Who doesn’t sigh at the very mention of Lanvin? Well this week was a big week for France’s oldest couture house… as it marks their 120th anniversary! 120 years since Jeanne Lanvin began the label after the rich and fabulous took notice of her and the beautiful clothes that she would make for her own daughter. The story goes a little something like this: People started to request replicas of those fabulous custom pieces for their own children, which Lanvin gladly did. Next the designer started to create dresses for the mothers and other notable ladies which led to her finally opening her own boutique in Paris in 1909.
Through the years the label has evolved and has been revitalized but through all the change it is still known as the epitome of elegance. Today you can regularly spot celebs like Charlize Theron, Demi Moore and Tilda Swinton wearing couture Lanvin pieces on the red carpet. To celebrate an anniversary as big as 120 you have to go big and that’s exactly what the label did this week. On Wednesday night at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo’s main sumo stadium, the label presented their spring/summer 2010 collections to a crowd of 1,200. Impressive right? How many fashion shows can you think of that have been staged in a massive sports stadium? The shows had been previously presented in Paris earlier this month but glamour, colour and glitter were still abundant at the Tokyo celebration. [ You can check out Lanvin's spring 2010 ready-to-wear collection on Style.com] The label also celebrated their anniversary in Asia by re-launching the Lanvin’s flagship store, the first to house both women’s and menswear. Happy anniversary Lanvin... (Photo courtesy of: Lanvin.com)
 If you know shoes… if you know fashion… you know the name Jimmy Choo. And as long as you haven’t been living under a rock lately you will know that the uber popular shoe and accessory brand is coming to H&M. Select H&M stores (about 200 stores worldwide, only 4 in Canada) will feature a small collection of shoes, accessories and clothing available as of Saturday November 14th. Exciting? Yes! This is the first time that the uber popular Swedish chain has hooked up with an accessories brand. I can picture it now… girls will be lining up to grab the perfect heels for the holiday party season and boys… don’t stop reading… because Jimmy Choo is going to be dressing men from head to toe too! I think I just died a little. Seriously. Girls should be expecting everything from high heels and thigh-high boots to gladiator flats and ballet pumps. Basically all of the Jimmy Choo classic designs you’ve seen on the red carpet are going to pop up in the stores and they will feature crystal embellishments and studs as well as come in crazy animal prints and colours. There will be piles of accessories including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belts and of course bags. The women’s clothing collection will have a super gloss Goth feel with one-shoulder dresses, jumpsuits, leather leggings and embellished dresses, tops and cardigans. For men, there will be a selection of ankle boots and bags. I do need a new bag! As for threads get ready for wool blazers, leather biker jackets, silk and cashmere mix sweaters, shirts and pants. Prices will range from $29.95 to $299.00 and you can check out the full collection starting today on H&M’s site. Oh my choo!
 (Photos courtesy of: H&M)
LG Toronto Fashion Week has wrapped up once again. After an exhausting week of spring/summer runway shows I needed the weekend to unwind and really think about what I saw last week. After reviewing my scribbled notes and re-reading my previous posts... here’s some of my after thoughts:
Project Runway Canada Domination:
6 former PRC contestants showed a collection last week. There were spring/summer collections for 2010 from: VAWK by Sunny Fong, Jason Meyers, Evan Bidell, Brandon R. Dwyer, Jessica Biffi and Lucian Matis.
Former Project Runway Contestant Who I Wish Showed A Collection:
Carlie Wong... although she did attend many of the shows. Still, I was totally disappointed the designer didn’t show her spring/summer 2010 collection last week... especially after she’s had some killer past collections.
Canadian Fashion Is A Battlefield
Apparently it is because 2 of the designers (Ula Zukowska and Pat McDonagh) were on crutches as they took their final bows.
Most popular song of the week:
Bulletproof by La Roux. The catchy tune was included in the runway soundtrack of about half a dozen different runway presentations.
Colour of The Week:
White. Well what did you expect... we’re talking spring/summer people!
Fave International Models Who Graced The Runway:
Theodora Richards (Joe Fresh), Stacey McKenzie (Bustle, Dare to Wear Love) and Monika Schnarre (Lucian Matis).
Fave Celebrity Who Hit Toronto Fashion Week:
Kelly Carlson, of Nip Tuck fame hit the Pink Tartan and Joe Fresh show with bf Tie Domi. They later ducked into the media room to avoid the mass exodus from the shows.
