I was at the Plutino Group Official Website Relaunch at Parts & Labour this week. It was a blast. I’m loving Parts & Labour right now. It’s best to enjoy it early before it gets too well know people. I got obsessed with some Versace shoes and other fashionable details. I went photo crazy. Enjoy.
It seemed like yesterday that the Drake Hotel General Store expanded to into Rosedale. Here they go expanding again with a new storefront at Bathurst and King. Well the storefront isn’t new, it’s an expanded version of the Shared storefront. Carlo Colacci and Joyce Lo decided it would be a good idea to combine the Drake General Store and their Shared location. An additional 200 square feet was added and it really makes the place feel a lot larger. This Drake General Store x Shared space focuses on clothing and home decor. For the first time all the antique fixtures that everyone drools over in the store will be available for sale. Carlo and Joyce are serious vintage hunters, you can expect their one of a kind finds to be top notch. Shared clothing is prominent in the shop with additional labels like Levis, Cheap Monday, Insight Swimwear, Happy Socks, Sessun, Kostym and Fortnight. You can still expect to find kitschy items like fabric cacti and mini flasks that make great gifts.  Also check out …
Lislie Yeung is a new London based shoe designer. Fall Winter 2010 – 2011 is her debut season and I’m liking the shoes and colour palette. Lislie attended Parsons in New York and Cordwainers College in London. (Other I want – I got favourites attended Cordwainers also: Nicholas Kirkwood and Gil Carvalho) There is no word on retailers as of yet. Hopefully her market season was good and we’ll see the Lislie Yeung Fall Winter 2010 – 2011 collection in the stores. There are a couple of interviews you can read about Lislie at Not Just a Label and Beautiful Fineries. via highsnobette.com images: lislieyeung.com
Jason Wu and I have similar shaped heads. I can’t get that thought out of my mind whenever I look at this picture. I met Jason when he came to The Room for a Trunk Show and cocktail party in his honour. Jason Wu’s bio reads like one of the those prodigy kids. At 16 he was well on his way to becoming a designer creating couture like clothing for dolls at Integrity Toys. At 17, he became the Creative Director of Integrity Toys. Jason studied fashion design at Parson and started his namesake label in 2006. He created Michelle Obama’s ivory inaugural gown which pushed him into the limelight and made him a household name. I never appreciated Jason’s collection until I saw it up close. His style is very ladylike; socialite wear if you’d like. The details and fabrics that make his clothing interesting aren’t noticeable in photos. I was really surprised at some of the luxurious fabrics he used in the collections. All clothing is manufactured in the United States. The Room …
Footwear designer Gil Carvalho sent me an email letting me know about his Fall Winter 2010 collection. I was quiet surprised and excited to hear from him personally. This London based shoe designer has a background in fine art, art history and architecture. Gil studied shoe design at Cordwainers College at London College of Fashion. The lookbook talks about the inspiration for Gil Carvalho Fall Winter 2010 – 2011 collection. “With it’s emphasis on the sculptural, inspired by the Abstract artist Rolph Scarlett, the latest collection explores the relationship between a woman and her shoes, one that had endured teh passage of time but remains as passionate as ever. The palette of colour gravitates from monochrome to metallic pink from deep matt through to the high shine of patent, a thoroughly paradoxical collection full of opposites.” Gil Carvalho platforms are as tall and sleek as buildings. The Comet style on the left has about a 3/4 inch platform (20 mm) platform and 4.5 inch (120mm) heel. Buzz on the right has about a 2 inch …
I think the ad campaign for Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please collection is brilliant. Issey’s signature pleated fabric is used to create fabric sushi. images: Gradient Magazine
This is a fun little crossbody bag from Tila March. The 4-year-old company is the brainchild of a French fashion editor, Tamara Taichman and a marketing executive in the leather luxury goods business, Nicolas Berdugo. The Japan Times has a great little article on the brand and some history. Tila March handbags are available in Canada exclusively though the online handbag retailer A TO ZANE. images: tilamarch.com
These Devon Open Toe Booties by Alexander Wang are fun. Playing with Alexander Wang shoes was a little detour I made while in the mist of playing with Todd Lynn in the personal shopping area of Holt Renfrew. I love the colour and reptile treatment to the leather. I’m not usually a suede fan but I like the contrast it provides. They are pretty comfortable with a reasonable heel height. The shoes are available at Holt Renfrew Bloor street and online at shopbop.com and net-a-porter.com.
There was small group of people to gathered to see the Haider Ackermann Fall 2010 fashion show at the ROM. It was a real treat. 119 Corbo is the exclusive Toronto retailer for Haider Ackermann and they were responsible for bringing him to the city. Holt Renfrew Calgary and Vancouver will carry Haider in the fall. I wrote about the Haider Ackermann Fall Winter 2010 show during Paris fashion week. This presentation wasn’t the full collection but it was amazing to see the pieces up close. Haider is a master of materials. The draping and architectural details were phenomenal. The collection and music almost brought a tear to my eye. It’s the same emotional reaction that I get when I go to the symphony or opera. I wish I had the access to play and touch the clothing. I’m going to have to befriend Linda Perisa, owner of 119 Corbo. My photos were completely shit. I still have to learn how to take good low light shots with the Olympus E-PL1. The two shots I’ve …
Work kept me from catching the tail end of the Todd Lynn trunk show and personal appearance. I was a little bummed as I really wanted to meet Todd. He looks so cute in his photos. He also reminds me of Rick Owens so I’m drooling a little. I think it’s the long black hair, le sigh. I missed the designer but I got to play in his designs. On Saturday I made a quick trip to the private shopping area at Holt Renfrew and played dress up. Every leather jacket made my waist look tiny. They totally fit like a glove. The fur was outrageous. I like the androgyny of both the mens and womens lines. Todd Lynn price points are relatively cheaper than other brands doing leather with the same aesthetic. I even was recruited to model Todd Lynn for a customer. She was trying to decide what items to pick up from the trunk show.
