Month: October 2010

The Uniform Project Pilots with Isis Salam

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The second year of the Uniform Project finds Sheena hanging up the dress and finding others called The Uniform Project Pilots. Musician Isis Salam is October’s The Uniform Project Pilot and she is raising money for One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization working to provide access to education to every child in the world. it’s just past the halfway point and if you have any spare dollars please head over to The Uniform Project’s website and donate. Ladies and Gents introducing the one the only, most versatile little black dress on the planet! I can go from feeling like Mad Men’s Christian Hendricks day time to hot cocktail drinking soho fashionista at night. If the last 3 years of touring have taught me anything, it’s a solid appreciation for chic simplicity. First two photos is the front (or back depending on the mood) and then I flipped it around to showcase the cute buttons and pleats. I must say I’m pretty excited about this project not only is it for a great cause but …

i want: Givenchy Fall Winter 2010 – 2011 Boots

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My fall 2010 dream shoes are Givenchy. They come in many different options: sequined, leather, patent leather, velvet and wool.  They also come in different heights. The boots remind me of witches and grunge. Thankfully they have a zipper in the back of the shoe so you don’t have to lace anything up. Very smart. I spotted these pair of Givenchy boots in the wild at Holt Renfrew. They are ridiculously gorgeous and expensive.  I’ll just admire from afar. images: givenchy.com

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 …

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