Fave Catwalk Moment:
Stacey McKenzie busting down the runway in a bikini passing out complimentary Caesars then hamming it up with Rick Mercer at the Bustle show.
Fave Collections Of The Week:
Paul Hardy’s gorgeous whites, David Dixon’s wearable Barbie collection, Evan Bidell’s alien empress collection, Romona Keveza’s glam spring collection/bridal retrospective and Nada’s Versailles meets the socialite collection.
Most Disappointing Collections Of The Week:
Jason Meyers inconsistent Summertime collection and Pat McDonagh’s ode to Ice Cream.
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: 5:55 PM in Brandon Dwyer, David Dixon, Evan Biddell, Jason Meyers, Jessica Biffi, Lucian Matis, Monika Schnarre, Pat McDonagh, Paul Hardy, Romona Keveza, Sunny Fong, Toronto Fashion Week, Vawk
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The fifth and final day of runway presentations at Toronto's LG Fashion Week came to a close with the Dare To Wear Love show, produced by Hoax Couture, which was all about raising awareness and money to help fight AIDS in Africa. The show in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation aimed to celebrate the fact that everyone in the room could and can make a difference.
To say the show was a success is an understatement... the energy in the room was undeniable especially once the runway show began. Each of the 25+ participating designers was given six yards of fabric, which was sourced from Africa, and asked to create a unique design.
Sassy diva/model Stacey McKenzie, who was a mainstay during the week, opened the runway show wearing a creation from Evan Bidell. The short dress was beautiful but let me just remind you all that this girl can walk! Stacey wasn’t the only recognizable face on the runway. Songstress Jully Black was shaking her booty in Izz Camilleri...
First thing I should mention is that Canadian fashion icon Pat McDonagh’s 2010 spring/summer collection and show was sponsored by Baskin Robbins and there were large frozen cake props at the top and the bottom of the runway. It probably should have ended there because this is a partnership that seriously confused me... especially when the dresses started to come out. There was a series of chocolate brown fitted dresses that started out the ice cream inspired collection, many with interesting pockets and huge flap details but none of which overly impressed me. Things did get a little cuter about midway through with a series of almost sheer dresses. Cute... but I was left wondering how everything was connected. And then... boom. The music jumped up a notch and everything seemed to get even stranger as a collection of 'Little Bo Peep and peasant styles dresses came out onto the catwalk. Candy coloured dresses came next and confirmed my original thoughts that this collection was just a little bit too all over the place. An in your face pink gown reminicent of Dynasty in the 80's was especially disturbing although there were many in the audience who seemed to dig it.
The last 2 dresses in the collection were probably my favourite but overall this was not really Pat’s finest work to date.
 (Photos by: Silvia Drugea)
One of the shows I have been looking forward to all week finally hit the catwalk on Friday evening… Project Runway Canada season 1 runner up Lucian Matis returned to LG Fashion Week bringing a little gypsy glamour with him. The collection was unusual and fascinating all at the same time. Fascinating styling and crazy ass music set an avant-garde tone of accessible couture in muted colours... although how wearable most of the dresses actually are is questionable. Think the insane asylum meets the runway... no joke... you'll see why in a minute. Anyways, accessories played an important role in this show and included: heavy silver, gold and black bracelets and necklaces. Model had blank stares and wore embellished straps that were tightly wrapped around their necks and heads. I should also probably mention that the shoes were totally out of this world.
 As for the dresses… there were lots or layers, exposed slips, exposed zippers and tons of embellishments on satin sleeves. They were fascinating, often beautiful and strange.
 A sparkling silver dress brought a futuristic feel that seemed to come out of nowhere… and then the lights dimmed and my favourite dress of the collection (which was actually designed by Matis in support of the Look Good Feel Better campaign) came out on model Monika Schnarre.
(Photos by: Silvia Drugea)
The popular men store Gotstyle (489 King Street West, Toronto) decided to jump on the Fashion Week train by having their own show tonight featuring many of the Canadian designers they carry. The show not only brought a little life to the day it was also an interesting mix of models and familiar Canadian faces.
Split into four sections the first featured upbeat urban designs courtesy of Costa Pavlou and Christopher Bates. So You Think You Can Dance Canada hottie Nico Archambault did a few obligatory moves on the catwalk while David Clemmer and Bruce Turner from Style By Jury definitely showed style walking the runway in powder blue and beige suits.
