Month: October 2010

What does Barbara think? Spring Summer 2011 Edition

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I love it when the WWD asks the buyers their opinions of the collections. 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 Summer 2011 is no exception. New York “The consumer is still celebrity-obsessed. The designer is becoming that celebrity as well. We’ve got to move away from turning [fashion week] into a circus.” – Barbara Atkin, vice president and fashion director, Holt Renfrew Trendspotting: “The big story was American sportswear and the whole idea of the timeless classics, easy toppers, trenches and beautiful, easy pants. In a way, another trend is New York producing a whole new wave of young designers with more democratic price points, such as Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim and Theyskens’ Theory.” Sound off: “Everyone’s taking pictures of everyone else. Everybody has a blog and some site they wanted to drive you to. We’re being swallowed up by social media. People are adapting a look and seeing how to wear it immediately …

Paws For The Cause – October 28, 2010

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Paws For The Cause is a fashion fundraiser for the OSPCA. It involves dogs and even though I’m a cat person I agreed to help spread the word about this great event and cause. Animal companionship is a wonderful thing so I’m not taking sides here. Paws for the Cause is a dog fashion show and cocktail party donating 100% of funds raised to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA). The evening will kick off with a runway presentation featuring 10 Canadian fashion designers who will dress 10 precious pups and 10 familiar faces from Toronto. October 28 . 2010 Red Bull 381 Projects 381 Queen St. W # 200 8 p.m. Visit http://www.pawsforthecause.ca to buy tickets for the Oct 28th event, and for your chance to win an Olympus camera. I also participated in the Paws For The Cause video. I thought it was a photoshoot when I agree to do it. A lunch hour photoshoot turned into a lunch hour video shoot. The concept was presented to me …

Complexgeometries Spring Summer 2011

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My fashion favourite Complexgeometries was in New York showing off the Spring Summer 2011 collection. I’m still very excited about this and I’m glad Clayton is moving on up as they say. The show got a lot of pre and post press from sites like Nymag.com, WWD and Fashionologie. Yay Clayton! Diane, A Shaded View on Fashion has some more photos of the collection. There are men’s looks that I didn’t include here as I focused on the women’s looks I liked.  Yup, I’m planning my Spring Summer 2011 Complexgeometries purchase. Jason Last was around with his trusty camera to grab a bit of video of the presentation. images: zimbio.com, nymag.com

Sequins & Stilettos – October 15, 2010

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Put on a little black dress and a fierce pair of stilettos and join us on Friday, Oct. 15 at Nyood (1096 Queen St. West, Queen W/Dovercourt) for Sequins & Stilettos: Designers vs DJs,  the launch of the Fashion Collective! Celebrate designers Flor Serrano, Ildiko Rostas and Erin Summer of Coco Boudoir (winner of FFW’s Cheap Is The New Chic design contest). Each designer has teamed with a DJ to create a stylish, musical collaboration based on their collections! The FC: Fashion Collective – in partnership with Frugal Fashion Week (FFW) - celebrates local, emerging designers and works with designers to present runway events, installations and FFW’s new Trunk & Eat series. The Fashion Collective plays an active role in supporting and promoting Canada’s design talent! Doors open at 7pm for a Cupcake & Cocktail reception. The show begins at 8pm. A Designer Reception will follow. Guests receive a gift upon arrival!

i want: AF Vandevorst Fall Winter 2010 – 2011 Shoes

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I love the clunky and armor-like boots from A.F. Vandevorst’s fall winter 2010 – 2011 collection.  You can see them in action in the A.F. Vandevorst fall winter 2010 – 2011 runway show. It’s on their facebook page. It’s the best quality one out there but not embeddable.  The video shows the different styles of the over the knee boots in grey and red.  I love the red ones.  This is a great shade of red.  The clothing is nice too, there were a few exits I liked. images: tooklookbook.com

Calla Spring Summer 2011

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Toronto native and Paris resident Calla Haynes held a presentation for her Spring Summer 2011 collection under her namesake label Calla. She created Kaleidoscope prints for Jeremy Laing’s fall 2008 – 2009 collection (video). For spring summer 2011 she produced a video invitation instead of a traditional one. Calla is a print genius. Spring summer 2011 is really beautiful.  I like the geometric aspect to some prints and the others that are more liquid. Barb at Phreshly Squeezed checked out the CALLA Spring-Summer 2011 presentation in Paris. Vogue Italy also has some other photos. Calla is found in Canada at: The Room The Hudson’s Bay 176 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario Reborn 231 rue Saint Paul Ouest Montreal, Quebec

