The ATTITUDE Jay Manuel Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 started out with a video.  I’m not a fan of the video before the fashion show.  Rarely do they contribute something meaningful to the collection.  I’ve seen a couple of good ones by Evan Biddell and I enjoyed Holt Renfrew’s for the Spring Summer 2011 season.  What a difference a celebrity can make.  The video didn’t sit well with me as it basically was like “hey look at how much work Jay Manuel has put into this line.  He did it all by himself.”   In previous seasons, ATTITUDE would acknowledge the creative team who developed the line.  I really liked that Sears acknowledged it was a team effort. Now, Sears wants us to believe Jay Manual is the sole creative force behind ATTITUDE. He even came out alone at the end of the show.

In general, ATTITUDE Jay Manuel Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 collection was what I expected.  Retail friendly trends: the 70s, military, leather and fur (both faux).  Jay was also drinking the Proenza Schouler PS1 koolaid because I saw more than a few inspired versions on the runway.  I thought the faux leathers looked alright.  I’m still not a pleather fan.  The faux fur was a problem.  The last look was a Marine blue faux fur& faux leather zip front jacket and it was heinous.   No other words can describe it.  Faux or real fur, nothing can save this jacket.

Most of the other military influenced jackets were pretty good and came in some bold colours. There were some interesting styling elements. I especially like the bag around the waist of the model in look 4.  I didn’t enjoy the styling for the knitwear.  Cardigans don’t need to be belted to someone already wearing a heavy sweater.  The music was a little to Fly on a Saturday night for me too.

Yasmin Warsame opened the show and it’s always lovely to see her strutting down the runway.  Some Top Model veterans got to strut their stuff: Rebecca Hardy, Dani Evans, Linsay Willier, Aminate Ayinde, Meaghan Waller and McKey Sullivan.   The rumour mill had dreams of Tyra Banks and Gwen Stefani showing up.  Tyra, while remote, was possible.  However, I think someone just saw the giant Gwen Stefani poster in the Hertiage Court and made it up.

See the entire ATTITUDE Jay Manuel Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 collection

Photos taken for I want – I got by Paul Ross of Opique.com