I posted about my favourite shoes ALDO Rise Spring Summer 2012 collection. The final production list is out for Aldo Rise and it includes pricing. Not all the shoes from the designer collaborations weren’t produced but a lot of my top picks where. Prices range from $155 – $175. Canada, aldoshoes.com and the rest of the world receives the shoes on March 8, 2012. image: aldorise.com
Aldo partnered with six designers for the Spring Summer 2012 collections. The collaboration was nameless previously but now it has a name, Aldo Rise. Participating for Spring Summer 2012 is JW Anderson, Preen, Faster Mark Fast, Libertine, Christian Cota and Cushnie et Ochs. Aldo created a great tumblr blog for the collection and enlisted the help of Tommy Ton and The Coveteur to take lots of photos during fashion week. They captured a lot of great images to see and the Aldo Rise Tumblr archive is a good place to start. I’m a big fan of the collection. Here are my top picks. It’s going to be hard to decide which pairs to pick up. Preen Faster Mark Fast > Libertine JW Anderson Christian Cota Aldo Rise hits stores March 8 , 2o12. Watch this space for more details about availability. images: aldorise.tumblr.com
The Mark Fast Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 featured a collaboration with Danier. Mark created some amazing leather pieces in the show. Some of these runway pieces have been developed into a small capsule collection for sale at Danier this fall. I missed the Danier preview and didn’t get to see the collection in person but here are my top picks of the collection. As you can tell I love the coats and the pants. Even the cropped leather overalls has me happy. I can see myself pairing them with my platform boots from the Gap. images: courtesy of Danier
Last year I swore that I would wear something fun to the 2011 edition of The Power Ball. I attended the very popular fundraiser last year and realized that I should have dressed for a party. My outfit was a standard skirt and top. I should have looked to my SpinTO and Buy Design outfits for inspiration instead. So when the buzz around Power Ball Thirteen started my mind started thinking about the outfit. I’ve been on the hunt for a catsuit for a few years. I contemplated buying one from American Apparel many times but that never materialized. I found myself falling in love with a unitard by Faster by Mark Fast. I remembered when Jenna Bitove wore the unitard at an event. It was great to see it up close. That love turned to obsession and eventually I ordered the unitard from Mark directly. The subject of Power Ball outfits came up again and I realized that my newly acquired Faster unitard was the perfect choice. I made sure to take a vacation …
The DANIER x Greta Constantine Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 collaboration was just announced but few weeks ago there was another announcement from the DANIER team. DANIER continues their Canadian designer collaborations by announcing a partnership with renowned fashion stylist and director, George Antonopoulos. F/W 2011/12 will see a debut design capsule collection, OBJECT, sold at select DANIER retail locations across Canada. Object will be comprised of sophisticated separates for women, bringing a singular aesthetic to the Canadian consumer. “My philosophy behind OBJECT was creating modern classics in leather that are effortlessly integrated into anyone’s wardrobe. Attainable and affordable, the designs are investment pieces translated in leather to create a new language of dressing,” says Antonopoulos. Antonopoulos has earned an impressive reputation within the Canadian fashion landscape through his work as both a creative director and stylist with publications such as Flare, Fashion and Cheek Magazine. DANIER is excited to have the opportunity to bring this Canadian talent’s forward thinking vision into the retail arena; OBJECT will debut to the Canadian media this spring. DANIER …
Mark Fast returned to Canada and presented a tightly edited version of his London Fashion Week fall winter 2011 – 2012 collection. This was the first time he has presented a fashion show in Canada. The fall winter collection was the debut of his collaboration with Canadian leather retailer Danier. This was one of three shows presented at the Trump Tower Toronto which is still under construction. “Things are not what they seem to be, they are mysterious and disguised. I used the energy of the movement of a wolf’s vicious anger to be projected into the cuts of knitted pieces and leather garments. I am using merino wool and elastomeric mixes in the knitted dresses. I wanted to create a softer, warmer silhouette. I also used leathers to evoke the strictness and attitude of this women”. – Mark Fast (from press release) It was a total delight to see the knitwear wizard’s collection up close. The knits are so intricate and I loved the play on textures. Wool, alpacha, merino, mohair joined with nylon, …
Jeanne Beker interviewed Mark Fast and Mikhael Kale before their fashion shows at Trump Tower Toronto. I have video of most of the interview to share with you. I missed the first couple minutes.
I’m all over this collaboration between Mark Fast and Danier. I can’t wait to see what they stir up. Canadian designer Mark Fast has partnered with leading Canadian fashion brand and retailer DANIER to create his Autumn/Winter 11/12 collection. Set to be unveiled in February at London Fashion Week, the London-based talent will incorporate leather elements manufactured by the Canadian brand. DANIER is thrilled to have the opportunity to manufacture leather for the upcoming fashion week presentation. This will mark the first time Mark Fast – a designer who has enjoyed international acclaim for his original knitwear and famed catwalk presentations – has collaborated with a Canadian retailer. DANIER looks forward to showcasing and selling a capsule collection inspired by the designer’s Autumn/Winter 11/12 collection.
Mark Fast returned to Canada to be part of the Luminato festival of Arts and Creativity. He has the honour of presenting in the one of the best installation venues in the city, the Brookfield Place Allen Lambert Galleria. It was two years ago that myself and some friends were part of the Toronto’s Mille Femmes installation during Luminato. Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity will present a free landmark installation in partnership with Lancôme by London-based Canadian knitwear designer Mark Fast. Commissioned by Lancôme in celebration of their 75th anniversary, The Ascension of Beauty will be presented in Toronto’s Brookfield Place Allen Lambert Galleria throughout the 10-day festival from June 11th to June 20th. Fast welcomes the challenges of such a largescale project, which will see him outfit architecture in rope sculpture and fashion a dress of lycra, viscose and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. Said Fast, “The knitwear I have created is symbolic of the elegant structure of the rose and I have derived my inspiration from its delicate confidence. Its layers extend off the …
Mark Fast was in town last week for a Spring 2010 preview. I wasn’t able to attend the preview during the day but I went to Ame for a cocktails in his honour. Mark is from Manitoba originally. He studied at Seneca College in Ontario briefly before going to London. He attended the prestigious Central Saint Martins and got his BA and MA. Mark designs by hand on a domestic knitting machine. His work is formed onto the body as he knits, and he has devised innovative stitching techniques, blending lycra with viscose, angora or wool. He is inspired by the endless possibilities of lycra yarns, sculpting areas of tension and areas of volume over the body. Mark’s fascination with the cinema drives his creative process as he channels the energy of the characters who inspire him into his knits. Obsessed with texture, Mark’s most recent work explores the relationship of garments to the wearers body. I didn’t realize the work that goes into a Mark Fast dress until I saw the models milling about …
The power of video once again proves itself to me. I would have totally overlooked Mark Fast Ready to Wear 2009 – 2010 without seeing this video. The pictures of the collection on Style.com don’t do it justice. Mark Fast is a 27 year old Canadian born knitwear designer. He grew up outside the city of Winnipeg, in the countryside along a highway next to a forest. This minimal, peaceful lifestyle led him to wonder what life might be like beyond the familiar frontiers of Canada. Finally finding inspiration in London, Mark studied at Central Saint Martins for five years. He completed his BA there and went on to complete his MA in February 2008. Mark has also created knitwear for Bora Aksu, a collaboration that spanned three seasons. I’m always excited to hear about Canadians making it abroad. Sarah Nicole Prickett wrote a great article about Mark for the National Post.