Jeanne Beker is a part of our communal pop culture consciousness, beaming out from our TV screens since the mid-’70s. You’d know that distinctive voice anywhere, cutting through the clutter via the microphone she held in front of the most famous faces in the fashion world.
Above all, Beker has always been fiercely supportive of the Canadian fashion industry. Next Wednesday, she will take to the runway for a public event called the Grandest Night of Fashion, presented by the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards at the Fairmont Royal York. Featuring emerging and established Canadian (and global) designers, the theme this year is the connection between fashion and film.
The event marks a special anniversary for Beker, who served as last year’s inaugural host. That show was held the day before her final round of chemo, just before her breast cancer surgery. She was wearing a sparkly black newsboy cap by Canadian milliner David Dunkley that had become her signature, as she had lost 60 per cent of her hair.
“I felt incredible when I came out on the runway in front of all those people, crying, knowing about this journey I had been on all that summer,” says Beker. “It was a wonderful feeling to get that energy and that warm, welcoming reception.”
A year later, Beker, 71, is back up to full speed.
Not that she slowed down much.
She’s back in September for Style Matters, her TSC program that has been running since 2015. “To be able to talk with women where they live is rewarding,” says Beker, about her love of the show. “All these women grew up watching FashionTelevision, where we were talking couture runway fantasies. This is where we chat about style and fashion in real life terms.”
Beker has always been the relatable outsider. In 1979 she landed a gig at The NewMusic on Citytv alongside J.D. Roberts, interviewing rock stars. “I wasn’t a music journalist. I was a…
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