The second section featured threads from Bustle, Red Canoe, Skmpeez and Cottage Footwear. Michael Landsberg, host of Off The Record got a round of applause as did the collection of buff boys in bathing suits who strutted out in tiny bathing suits from Skmpeez. Red Canoe rounded out the scene and made getting outdoors a little cooler.
The 3rd section was filled with a little urban funk from Gregory Allen, Juzd, 18 Waits and 1921 Jeans while the 4th and final round of menswear brought out fresh dress shirts and funky denim with more notable faces. Actor Marcello Cabezas (who just won the 2009 Arnold Edinborough Award) brought a little geek chic and some laughs from the crowd picking folded notes up off the catwalk which declared “I want you” while Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC Radio’s “Q” looked super cool in a black suit. Ben Mulroney was the last celeb to walk the catwalk looking super slick and charismatic in a burgundy blazer.
Gotstyle menswear co-owner Melissa Austria ended the show by strutting the catwalk and bringing back out her posse of celeb male models along with her for a last goodbye.
For more on Gotstyle check out their site: http://www.gsmen.com
(Photos by: Silvia Drugea)
Friday was a horrible day... I mean in terms of the weather here in Toronto. Non-stop rain and it was so cold it was hardly compatible with fashionable stilettos. But our Toronto fashionistas are troopers and fashion watchers filled the tent for the last day of Toronto Fashion Week early in the day.
Three Project Runway Canada alum were debuting spring/summer collections today. The first two were Brandon R. Dwyer and Jessica Biffi... more on Lucian Matis in a later post. Brandon was the first of the three to hit the catwalk at 3:00pm with a colourful and somewhat flirty collection of sheered chiffons, knit jerseys and silks. Jessica’s collection offered much more street style with fluorescent and gold colours. Jumpers, tiered dresses and cowl hoodies seemed to go over well with the audience.
Toronto based designer Ula Zukowska returned to LG Fashion week with her edgy spring/summer debut at 5:00pm. The first half of the collection was dominated with sportswear-like fabrics in a variety of beige tones. There were bows, buttons, exaggerated cowl necks, pointed shoulders and of course over-sized pockets. Things went from funky to fresh with pale purple (often sheer) garments that had a hint of 80's retro. Screen printed tops and dresses popped up as well as few mystical pieces that screamed sheer bohemian luxe in red, green, orange and yellow.
Extra applause came for Ula who at the end of the show peaked around the corner... on crutches.
You might not recognize her name but let me assure you this London, Ontario born designer is the real deal. I mean every celeb from Angelina to Queen Latifah has worn her designs. Now based in New York, Romona Keveza returned to Toronto to close out Wednesday night with a runway show that amazed and literally brought tears to a few romantics’ eyes. I’m not joking by the way. The elaborate show was a celebration of her 10 year anniversary and was in many ways both a retrospective of her designs and showcase of new offerings.
Gorgeous gowns reminiscent of the more popular Marchesa label immediately came to mind. Dress after dress… this show was all about showcasing everything that is glamorous and elegant about eveningwear. Impeccable detailing on elaborate gowns included embellishments at the bust and hints of feathers throughout many. An incredible black number had the crowd burst into applause.
This wasn’t the only time there was spontaneous applause during the show. Incredible couture bridal collections followed which featured breath taking gowns many with unbelievable draping. It was “bridal art”... that was all I could think as I watched many of the gowns practically float down the catwalk.
The elegance was impossible to beat and the collection would make even the most skeptical... want to run down the aisle.
(Photos by: Nicole Andrews)
One of the shows that was at the top of my must see list this season was the Nada collection. The reason? The head turning women’s label always delivers a killer show and tonight was no exception. It was a gorgeous collection, and an excellent show with incredibly tight design, styling and execution.
The show itself started 30 minutes late. To be honest the crowd was a little anxious before the models hit the runway... I was even getting a little antsy waiting for latecomers to find their seats. But once the girls started strutting their stuff all eyes were focused on the stage and the audience definitely showed their appreciation. Even the crimped beehives and dramatic make-up didn’t distract... it seemed to only add to the intrigue of Nada Shepherd's elegant creations.
To sum it up I would say it was an interesting mix of Versailles meets the socialite and everything was pretty much perfect down to Linda Evangelista’s infamous “I don't get out of bed for less than 10,000 dollars a day” which echoed under heavy beats.
Lots of black, pastel blues, fascinating details, lots of lace and drama made this one of my favourite collections this season.
(Photos by: Nicole Andrews)
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