I’m a huge Porsche fan. My dream car is a Porsche 911 Targa. It’s been my dream car for more than 20 years. Unfortunately, I’m not an owner yet. When I heard the Panamera was a four door, I was a little skeptical. However, after listening to David and Porsche Canada’s president talk about the car I began to change. The unveiling sold me, it’s not too bad. It’s larger than the two door models but smaller than the Cayenne. It has all the bells and whistles anyone with money could wish for.
They opened the car up and let the guests take a look inside. It was drool worthy. In the end, my favourite car is still the 911 Targa. The Panamera is nice, but not the kind of car I would buy if I had the money.
There were so many men at this event. It was refreshing as I don’t normally see that many suits in a room outside of my usual haunts, the financial district. It was also nice that there was plenty of Moet . 🙂
Philip Sparks was the unofficial start to what I’m calling Toronto Extended Fashion Week. TEFW for short. The venue was in the usual haunts of the Burroughs Building. This season they used the bigger section of the 6th floor. They also had a great setup for the lounge area, complete with cheese plates and a DJ.
I had a preview of the collection when I got to sit in on the Lookbook photoshoot. The collection included some pieces that I hadn’t seen which was a great surprise. The inspiration this season was cottage life and 1950s Canadian Pacific Railways gatewya ads. The collection featured fabrics like seersucker, cotton voile and ramie. Philip worked with textile designer Kerry Croghan to create his Gone Fishing print. It’s inspired from Thor Hansen fabrics and Canadian souvenir imagaery. These prints were used in shirts and ties.
I love the fact that Philip doesn’t shy away from his Canadian roots. He embraces them fully and I really appreciate that love for our history and culture. I’m a born and raised Richmond Hill suburb child and my love of Canadiana is ingrained. It’s wonderful to see this translated into clothing.
Philips show was very nautical. Waders (famously worn by Agyness Dyne), stripes and trenches we major staples. Typical Sparks basics, like button up shirts and henleys, complemented the staple pieces. The hooded windbreaker brought back memories to any person that were old enough to remember the 80s vividly. I’m totally bias but Philip can do no wrong in my book. I love his vision of a Philip Sparks man. He is relaxed about his appearance but appreciates the sartorial touches. The models in Philip’s show were really hot. I felt terrible for drooling as some of them are way too young.
My favourite pieces included the new Philip Sparks handbags. The hardware is all brass and handmade by Mennonites. I also love everything with the print that was designed by Kerry Croghan.
Overall it was a very well produced show with great models and clothing. The runway room looked fabulous and it was very roomy. Everyone got a good look at the collection. It was the best way to start Extended Fashion Week. Next up is Greta Constantine.
See the complete collection in the Philip Sparks Spring 2010 slideshow.
Okay, this isn’t a true Ask a Geek post but I thought it could be helpful. I couldn’t find the words to describe Flora by Gucci for my last geekiviews post. I didn’t know the language of perfumes and needed to find out. I found a few links and thought I would share.
Basenotes – independent online guide to fragrances, with news and reviews
PerfumeCritic – online magazine dedicated to fragrances
The Holt Renfrew Bloggers Windows may live on in Google Street View but that is not the case in real life. Currently, the windows are taking on a Canadiana feel, which I very much enjoy. I walked out of the main doors and hear birds chirping. At first I thought maybe some birds were holed up somewhere in the rafters. Then I remembered that the only birds I see around Holts are pigeons. I realized it was a tape at that point and chuckled to myself.
There is a darkness and moodiness in the windows attracts me. The I like way it’s used in the colour palette of the clothing and through the richness of the trees and greenery. They evoke the spirit of fall for me. I want to wear all my fall gear. Looks like I’ll get that chance from the way the weather it taking a downturn quickly.
Set to a soundtrack of birds and woodland sounds, the windows incorporate a mixture of two and three dimensional mediums. Natural settings are created through photographic backgrounds with layered props such as animal cutouts and live elements from moss to rees. The positioning of mannequins is such that they reference a diorama display and museums of natural history.
“We were inspired by the juxtaposition of the rugged and refined in the fashions of the fall season†says John Gerhardt, Holt Renfrew’s Creative Director. “We were also influenced by photographer Tim Walker in terms of plays of scale and by artist Vanessa Beecroft for the mannequin positioning.†Gerhardt says, “Bringing all of these elements together has resulted in something unexpected and surreal.â€
Sometimes readers ask me questions. If they are of value to all my readers I post them online. If you have a question, please feel free to submit it using the contact form. I’ll definitely do my best to answer it.
I want – I got reader Cody wrote:
Hey there,
I wanted to show u my list of selling events where I could sell my clothing to the general public for cheap prices, like besides what I have listed here, can u think of anything else year round? I love events that are cheap, or free (usually none are free, right?)
