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Holt Renfrew Fall 2009 – 2010 Womenswear Media Preview

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There is nothing I love more than getting a sneak preview of anything fashion related. I was pretty pumped for the Holt Renfrew Fall 2009 – 2010 Womenswear Media preview. What new goodies did the buyers bring back for us interested fashion folk.

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Holt Renfrew Fall 2009 - 2010 Womenswear Media Preview

Special bonus was an appearance by Joseph Altuzarra. He is being touted as the one to watch by many. His stuff is pretty hot, I have to admit. He was an intern at Marc Jacobs and freelanced for Proenza Schouler. Riccardo Tisci also recruited him to be a design assistant at Givenchy. His first collection was Spring 2008. He was absolutely adorable. How can you not love a guy whose primary muse is his Mom.

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Altuzarra - Holt Renfrew Fall 2009 - 2010 Womenswear Media Preview

The event was held in the 3rd floor Contemporary area. Select samples from the season where on display for everyone to get a look at. Barbara Atkin, Vice President, Fashion Direction for Holt Renfrew talked about their trend research for the season and the direction for buyers. She talked about the new economy. Less, but better the new mantra. Giving the best product value for the money was a big focus this season. Another buzz word was serious consumption instead of conspicuous consumption. The are looking for that beautiful product that will become iconic, not a flash in the pan.

Trends on the Holts radar this fall are:

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Bold Shoulder. DIY it up, find some shoulder pads and update your coat or buy a strong shouldered coat this fall

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Leather

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Shine. Don't leave it for special occasions. Mix sequins with knits and flannel.

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Knit Dressing. Key pieces are the cardigan and dress

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Slim leg. Slim pants and leggings to show off the gams

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Collar Effect. Will see a lot of collars and bibs necklaces. It frames the face.

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Satchel. Buy buy to the It bag. The new bags are classic and a long term investment.

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City pump. Making an 80s comeback.

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Boot legging. These are the new sky high boots. Perfect with the slim leg trend

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Belt It

Some of the new labels for fall that I’m excited to see include: Phi, Altuzarra, Dannijo, Alexander Wang handbags, Salvatore Ferragamo for Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen and PUMA, Philip Lim 3.1 jewellery, Bing Bang by Anna Sheffield, Malababa, Luxury Rebel, Fluxus, Reebok, Sendra Boots and BOYY.

Check out all the photos I took in the slideshow:

Tom Dixon in Toronto

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Klaus by Nienkämper brought Tom Dixon to The Spoke Club last month to talk about his Utility 2009 collection. I was hoping to see some of his pieces up close but that wasn’t the case. Tom got up and spoke for about 20 minutes. He’s funny and very self deprecating. Accompanying his talk was a slide presentation that showed images that included pieces from the Utility collection and his influences. He even had a cartoon created for himself, how cool is that.

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Tom Dixon says: “I have always been inspired by the no nonsense approach of industrial artifacts and military engineering, science and mathematics, alongside materials and processes for manufacture. So this season, nothing has changed! Our theme for 2009 of Utility talks of usefulness and longevity, which feels appropriate right now.”

Tom Dixon Copper ShadeMSS45

Tom Dixon Fluoro Light

Tom Dixon Beat Vessels

Tom Dixon Copper Shade

As you can tell I’m a big fan of the light fixtures. I’ve been told that I gravitate to round things. That might explain my love of these light fixtures.

MBB50 MBB40 MBB25 MBA05EU LCC01 LCC02 MBA06EU

Paul didn’t get any photos of Tom’s work but they were very good in supplying me with lots of images to share. I’ve highlighted my favourites but be sure to check out the slideshow for more.

images: Top 2 images taken by Paul Baik for I want – I got – www.paulbaikphoto.com; all product images courtesy of Tom Dixon

Mimi + You Celebrate Courage

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I participated in a Mimi + You Celebrate Courage workshop at The Spoke Club in late May.

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Celebrate Courage gives women an opportunity to express their hopes and plans for the future through art, creativity and collaboration.

The “Creative Workshop” held at women’s shelters are a place where women can move away from their worries and come together to focus on a new way of expressing themselves. Necklaces made by the women in these workshops represent the celebration of their courage and accomplishment. They can choose to keep their pieces or donate them to be showcased on the MiMi + You website, Proceeds are given to the shelters, thereby giving these brave women in need the chance to further support other women in need.

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Our Corporate and Community “Creative Workshops” give employees and members of our community the opportunity to learn about the important services women’s shelters provide. And in these workshops you will learn how to create “One of a Kind” necklaces that are as much about fashion and art as they are an expression of the women who make them. All necklaces are then sold by MiMi + You with proceeds donated to women’s shelters.

Donate your idle jewelry to be used as product and creative inspiration at the workshops. Send us your old jewelry visit www.getinvolved.ca and take the challenge. To schedule a shelter or corporate creative workshop, find out about our upcoming community workshops, or to volunteer as a workshop facilitator please visit www.mimiandu.com/courage

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The workshop was $20 dollars to participate. I’m not a very artistic person so I wasn’t sure how this necklace was going to turn out. I had no plan at first so I gathered beads that I liked the look of.

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Things started to take form and I brought some chains into the mix. I was surprisingly better at creating a necklace than I expected. My jumble of ideas came together pretty well and it really surprised myself.

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The end product turned out pretty good. It was a necklace that I would wear myself. It hasn’t gone up for sale on the Mimi + You Celebrate Courage product page yet, but I will be sure to announce when you can purchase it yourself.

If you would like to participate in a workshop there are a few scheduled during the next few months:
June 24, 2009 – July 22, 2009 – August 19, 2009 – September 23, 2009

Workshops start at 6:30 p.m. sharp
Participation fee is $20 per person

The Spoke Club
600 King Street West
4th floor, Cellar Room
Toronto, ON

To RSVP please visit the Mimi + You Celebrate Courage website.

Christopher Kane Resort 2010

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Christopher Kane Resort 2010

Resort was pretty ho hum until Christopher Kane. Thank god someone got me to scream their name at the computer. That name was KANE!!!!!

Christopher Kane Resort 2010

“I wanted something natural, but I’m so fed up with florals,” he explained in his London studio. “And then I came across these images of nuclear test explosions from the fifties to the seventies on the Internet. I like the crazy-bright chemical colors. The way they’re sinister—but beautiful.”(Source)

Christopher Kane Resort 2010

What can I say, I have a twisted sense of what is beautiful. I’m speechless. I can’t articulate for you how much I love this collection. Amazing.

See the complete collection Christopher Kane Resort 2010 Collection on Style.com

images: style.com

Sophie DeFrancesca in Phantasmagoria

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Phantasmagoria is an exhibit featuring work by Sophie DeFrancesca. It will be featured at the Lausberg Contemporary Gallery from June 11 – July 19, 2009.

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Inspired by the icon dresses of the twentieth century Sophie De Francesca’s figurative sculptures are crafted in such a way that implies the production of ornament and fabric at the same time. Sheathes of galvanized wire mesh are transformed into ethereal confections that transcend the hard, commonplace materials they are made from. A provocative evocation of the female subject, De Franscesca’s work locates a maternal and sexual female identity by probing the conventional understanding of gender and sexuality.

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I was able to see a preview of some of Sophie’s work at the Brose Fall Winter 2009 – 2010 preview. Her work is just phenomenal.

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Phantasmagoria – June 11 – July 19, 2009
Lausberg Contemporary Gallery
880 Queen Street West
Toronto
416 516 44 40
toronto@galerie-lausberg.com