Celine Spring Summer 2011

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Celine is another designer line that didn’t have my undying love right from the photos.  I had to see some video evidence first.  The videos brought me back to the Celine reality: beautiful clothing that I want to wear. It’s a looser fitting collection that is missing some of the Celine sleekness from previous seasons.  There are rich colours and vibrant prints to keep the collection from being completely white or ivory.  This season I’m loving the tunics (even the japanese denim one) and white shirts. I’m usually all over the shoes but the ones from the collection are pretty but boring. I’ll have to wait until the website is up to see what else is out there. I love Vogue.it. It lists the fabrics used in the show: denim, canvas, cotton poplin, silk, silk cady, parachute silk, nappa and silk crêpe. This is the Celine bag that I will be talking about till fall 2011. Love the shape and colour. This video features Tim Blanks from style.com talking about the collection. This is a …

Luc Kieffer in Toronto

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Luc Kieffer, a jewellery designer from Paris, visited Toronto for the first time during TIFF. A press preview party was held in his honour and I got a closer look at some of his fall winter 2010 – 2011 and spring summer 2011 collections. Luc has worked with many fashion houses like YSL, Balenciaga, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Sonia Rykiel. It was interesting to her Luc talk about the time he met Yves Saint Laurent in person in 1996. Luc collaborated with Yves on his final collection. The Luc Kieffer line was launched in 2006. Luc Kieffer jewellery specializes in high-polished resin with Swarovski crystals. Luc is a chemist by trade and that totally attracted the geek in me. That’s right people chemist = swoon in my books. Chemist turned jewellery maker is off the charts. I was told that Luc was a charmer. I wished I could speak french, it would have been nice to chat in his mother tongue. He worked with Yves Saint Laurent on his final collection in 1996, and has …

Proenza Schouler Spring Summer 2011

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Proenza Schouler used a lot of shibori techniques in the Spring Summer 2011 collection. Shibori is several methods of dyeing cloth to create a pattern by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing it, or capping the fabric. “We wanted it to be a little more polished,” Jack McCollough said backstage, before Lazaro Hernandez jumped in: “So we took all these feminine codes—the embroideries, the flowers—and mixed them up in our own way. We wanted to do something without any obvious references.”(Source). I was very happy to see that Proenza Schouler was using neon this spring summer 2011 season.  The prints are beautiful. You’ll want to check out Tommy Ton’s behind the scenes at Proenza Schouler Spring Summer 2011 photo post on Jak & Jil. He’s got some really great shots. Watch the full Proenza Schouler Spring Summer 2011 fashion show images: style.com

CYDWOQ Fall Winter 2010 – 2011

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CYDWOQ shoes always intrigue me I see them in the stores. They have a striking design style. They are a little bit clunky but exquisitely crafted. I was sent the lookbook and a press release that also gave me some background on California based CYDWOQ and founder Rafi Balouzian. Rafi comes from a long line of shoe-makers and he started CYDWOQ in 1996. He grew up hanging around the family factory in Armenia and made trips to Italy and France. All this time he was learning the shoemaking process from great handcrafted leather artists. Rafi’s son, Ari is the designer and Creative Director for CYDWOQ. CYDWOQ design influences include nature, architecture, automobile design and old films. The shoes are handmade using the best Italian hand painted leather. Natural choices dominate the CYDWOQ product. In shoe construction, the uppers are hand-lasted to the leather insoles using water-based biodegradable glues. Once inspected, the shoes are packed in distinctive cotton bags and recycled cardboard boxes. It is one of the world’s most ecologically responsible shoe firms, setting the …

Dr. Martens on Queen

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There is a new Dr. Martens store on Queen Street. It’s taken over the old Neon Clothing space. The store’s décor is based around the furniture and fixtures you could expect to find in the raw and industrial Northamptonshire, England factory. Reflecting the sense of craft involved in Dr. Martens boots and shoes, all fittings used in the store are authentic and durable. In addition to Dr. Martens Originals that have become known around the globe, seasonal merchandising will support the contemporary expansion of the brand. As Dr. Martens continues to identify creative individuals around the world, limited edition collaborations will be released and featured in the new Queen Street location. This location has so many styles of Dr. Martens to choose from, it should satisfy most people’s needs. All the abstract colours are available like purple, yellow and the metallics. I love that there is a Dr. Martens store in Toronto now. I could see a major addiction for 20 hole boots developing if this store was open during my high school and university …

