as “a typo missed in the hectic days leading up to the event” in late August.
He also said promotional materials for TOMFW had been fixed, adding that Kol Hope, which he owns, had donated $5,000 and $2,000 to various charities in 2011.
Other issue
But money was not the only issue being thrown at Rustia. According to the same report, volunteers from the Rustia-founded Canada Philippine Fashion Week (CPFW) had complained of working long hours with cramped accommodations, exhaustion, and hunger.
Some designers also said their collections, due for other shows, were held up at Philippine Customs and received no support from Rustia, who could not be contacted through emails or his cellphone.
Now Toronto said it got the information from the CPFW volunteers themselves, who it said requested anonymity due to a waiver they had to sign before the event.
The waiver allegedly stipulated that volunteers must “refrain from making any disparaging, critical or other comments respecting TOM* or its representatives.”
Sought for comment, Rustia reportedly said that in any large event, “circumstances occur that are beyond one’s control.” He noted that CPFW secured 16 rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel for designers and their staff.
Legal battle
Rustia, as it turned out, is not a newbie to controversy. In fact, he and his mother Merlinda are also involved in a feud with Balita, a newspaper covering Filipino events in Canada, after it allegedly described them as “fraudsters” who “harvested money for their own personal benefit.”
Rustia and his mother filed a lawsuit against the paper in May, seeking claims totaling $2.5 million in damages.
Homophobia
TOMFW faced another controversy before it even started, with a menswear designer accusing the organizers of homophobia after his collection was called “too feminine” and “too embarrassing” to be included in the event.
Mic Carter told The Star, a news site based in Toronto, that the show's representatives said they were concerned about media toting his collection as “womenswear” at the men's fashion week.
Rustia was quick to deny the accusation, saying Carter's removal was due to his collection's workmanship and called the accusation of homophobia “absolutely ridiculous.”
Carter's "Printemps" collection was eventually reinstated, starting the third and final day of TOMFW,according to The Star. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
A report on the news and entertainment website Now Toronto said Jeff Rustia, executive director of Toronto Men's Fashion Week (TOMFW), allegedly donated only proceeds of one show to Kol Hope Foundation when in fact it was supposed to receive all of TOMFW's earnings.
Jeff Rustia, founder of Canada Philippine Fashion Week, is not a stranger to controversy. 'At any large event,' he said, 'circumstances occur beyond one's control.'
The report said Rustia had explained the discrepancy as “a typo missed in the hectic days leading up to the event” in late August.
He also said promotional materials for TOMFW had been fixed, adding that Kol Hope, which he owns, had donated $5,000 and $2,000 to various charities in 2011.
Other issue
But money was not the only issue being thrown at Rustia. According to the same report, volunteers from the Rustia-founded Canada Philippine Fashion Week (CPFW) had complained of working long hours with cramped accommodations, exhaustion, and hunger.
Some designers also said their collections, due for other shows, were held up at Philippine Customs and received no support from Rustia, who could not be contacted through emails or his cellphone.
Now Toronto said it got the information from the CPFW volunteers themselves, who it said requested anonymity due to a waiver they had to sign before the event.
The waiver allegedly stipulated that volunteers must “refrain from making any disparaging, critical or other comments respecting TOM* or its representatives.”
Sought for comment, Rustia reportedly said that in any large event, “circumstances occur that are beyond one’s control.” He noted that CPFW secured 16 rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel for designers and their staff.
Legal battle
Rustia, as it turned out, is not a newbie to controversy. In fact, he and his mother Merlinda are also involved in a feud with Balita, a newspaper covering Filipino events in Canada, after it allegedly described them as “fraudsters” who “harvested money for their own personal benefit.”
Rustia and his mother filed a lawsuit against the paper in May, seeking claims totaling $2.5 million in damages.
Homophobia
TOMFW faced another controversy before it even started, with a menswear designer accusing the organizers of homophobia after his collection was called “too feminine” and “too embarrassing” to be included in the event.
Mic Carter told The Star, a news site based in Toronto, that the show's representatives said they were concerned about media toting his collection as “womenswear” at the men's fashion week.
Rustia was quick to deny the accusation, saying Carter's removal was due to his collection's workmanship and called the accusation of homophobia “absolutely ridiculous.”
Carter's "Printemps" collection was eventually reinstated, starting the third and final day of TOMFW,according to The Star. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
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