I attended [FAT], Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week, at the Distillery District last week. It was the final day of a very a long week.
There are a lot of designers to get through. So most of my reviews will be brief using word association. I’ll expand on a collection when necessary. Each day has get it’s own post, read the previous reports: FAT Day 1, FAT Day 2, FAT Day 3.
Day 4 |BEYOND|
|FAT| takes a glance at where we are headed and how we can reinvent ourselves. Artists seek to experiment, play, and dream. They push barriers and challenge conventions. Imagination and the extremes of invention shape possibilities for the future.
LOVAS Wesley Badanjak – lovely colour scheme, houndstooth, teal, office dressing, great pants. The collection was very well constructed; I have to admit it was quite lovely to see. Wesley is a David Dixon protege and the collection looked kinda like, umm, David Dixon. I dubbed it David Light. That being said, I could see myself in a number of LOVAS pieces for the office. I completely died over the jewellery by Rita Tesolin. The styling was also fantastic with the fingerless gloves of multiple lengths.
Salvador by Martha Sharpe – futurism, colour blocking, exposed zippers, body hugging, spats, wetsuits, embroidery and applique. I saw part of this collection at Mass Exodus, and I still like it. I l like the space uniform feel of the collection and the styling of the shoes were do die for. The shoes were to die for.
Jennifer Allison – increased in volume, dramatic reveal, stilts, mounds and mounds of ruffles, mix of textures, woven. This was another collection that I saw part of at Mass Exodus. It didn’t grab me as much because they didn’t have the model on the stilts. It was really a brilliant moment and quite beautiful. I loved the cream dress reveal, gorgeous.
Heidi Ackerman – chunky knits, statement shoulders, knit zigzag legging, kites, qbert, waders, rather large finale piece (like 10x larger than football gear). This collection reminded me of other designers for some reason. The first look the print jumpsuit brought visions of the Alexander McQueen SS09 dress I tried on. The waders remind me of Prada’s venture this FW09.
Ryerson School of Fashion – A mishmash of work from a number of students from Ryerson. I particularly like the outfit pictures. It was another Mass Exodus collection that I saw. I can’t remember the designers name though.
Erinchan.com – Androgyny, earth tones, beautiful prints, gold, faux leather, minimal. This boy pictured worked the runway!!!
Futurstate – Cyber Goth, German, military, corset details, long dresses and skirts, harnesses.
Starkers! Corsetry – Skinny Puppy, Man corsets, gothic, prints. The show had me with their liberal use of Skinny Puppy and my fascination with corsets. I really like the straight jacket corset (pictured above). I loved the use of prints instead of the traditional fare. I’m obsessing over getting a corset now.
Annie Thompson – Royal purple and yellow, sultan, Persia, obi belts, harem pants.
Matthew Donnelly – Lena Love, horses, clomping shoes, bright colours, jumpsuits, ropework, strong shoulder. I particularly loved the two finale looks that incorporated the rope detail. The picture above is just a great example of the finale’s dramatic flair.
Christabel Couture – Always a good time with Christabel Couture. It opened with a short video of Christabel’s daily life. Christabel has a fair for costume a la Leigh Bowery. I loved the model who pulled out the stuffing in his costume at the end of the runway. I’m a big fan of the hoop skirt outfit and Gay Gay Gay.
Top Shows of Day 4 – Starkers! Corsetry, Jennifer Allison, Salvador by Martha Sharpe
Day 4 Gallery will looks from all fashion shows.
All Photos Taken by Paul Baik for I want – I got, http://www.paulbaikphoto.com/