There’s always booths on young street, I wanna look into that!
What do u think of these, know anymore?….
-The Clothing Show (twice a year)
-Portobello
and I’m not sure what is sold at Nuit Blanche?
Comments on where to go from here?
thanks
Hi Cody,
There are some free events for the general public but a majority of them charge an admission fee.
There aren’t many shows dedicated to clothing in the city but there are many craft/artisan events. This may not be what you are looking for. However, some other events in the city are The One of a Kind Show, By Hand, WychCraft Market, SpeakEasy’s Holiday Sale and the City of Craft show. One of the best resources for finding about upcoming events is the Toronto Craft Alert which is constantly listing open calls for vendors. There are always smaller shows popping up, especially at Christmas time. Another good resource is the event listing on Facebook. You will be required to apply to be in these sales and they will have an exhibitors fee. If you are looking to sell clothing cheap then I think your best bet is The Clothing Show.
I received the Flora by Gucci Eau du Toilette in a swag bag from an event. I can’t remember which one (If any friends out there remember what event, please comment!). I like floral based perfumes, so I thought I would give it a shot. Turns out I like it. It’s sweet smelling; a mixture of fruit and flowers at first. It finishes with a heavy base. I don’t normally like patchouli but it works for me in this combination. It’s a girl’s fragrance and nowhere near the androgynous zone. It’s very strong and you have to remember that when applying. I do find myself reaching for this perfume a lot in the morning.
Flora’s olfactory pyramid is composed around the floral theme, with top notes of citrus and peony, a heart of rose and osmanthus — a Chinese flower with a distinct floral fruit and leather aroma — and sandalwood and patchouli on the base. Giannini and the P&G fragrance team developed the scent with Firmenich.
This is Gucci’s second perfume geared to the younger customer. I always love to read about inspirations. I thought the perfume and the ads were beautiful. I love the long black and white silk chiffon gown.
Turning to the archived Flora print for inspiration for the scent’s concept came naturally to Giannini. First used on a Gucci scarf made for Princess Grace in 1966, Flora was also utilized on many different Gucci apparel and accessory items — some of which Giannini’s mother wore.
“I was in love with the idea of a floral fragrance, and having the idea of naming the perfume Flora, everything was consequential. I wanted to give Flora a new freshness, so I decided to keep the same floral pattern but make it not so literal with all 25 colors, but black and white, more graphic and correct for the project,†said Giannini…
To design Flora’s hexagon-shaped clear glass flacon, Giannini recalled the architectural lines of the Gucci by Gucci bottle. Giannini also chose to accent the juice a champagne color and incorporated another of the Gucci motifs in the small bamboo gold tassels trimming the ends of the black ribbon bow tied around the flacon’s neck.
The Gucci website says the font used to write Flora on the bottle is from the script of Guccio Gucci’s signature. The commercial by Chris Cunningham is very cool.
The black-and-white Flora print is featured on the scent’s packaging, but Giannini also printed it onto a butterflylike long silk chiffon gown worn by Australian model Abbey Lee in the scent’s advertising campaign. Shot by Chris Cunningham in a cornfield in Latvia, Lee is depicted in the middle of more than 40,000 silk flowers moving in tempo with the wind to the tune of an original remix of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.†Inez & Vinoodh photographed Flora’s print advertising visuals.
And her’s the making of Flora commercial video for kicks.
I like Flora more than the Givenchy Hot Couture Eau du Toilette I received in a swag bag last year. Swag bags are the only reason I started wearing perfume again. I went years without it. I like Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb the best. I think Hot Couture, Flowerbomb and Flora are similar enough to make that kind of comparison.
When I saw a quick preview of Scott’s book at his Holt Renfrew Party, I knew I had to own it. Well, a few weeks ago back I found it at Chapters and picked it up. There is not much to say about the book except that it is full of interesting people (some of which I actually know!) in beautiful clothing. Scott also talks about some of his subjects and the circumstances behind the shots. It gets my thumbs up.
Heels @ Home with Ms. Pastel Supernova – October 17, 2009
Falling in your heels got you down? Fret not. Pastel Supernova, from Fritz Helder and the Phantoms, will teach you how to werk it like a woman should in heels!
Oct 17 @ 2.30pm-3.30pm
Chasse Gardee, 1084 Queen St W, Toronto
with Special Guest: Muchmusic Vj Sarah Taylor!
I found out that the Holt Renfrew Bloggers Windows are on Google Street View. It was such fun to have the window for the month of July and I was a little sad when it came down. Then I went to India and the window seemed like such a lifetime ago. The trip changed me a little. All the feeling from July have rushed back with this Google Street View discovery and it’s like experiencing it all over again.
on Amazon or grab it in your local bookstore.