Designer Profile: Jon de Porter and his Cruise Collection 2023

Designer Profile: Jon De Porter and his Cruise Collection 2023

Jon De Porter is a Canadian designer, known as the “Prince of Pearls” due to his unique jewelry collection.

He is a two-time CAFA finalist and internationally recognized for his sophisticated and distinguishable jewelry collection. He has just stepped into the world of ready-to-wear clothing, pursuing his dream of designing clothes for modern women.

All his background let him accomplish his dream to launch his first ready-to-wear collection called Cruise Collection 2023.

Keep reading to discover more about our New Designer Profile: Jon De Porter and his Cruise Collection 2023.

MW: What are the characteristics of who inspires you when designing?

JDP: My designs and brand cater to accomplished, well-traveled women who, over the years, have acquired knowledge and understanding of quality, classic style, and timeless elegance.

My client is refined and expensive looking but always tastefully put together, an uptown woman who dresses for purpose and her own satisfaction.

De Porter’s has been sold at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy in Montreal, Kleinfeld, Hudson’s Bay, indigo.ca, and in small high-end boutiques in Toronto, Calgary, New York, and Germany.

My line of jewelry has been next to Ferragamo, Zuhair Murad, and Lanvin displayed in prestigious retail outlets across the country.

MW: How did you start in the fashion field?

JDP: After studying fashion design at Montreal’s Lasalle College, I pursued a career in retail management before becoming a flight attendant and moving to Toronto. During a layover in China, I observed the workers knotting pearl necklaces and picking the skill up easily.

Then, I started designing a new style of pearl jewelry that resonated well with the modern woman. Years later, I launched my first line of Cruise/Resort wear in the summer of 2022.

MW: What inspired you to come up with your designs?

JDP: My best work is inspired by the decades of 20th-century, fashion and reworked in a timeless, season less manner.

MW: What do you think sets your designs apart? 

JDP: De Porter dresses the body in a way that flatters the client rather than trying to impose an artistic vision of his own without a precise aim.

My designs are truly viable commercially, my clients love them for the pleasure they give them, and they stand the test of time.

MW: What advice would you give to people who want to enter the fashion world? 

JDP: After 20 years of studying, working in, and consuming fashion, I can say with confidence; fashion is an industry that cannot be changed. The person has to find a place within it.

Clients are the way they are and they vote with their dollars for the brands that will provide them with merchandise that work, not for a concept, a state of mind, or an artistic statement.

If you don’t follow those rules, you are not a designer, you are an artist and that is completely different.

MW: Last but not least, where do you see the future of your brand?

JDP: I own a lifestyle shop called Misto Lino, located in the prestigious Yorkville area of Toronto. The shop is a real playground for anyone with a high level of taste.

My designs are selling there as well as in other prestigious international brands of Fashion, Decor, and Gift items.

To learn more about me, please visit jondeporter.com or follow me on @jondeporter and my store @misto_lino on Instagram.