Canada’s Hottest Fashion Star Dodges a Customs Snafu, Wows Houston VIPs: This Angel-Faced Force Always Goes Big

On his way to Houston, Canadian designer Lucian Matis got stopped at the border as U.S. customs officials were suspicious of why he had so many dresses with him. Matis finally convinced them that he was legit and arrived in the Bayou City 24 hours later than originally planned.

All authorities needed to do was do a quick Google search on Matis and they would have realized he’s the real deal. In 2016, he outfitted Canadian first lady Sophie Grégoire Trudeau when she accompanied her husband, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to Washington, D.C. She wore two looks designed by Matis — a striking purple gown trimmed in orange beading at a state dinner hosted by the Obamas and a red and fuchsia floral day dress for an outing with Michelle Obama.

More recently, Matis was among a select group of designers invited to Buckingham Palace for an exhibition showcasing eco-friendly haute couture co-hosted by the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Sussex, with such luminaries as Vogue editor Anna Wintour, supermodel Naomi Campbell, Princess Beatrice and British designer Stella McCartney in attendance.

Matis, who one publication has dubbed “the angel-faced darling of fashion,” was scheduled to be the feature designer at the annual Passion for Fashion luncheon in Houston, but when the event was moved to the fall, Elizabeth Anthony owner Julie Roberts told him to come now anyway and hosted an intimate luncheon at her Uptown Park boutique where a select group of fashion lovers got a private preview of the collection curated by Houston fashion coordinator Jeanne Ruberti.

Before the fashion show began, the Toronto-based designer engaged in a wide-ranging conversation with PaperCity contributor Clifford Pugh about his background — he emigrated from Romania to Canada in 2007, studied fashion at Ryerson University in Toronto and was a finalist on the Canadian version of Project Runway — and some of his favorite sayings, one of which is “Go big or go home.”

“It’s very similar for Texas, too, right?” Matis said, as his luncheon guests applauded.

His collection of elegant day and eveningwear is known for a mixture of bright colors, lightweight fabrics, such friendly features as pockets in most dresses and gowns, and hand-sewn beading, much of it done by his mother, who owned a tailor shop in her native Transylvania, Romania, and now works closely with her son in his Canadian studio.

Among those engaging with the designer and doing some major-duty shopping afterward were Bobbie Nau, Jane Wagner, Kelley Lubanko, Leigh Smith, Ursaline Hamilton, Karina Barbieri, Marian Brennan, and Gayla Gardner.

A portion of the day’s sales were donated to the Children’s Assessment Center.