Darcel at the Spring Summer 2011 Fashion Weeks

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I came across these wonderful cartoons of famous fashion personalities and fixtures on nowness.com. Freaking too adorable for words. Darcel at New York Fashion Week Craig Redman’s Cult Character Turns Style-Savvy Reporter for NOWNESS. Following his hazy, rather drunken night at the grand opening of Louis Vuitton’s London Maison this summer, Darcel—the one-eyed, bespectacled egg-person who is daily overcome by the modern world on Craig Redman’s hugely popular blog, Darcel Disappoints—has got the fashion bug. Yes, Darcel sets off today on an intercontinental trip to cover the spring 2011 catwalks exclusively for NOWNESS.(source) You can see the complete set of Darcel posts on Nowness.com. Darcel at London Fashion Week Darcel at Milan Fashion Week Darcel at Paris Fashion Week

Modelgeddon, a Fashion Film by LOVE Magazine and Versace

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The trailer for Modelgeddon looks awesome. It’s a fashion film from LOVE Magazine and Versace. I can’t wait to see the whole thing. See first glimpse of a LOVE and VERSACE city, the completely original design of which was digitally created specifically for this film by Director and Designer, James Lima, with Creative Direction by LOVE’s Editor-in-Chief, Katie Grand. Grand says: “Working with James Lima again was of course completely thrilling, and adding Versace in to the mix was very exciting. The models we used are badass cyber chicks who are so cool and fuck-me gorgeous they don’t care that the world is falling apart. James is indeed a genius.” This city in fact does not exist; Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros, Claudia Mason, and Julie Ordon, all wearing Versace Fall/Winter 2010/11, were filmed separately, acting and reacting to the virtual world crumbling around them. Lima describes MODELGEDDON as:”Supermodels, being über bitchy, dressed in sexy Versace, shot with a RED camera, with a huge amount of computer graphic destruction, in a photo-real urban landscape”.

Hudson Collection Social

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The Hudson COLLECTION launched at Holt Renfrew with a Social that included a DJ, mocktails and models. Hudson reps were on hand to talk about this exclusive to Holt Renfrew collection with customers and help them discover the perfect pair. It was my first time seeing the collection in person and I’m a fan. I even purchased a great tank top with an asymmetrical tail on it. It reminds me of coattails and I can’t wait to bust it out. I’m thinking a pre-LGFW debut or perhaps during LGFW. My favourite pieces of the collection were the D.I.Y style denim that incorporated leather into waistbands and hems. Of course these were the most expensive denim pieces, ha. My eyes and hands are drawn to expensive. There are lots of skinny leg options in the collection. The tops were versatile. The cowl neck long sleeved top and the tank can be worn in many different ways. I live for stuff like that. I loved the jackets, in particular the wool jacket with the large cowl that …

Chanel Spring Summer 2011

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The Chanel Spring Summer 2011 fashion show blew me away. I watched the video late Wednesday night and it almost brought a tear to my eye. There was an 80-piece orchestra who played a mix of music from Björk, the Verve and John “007” Barry. Take said orchestra and put them in the Grand Palais with a set inspired by the movie, Last Year at Marienbad. Chanel usually shows at the Grand Palais but this season they made use of the entire space for this incredibly expansive set. Karl tops himself again and again. Amazingly enough the clothes lived up to the set. This is a season of Chanel I approve of. Can we talk about the boots? I’m dying over them. Things I didn’t like: the sandals and the makeup. I’ve embedded the fashion show video for you all to see. It’s a spectacle, a wonderful fashion spectacle. It makes me giddy. With the talk of the fashion show going the way of the dodo, I’m glad to see that Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel’s …

Balenciaga Spring Summer 2011

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I’m usually a solid Balenciaga fan but the spring summer 2011 collection made me think. There was no immediate reaction of adoration for the clothing. I wasn’t a big fan of the first half of the collection but liked the second. It’s taken me a bit of time to absorb what I’ve seen. This rockabilly version of Balenciaga has me loving classic things like pants and that printed denim.  They look so roomy and comfortable. There are also some sweet little jackets in the collection.  I’ll take a red leather Balenciaga coat please. Balenciaga also introduced watches this season which were inspired by an antique clock in the atelier. I did have an immediate reaction to the shoes and that was love. It’s apparently the first time Ghesquière has show flats at Balenciaga. Shoes like this remind me of my first pair of Dr. Martens. They were low cut, pointy toe, black patent leather creeper like shoes. I loved them to pieces. I love the visual of the shoes and that crazy floral denim. The …

