I attended the Bijouxbead Holiday 2009 Interactive Pop Up Show Community Reception to get a look at the collection of necklaces influenced by Canadian Designers
David Dixon
The show will kick off with a unique interactive display of eight one of a kind necklaces, all of which happen to be eight stranded, designed to pay homage to eight Canadian Fashion Designers.
Evan Biddell
Paul Hardy
Each piece was a thrill to design; I studied these designer’s spring summer 2010 collections at great length, that were shown at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week. I came up with colour, texture and scale for these pieces based on my interpretation of the clothing in their collections that were most notable to me.
Vawk
Andy The Anh
Unlike my previous collections, this collection is exclusively glass, crystal and sterling -a big departure for me. All together, I incorporated over thirteen thousand six hundred pieces of glass and two thousand four hundred pieces of crystal into these eight necklaces.
Amie
Brandon Dwyer
Also, for the first time in Bijouxbead history, I will be introducing crystal and sterling earrings. Over thirty colours will be represented.
There was a necklace dedicated to Jason Meyers, but it was sold before I arrived.
December 1 – 14
The Atelier of The Fair Trade Jewellery Company
523 Parliament St., Toronto
647-430-8741
Hours
Mon-Tue by appointment only
Wed-Fri 12:30pm-8:00pm
Sat-Sun 11:30am-6:00pm
Evan Biddell's End of a Decade Sale, Thursday, November 26, 2009 4:00pm - 11:00pm, Chasse Gardée, 1084 Queen Street West, Toronto
I have been organizing my studio in preparation for the next season and I have come across some of my favorite fabrics from the last ten years. I came up with a limited edition collection appropriately called end of the decade.
We have been building a new collection for the sale, price points you will love and past seasons favorites will be up for ownership
There are times when I can’t find the words to talk about a topic. It can be a fashion show, event, etc. I end up sitting on the post until it comes to me and that is why this final LG Fashion Week show review on Dare to Wear Love is so late.
The Dare to Wear Love show, full of beautiful fashion, dance and music inspired by Africa. The multi-faceted collaboration is the largest public dare of the SLF’s new fundraising initiative A Dare to Remember. Recently launched, the nationwide initiative challenges Canadians to take on dares of all kinds to raise awareness and funds for the grassroots organizations in Africa that are on the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic.
More than 25 top designers, including Lida Baday, Brian Bailey, Brose, Pam Chorley, Wayne Clark, Comrags, David Dixon, Evan Biddell, Farley Chatto, Greta Constantine, Izzy Camilleri, Linda Lundström, Lucian Matis, Ross Mayer, Jason Meyers, Price Roman, Mercy, Thomas Chung, Ines de Santos, Peach Berserk, Pat McDonagh, Reva Mivasagar and Ula Zukowska, have committed to Hoax Couture’s dare to create luxe gowns made of rich, eye-catching fabrics sourced from African communities who work with the SLF. Each designer will be asked to have their own family, friends and supporters sponsor this dare with the goal of raising $50,000 for the SLF. Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell of Hoax Couture will also personally ask the fashion community to get involved by making a donation to this cause at http://www.daretowearlove.com.
This was one of my highlights of the week. I was really excited to see what our Canadian designers would create using super colourful African prints. I walked in to find that I was placed in the front row, yay. When I got in the runway room I saw that I was sitting next to Jeanne Beker. I was a little nervous to say the least but it was all for nothing as Jeanne wasn’t attended. I sat besides David Livingstone from The Star. I crudely introduced myself and told him I was a fan of his work. Totally lame I know, I didn’t know what to say. I will say this of David, he has the best “get the hell out of a show fast” technique I’ve ever seen. He gets full kudos for that from me.
The show started with some words from the Hoax Couture boys and Stephen Lewis followed by a choir. The show started after that. It was one of those designer celeb combos that are so popular at fashion week here. There were a few models that totally hammed it up on the runway which was hilarious. I particularly liked Jully Black and Jessi Cruichshank turns down the runway. Natasha Rose had the most graceful walk as she flawlessly danced down the runway, it was quite beautiful.
25 designers presented their garments and many were true to their style, for example David Dixon, Greta Constantine, Mercy and Evan Biddell. Some designers pushed the boundaries like Izzy Camilleri, Pam Chorley and Comrags (pictured below).
I’m bias in my favourite dress because I’m a huge fan of Rose, the model. She looked amazing in Ross Mayer’s creation. I loved the head piece and colours.
We were treated to a drum performance at half time. They had colourful outfits on too.
All the looks featured will be auctioned off at a later date and the proceeds will goto the Stephen Lewis Foundation. In the meantime you can donate to the cause on the Date to Wear Love website.
I’m really excited about the Dare to Wear Love show on October 23th at LG Fashion Week. It’s one of my highlights.
Do you dare? For the first time ever, Hoax Couture and the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) are partnering with the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) to produce a fashion-forward, cause-driven and meaningful closing night show with Canada’s top designers at LG Fashion Week beauty by L’Oréal Paris. The goal is to leverage the power of the Canadian fashion and entertainment communities to raise awareness and funds for the SLF as it works to support communities that are affected by the AIDS pandemic in Africa.
Starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, October 23, a star-studded audience will experience the Dare to Wear Love show, full of beautiful fashion, dance and music inspired by Africa. The multi-faceted collaboration is the largest public dare of the SLF’s new fundraising initiative A Dare to Remember. Recently launched, the nationwide initiative challenges Canadians to take on dares of all kinds to raise awareness and funds for the grassroots organizations in Africa that are on the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic.
“The fashion and entertainment communities in Canada will provide a unique voice for the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s new initiative with the Dare to Wear Love show,” said Jim Searle of Hoax Couture. “This show integrates high fashion and a truly important cause, and with the designers using gorgeous African fabric to create the garments, it promises to be a captivating evening.”
More than 25 top designers, including Lida Baday, Brian Bailey, Brose, Pam Chorley, Wayne Clark, Comrags, David Dixon, Evan Biddell, Farley Chatto, Greta Constantine, Izzy Camilleri, Linda Lundström, Lucian Matis, Ross Mayer, Jason Meyers, Price Roman, and many more, have committed to Hoax Couture’s dare to create luxe gowns made of rich, eye-catching fabrics sourced from African communities who work with the SLF. Each designer will be asked to have their own family, friends and supporters sponsor this dare with the goal of raising $50,000 for the SLF. Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell of Hoax Couture will also personally ask the fashion community to get involved by making a donation to this cause at http://www.daretowearlove.com .
I was send a digital package that contained some images of the prints that the designers will be using.
It also included some sketches from 4 of the 25 designers. I can’t wait to see these in person and what the others come up with.
Dare to Wear Love Ines Di Santo sketch
Dare to Wear Love Hoax Couture sketch
Dare to Wear Love Comrags Sketch
The creations that the designers present will be auctioned off at a later time. The money will be donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Combining their loves of music, art and fashion, FH&TP have teamed up with Fashion Cares, ACT and 10 very talented designers to create special edition Fritz Helder & The Phantoms concert merchandise to be auctioned off on May 22, 2009 at “Platinum (LIVE)” in Toronto to celebrate the release of their upcoming album, “Greatest Hits: Platinum Edition” on newly formed label, NELSTAR Music. Proceeds from the sales of the limited edition designs will go to Fashion Cares / ACT!
Check out the designs from Greta Constantine, Jeremy Laing, Nada, Oligarchy, Pink Cobra, Evan Biddell, Label, Franke for Chasse Gardée, Jaime Galindo and HOI BO. All modeled by Fritz Helder & The Phantoms.
It’s a way to show off the great work of Fashion Cares/ACT as well as their on-going relationship with the fashion and music communities.
The photos are so great, but I think the Pink Cobra one is my favourite.
I love this picture of Fritz and Nada.
Jeremy's shirts are pretty neat. The patterns are tiny crystals, ironed on by hand with meticulous care. They are very cool shirts.
Everyone looks so happy in this photo, I love it. I'm also a sucker for skipping shots, it's like I'm a kid again.
Franke for Chasse Gardée
This is the creative team that put the shoot together.
These one of a kind pieces are available for purchase, please contact info@fritzhelder.com.
See the complete lookbook shots in the slideshow, I’ve only posted my favourites.
If you are interested in purchasing any of these limited designs please contact info@fritzhelder.com
images: Photos by Justin Borbely courtesy of Fritz Helder & The Phantoms
So I’m going to do what I never do, break down my top collections from L’Oreal Fashion Week Spring 2009. This is of course based on the shows I attended. These are the collections that moved me the most. The collections that made me thank god for attending the tents that night. The collections that make me salivate at the mouth.
Denis Gagnon – This collection is really what my fashion dreams are made of. Hauntingly beautiful with that slightly dark twist I love. Box it all up and ship it home.
Morales – Architectural, sculptural, colourful. Something different from every day fair.
Evan Biddell – Streetwear done right. Finally, someone has me interested again. Streetwear has fallen off my radar as of late.
Greta Constantine – statement dress makers. While I’m not down with the colour palette, there’s no denying those shapes.
Evan Biddell put on a great show at LFW. I definitely enjoyed it and saw some really cute pieces. The dhoti style pants are gorgeous. He’s taken a lesson from the Japanese masters and my favourite drop-crotch makers Rei Kawakubo and YohjiYamamoto.
The eyelet jumper looked amazing on the runway.
I didn’t like the gingham pieces. The skirt volume was clunky and didn’t fall in line with the rest of the collection. The short shorts were a little too American Apparel for me, especially after all the amazing pants.
I can’t say anything bad about men in skirts (no, seriously)
Overall great little streetwear collection; polished. Models were a lot of fun and it was an entertaining show.
On a side note, I’ve had discussions with some people about Biddell’s dhoti pant. While I think he’s done a great job producing them and he’s even got me eyeing a pair, the average woman is going to stay away from this trend. Most of the people who disagree with me on this point are men usually. It’s not like I don’t have facts to back me up.
