Photo courtesy of: Pop Montreal

The evening’s winner was Christine Charlebois – it didn’t come as much of a surprise given her credentials as a graduate of l’Ecole Superieure de la Mode at UQAM, her multiple scholarships, abroad internship with Jean Paul Knott in Brussels and her current position as a research assistant to Concordia’s Joanna Berzowska. Showing a dark, avant-garde collection, Charlebois’looks were highly textural with draped silhouettes that recalled an almost Gothic allure. Charlebois was shy and chose not to go on stage when they announced her name – I don’t blame her, though, as the evening’s MCs struggled through the entire performance.

I left Fashion POP to head down to Cabaret Tulipe for Purity Ring – like most of the POP Montreal events, the line here was long but moved quickly, luckily I snagged one of the last four tickets. Probably my favourite venue of the weekend, there was ample room for dancing and the sound was much better than it had been for Austra. Opening for Purity Ring was Evian Christ, an up and coming electronic producer who, despite his rather awkward stage presence, put on a mesmerizing show. Crisp old school hip-hop samples met with big electronic sound for a unique fusion of both worlds, the likes of which I had never really encountered live before. It wasn’t exactly danceable, but it was big room sound that was the perfect opening set for Purity Ring.

Photo courtesy of: Pop Montreal

In fact, Purity Ring was a performance I was actually concerned for: their at times ambient, dream pop vibe didn’t seem like it would translate well live, but their set was absolutely incredible. Shrouded in darkness, the Montreal based duo that consists of Megan James on vocals and Corin Roddick as instrumentals, played a fittingly eerie set that centered around the interaction of light and sound. Hanging lanterns lit up in sequence to the beats, while James controlled a giant light-up drum and Roddick manned a set of very cool light-up balls that chimed along with their tracks. It was, needless to say, a sight to behold. Again, though not entirely danceable, the set was energetic in a way I had never experienced, with James’ vocals perfectly punctuating the darkness.

A whirlwind of a weekend, I’m looking forward to what POP Montreal has to offer next year.

-Emma Robertson