Jeremy Laing Spring Summer 2011

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I watched the Jeremy Laing Spring Summer 2011 fashion show as it happened at work. I didn’t have any sound but it really didn’t matter.  The effect was the same, I wanted everything. This season Jeremy teamed up with Jaime Sin, who created the jewellery and soundtrack for the show. The pictures do a really crap job of relaying how good this collection is. I can’t wait for my showroom visit so that I can play dress up in Spring 2011 and document it. So, I’ve included the full Jeremy Laing Spring Summer 2011 fashion show images: elle.com

3.1 Phillip Lim Spring Summer 2011

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3.1 Philip Lim surprised me a lot this Spring summer 2011 season. The line is one that I ignore during the show season and then revisit when it’s in the stores. The 3.1 Philip Lim Spring Summer 2011 collection is amazing. It’s definitely one of my top shows of the season.  Nice use of sheer, sporty looking and easy to wear. I wasn’t a big fan of the shoes though. The handbags are amazing too. Give me a satchel bag and I’m set. 3.1 Philip Lim has a variety of sizes to choose from. We have full length video for the 3.1 Philip Lim Spring Summer 2011 fashion show. The set is gorgeous. images: style.com

Mary Katrantzou Spring Summer 2011

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Mary Katrantzou said, “With this collection, I wanted to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room.” She used images from old Architectural Digest and World of Interiors issues for her surreal-like prints. To finish off the look she added trompe l’oeil details to fool the eye even more. The collection just makes me giddy. It’s so inventive and fun. I can’t help but smile. I want to be the person to walk into a room wearing a Mary Katrantzou. You become a walking piece of art. The shoes are cute too. The full Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 fashion show video is up. Everything looks so good in motion. images: style.com

Lanvin Spring Summer 2011

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It seems almost impossible to dislike anything Alber Elbaz touches. The Lanvin woman is a bit softer from spring 2011. The Klingon warrior women from fall 2010 is taking the season off. I’m not salivating over the shoes and jewellery like I normally do. I guess I’m not feeling the butterfly theme. I really like the bags though. They are those small to medium structured handbags that are all over the runways right now. I’m pretty much a sucker for full skirts that billow when you walk. I’m all over anything with movement. It’s dramatic and explains my love of this collection. There isn’t any full fashion show videos out yet, but here are a couple to give you a taste images: style.com

Christopher Kane Spring Summer 2011

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Christopher Kane created totally obnoxious dresses. Not because of cut or design as those were rather plain. He used bright neon fabrics and I will forever love him for that. I have a bit of an obsession with neon. I know what you are thinking. Would I really wear a neon dress from Christopher Kane? Take a look at the Christopher Kane archives on this site. That will give you the answer if you don’t already know. Here is some video from the collection from Elle. It’s not the full show but gives you a good look at the exits. images: style.com

Haider Ackermann Spring Summer 2011

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Haider Ackermann Spring Summer 2011 was japanese meets le smoking paired with Ackermann leather. He expanded on the silk pajama theme of the 2011 resort collection. There is lot of exposed flesh in the collection. I love the off the shoulder and bare back looks the most. I love the Obi style belts.  Everything in this collection seems so opulent. I guess that’s what being draped in silk and leather does. images: style.com

Junya Watanabe Spring Summer 2011

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Stripes are turning into a big trend for spring 2011. I really enjoyed Junya Watanabe’s spring summer 2011 collection. It was an explosion of Breton stripes and nautical imagery. Some clothing shapes resembled early swimwear from the 1920s. There is also a vintage tennis vibe happening. The trench coats that incorporated sheer fabrics were my favourite pieces.  I also love the two billowing white dresses that uses a twists fabric together to give added dimension. The boots do look a bit clunky and kinda clown-like. However, the brogues are perfect . images: style.com

Danier Design Challenge 2011

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Danier Design Challenge DANIER, Canada’s premier leather retailer, is teaming up with Ryerson School of Fashion to reach out to young fashion influencers in the second year of this exciting design initiative. The DANIER Design Challenge will give 3rd year design students the opportunity to showcase their fashion chops by creating an original women’s leather garment design. That’s where YOU come in. The Canadian public along with a panel of expert judges will choose the winners. Last year, John Hillifer was the winning designer – his jacket is in select Danier stores NOW! YOU will get to vote on danier.com from October 5th to December 22th . Your votes along with those of an industry expert panel — including Robert Ott, Chair of Ryerson School of Fashion, Olga Koel, DANIER’s Chief Merchandising Officer, fashion icon and television host Jeanne Beker, fashion stylist George Antonopoulos and Tiyana Grulovic, a fashion style reporter and stylist — will decide who becomes the winner of the DANIER Design Challenge. Three winners will be awarded a cash prize and the …