Month: September 2009

Nella Bella Fall 2009 Handbags

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Some of the best part of writing this blog is meeting amazing designers in this city. One night I was out with friends I was introduced to Tarek Al-azbat. He is a Toronto handbag designer. His focus has been producing handbags for other designers. One of his former clients is Alexander Wang. He has been in the business for 14 years and now he is looking to bring more attention to his own handbag line called Nella Bella. Nella Bella is here to give you another fashionable outlet for vegan handbags. I asked Tarek, why vegan? In addition to the environmental benefits he explained that using PU leather allowed for different fabrications that just aren’t possible with leather. He showed me a black bag with a chevron pattern that is possible with PU but not real leather. Tarek showed me a few different designs. I was impressed with fashion forward styles and you can tell design is just as important as vegan materials. I even got a croc stamped tote to give a test drive. …

Sonia Rykiel x H&M for Holiday!

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H&M and Sonia Rykiel president and artistic director Nathalie Rykiel are proud to announce that Sonia Rykiel will be the next guest designer for winter 2009 and spring 2010. The French house founded by the “Queen of Knits” represents the distinctive, modern and impertinent spirit of Paris. This marks the first time that H&M has extended its designer collaboration to the world of lingerie and related accessories for women, with exclusive pieces to be launched in-store on December 5, 2009. The collection will be launched in 1,500 H&M stores worldwide and at the same time, Sonia Rykiel will make this lingerie collection available in Sonia Rykiel’s major boutiques around the world – another first for H&M. Ever fans of surprises, H&M and Sonia Rykiel are pleased to announce a second collaboration for spring 2010, featuring an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls (1.5 to 8 years old) accompanied by playful accessories. This second collection will be launched in around 250 H&M stores on February 20, 2010. (source: H&M Press Release) image: Sonia Rykiel Spring …

Fame! I’m Going to Live Forever

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So, I received an invitation to the Fame movie premier after party. The Bathurst Theater was setup to resemble the school from Fame. Dancers and actors occupied different rooms of the theater that represented singing, dancing and theater. The rooms had various things to keep the guests happy. In one room you could make a music video, just like Canada’s Wonderland. They tried to get us up to sing and act silly, we chose not to. Another room had this awesome mobile flipbook creating studio from Party Impressions. You had 7 seconds to make a video that would be recreated flipbook style. It was so much fun. Most people stuck to the dancing around theme, but some got creative. I like to think the flipbook Natalie and I made was pretty damn good. The appetizers going around were old high school classics like mac and cheese, grilled cheese and meatloaf. The organizers did a great job of keeping the atmosphere correct. I never did get to screen the film as the screening was “sold out”. …

So Dolce & Gabbana are giving us a sneak preview

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Dolce & Gabbana are posting Pre-Show Diaries for everyone to see leading up to the Spring 2010 presentation on Sept 27, 2009. They are show 1 minute films that give you a glimpse of the goings on behind the scenes. Why did they do this, well you can read all about it in an article called Exclusive! Dolce & Gabbana change the catwalk rules on Swide Magazine. Here is Part 1 and Part 2 but follow the Dolce & Gabbana YouTube Channel to see the next installments. I have to admit I like the idea, but I also like looking at Domenico and Stefano. I might be a little bias. So far it looks a lot different from the cowboy look that sister brand D&G showcased for Spring 2010. I’m not into the cowboy look but I have to applaud Domenico and Stefano for an incredibly tight collection. I love collections that have a distinct theme and the execution is flawless. There were some individual pieces I liked, but it’s not my style. They have …

i want: Suzi Roher Belts

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Suzi Roher Belts is a Toronto based Belt manufacturer. Suzi Roher is the accessory designer behind her namesake company. For 24 years she has been creating luxury belts out of her Toronto studio. She created belts for all occasions and styles. These are the ones I like the best. Suzi Roher belts can be purchased from the online store and don’t forget to check out her blog. images: suziroher.com

