{"id":67145,"date":"2015-12-12T13:14:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-12T18:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=67145"},"modified":"2015-12-12T13:14:07","modified_gmt":"2015-12-12T18:14:07","slug":"toronto-model-paul-mason-earns-international-attention-as-fashion-santa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/12\/12\/toronto-model-paul-mason-earns-international-attention-as-fashion-santa\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto model Paul Mason earns international attention as \u2018Fashion Santa\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paul<\/a>
Paul Mason dubbed as the “Fashion Santa” (Photo from the \u00a9Yorkdale Shopping Centre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2013 Paul Mason has devoted three decades to modelling, but the worldwide attention he\u2019s received for his stylish take on Santa Claus is a fashionable first.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s Yorkdale Shopping Centre enlisted Mason as its resident Fashion Santa and the face of the mall’s holiday campaign.<\/p>\n

During the festive season, he is also posing for selfies with shoppers in support of Sick Kids Foundation, which raises funds on behalf of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.<\/p>\n

But beyond his own white beard and a penchant for red and white, Mason shares little else in common with the jolly old elf \u2013 and that\u2019s part of what\u2019s made him an overnight sensation.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-1 Toronto model has made a splash posing in sleek designer wear and striking poses in and around the mall showcasing his modern twist on St. Nick.<\/p>\n

The images have gone viral, garnering attention from magazines like Time, Fortune and Harper\u2019s Bazaar, and press from across the pond from the Telegraph newspaper and BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the most unexpected thing,\u201d said Mason, 51.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I\u2019ve had a long career \u2013 30 years as a model prior to social media \u2013 and this is something else. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough working all over the world, I have friends in all the major cities, and collectively they\u2019ve come together and just supported what\u2019s going on. But they\u2019re equally as shocked as anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mason collaborated with Yorkdale last year, but the shopping centre embarked on a larger promotional push with this year\u2019s campaign, said marketing director Lucia Connor.<\/p>\n

Connor said she believes part of the intense interest stems from the ability of adults to reconnect with a part of their childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we speak to some of the customers that come through to see Santa, the adults get so excited and they say: \u2018The last time I took a photo with Santa I was young, I was little,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think now what people are able to do is now proudly display their own photo of adult Fashion Santa, and instead of the mantel, they\u2019re displaying it on their social media feeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mason is slated to take on Fashion Santa duty at the mall this weekend, as well as on Dec. 18, 19, 20 and 23.<\/p>\n

For every selfie taken and posted on social media and accompanied by the hashtag \u201cYorkdaleFashionSanta,\u201d Yorkdale will donate $1 to Sick Kids Foundation, up to $10,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 Paul Mason has devoted three decades to modelling, but the worldwide attention he\u2019s received for his stylish take …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":67148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[9636],"class_list":["post-67145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fashion-and-beauty","tag-cp","mauthors-lauren-la-rose","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}