Filippa K Spring 2010 Preview

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Danielle of Final Fashion invited to me the Filippa K Spring 2010 Preview. Filippa K is a Swedish clothing company started in 1993. The company has a minimal contemporary style that is about doing the basics at a high standard. The colours for the spring collection where bright – Royal Blue, Coral Pink, Sunshine Yellow, Turquoise and Jewel Green. Danielle and I both loved the black blazer (pictured above). It was super light and perfect for layering. I was also smitten with the pants. I loved the use of colours and enjoyed the Coral Pink ones a lot. I also liked the leather motorcycle jacket. I had no idea Filippa K did shoes but here I was staring at cute royal blue heels and turquoise leather gladiators. There was menswear at the preview which followed the same style philosophy as the woman’s collection. I thought the lookbook was really well done. It had pages dedicated to colours and prints used in the collection. I’ve scanned those pages to share with you. Filippa K can be …

What does Barbara think? NY Fashion Week SS10 Edition

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I was reading the Buyers Laud New York Fashion Shows article in WWD today. I’m always interested in what the buyers/retailers think of the collections. For the last few seasons I’ve been posting about Barbara Atkin’s feelings on the show. Spring 2010 is no exception. Barbara Atkin, vice president of fashion direction at Toronto-based Holt Renfrew: “The week was very optimistic with a beautiful lightweight feeling to the clothes and beautiful palettes. The season was fresh and modern and spoke to a new generation who is traveling and packing light. In this economy, it’s all about fit and quality, looking at clothing and saying, ‘This is worth the money I’m spending.’ If it’s not going to jump out at the customer, she’s not going to buy it. “Oscar de la Renta understands his woman and understands the casual lifestyle. At the same time, he knows this woman needs a structured, tailored suit, and he still makes it feel modern. Marc Jacobs is a visionary. He took essential pieces and cultural elements from around the world …

India Diaries: Bracelet Overload

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When I was in India, I went crazy and bought at ton of cheap bracelets from the Dilli Haat market. I basically have sleeves of bracelets in different colours. Here are some of my finds that I’ve been posting on twitter. I’m wearing two sets here. The set that looks blue is actually purple. My friend Sonja got a good picture to some of my bracelets on the weekend. I bought a lot of blingy bracelets in India because they were bright and fun. I came home with sets of bracelets but I still wish I bought more.

Phi Ready to Wear – Spring 2010

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Phi didn’t disappoint me during NY Fashion Week. I love this season’s take on bondage. At lot of the styles and details remind me of straight jackets. It seems weird only on paper. Sasha P is walking and that makes me happy. I remember seeing her in real life at the Spring 2008 Phi presentation. images: nymag.com

FASHION Magazine’s Men’s Fall Style Special Event

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I attended the FASHION Magazine’s Men’s Fall Style Special Event last week. I brought The Grumpy Owl with me since he sometimes concerns himself with fashionable things. The party was to celebrate the launch of the FASHION Magazine’s Men’s Fall Style Special supplement. It’s a magazine created by the Fashion Magazine team dedicated to men’s fashion. There were cigars and a small cigar lounge setup outside. The Grumpy Owl bought a nice cigar and enjoyed it on the patio. There were canapes and drinks at the party but we were also treated to a Hugo Boss Fall 2009 fashion show. The Men’s Fashion Fall 2009 supplement is pretty good. I love the product offering and the way they are displayed. There is also a long article demystifying men’s grooming by Andrew Sardone. I LOVE the men’s editorial though. Here are two images to get your hungry to find it.

Rodarte Ready to Wear – Spring 2010

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I was so looking forward to the Rodarte Spring 2010 show. I saw the photos initially and wasn’t all that jazzed up about it. It didn’t grab me like past seasons. So I watched the video on swarovski.tv and my opinion changed to not really enjoying it. I loved the pants, shoes and music though. images: Rodarte Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com