NARS has two new nail polish colours for Summer 2011 that I’m liking. NARS makes great, long lasting nail polish and I really enjoy my Spring 2011 colour, Desperado.
NARS Kismet Nail Polish
Kismet is described as “Fate, destiny, a predetermined course of events. This metallic sunflower nail polish was simply meant to be.”
NARS Ecume Nail Polish
Ecume is described as “An opaque white nail enamel that is at once vintage-inspired and avant-garde in sensibility.”
The entire Summer 2011 NARS collection is quite pretty too. There is lots of bold colour.
The Spring Summer 2011 edition of the Lanvin Dolls collection is now available atLuisaviaroma. I don’t collect porcelain figures but I think the Lanvin stuff is fun.
Jewellery designer Miriam Salat uses resin, sterling silver, 18kt gold vermeil and cubic zirconias for her hand crafted namesake jewellery line. Â The collection has bracelets, necklaces and rings but the earrings are what grabbed my attention. Â I love dangling statement earrings.
Miriam Salat jewellery can be purchased online at miriamsalat.com. There aren’t any Canadian retailers at the moment.
Fitz & Fur is a jewelry collection created by Toronto based stylist, Roslyn Griffith Hall. Reclaimed is Fitz & Fur’s style. Throughout her travels, Roslyn attended vintage markets and estate sales and like many antiquing junkies she acquired a lot of things. There are so many objects used in the jewellery like watches, thimbles, skulls, heart-shaped lockets, lockets, keys, coins, letters, rings, pendants, spoons and guitar picks. Fitz & Fur uses those vintage finds for bracelets, necklaces and earrings.
I had some vacation time recently and went to Roz’s cool little studio in my neighbourhood to check out the collection in person.
Fitz & Fur uses religious imagery as inspiration. The cross is a comment element found in many pieces and makes rosaries using skull shaped bone beads from Thailand. She has recast the beads in silver because it’s becoming hard to find the bone ones in Thailand.
The charm bracelets and everything but the kitchen sink necklaces are my favourites from Fitz & Fur. There is so much detail in the necklaces that you never get bored looking at it.
A lot of the pieces now are one of a kind but Roz is casting items for reuse.  I gravitate to the reclaimed items the most in the collection. For those that like something a bit more minimal there the metal chain items of the collection that plays with different sizes and lengths.
See all my photos from my visit to Fitz & Fur
There are no Canadian retailers for Fitz & Fur yet but if you like any of the pieces you can contact Roz directly at roz@ï¬tzandfur.com.
COME UP TO MY ROOM 2012, The Gladstone Hotel’s 9th Annual Alternative Design Event
January 26 – 29, 2012 (Coinciding with Toronto International Design Festival and the Interior Design Show)
Submissions Deadline: Tuesday, May 31, 2011
ATTENTION: DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS, VISUAL ARTISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, SCULPTORS, WRITERS, MUSICIANS, SET DESIGNERS, PROP MAKERS, SOUND ENGINEERS, CERAMACISTS, TEXTILE ARTISTS, CRAFTS PEOPLE, FILMOGRAPHERS, PRINT MAKERS, NEW MEDIA ARTISTS and ALL CREATIVE MAKERS:
The Gladstone Hotel seeks Expressions of Interest for innovative, cutting-edge, contemporary design and installation-based projects for The Gladstone Hotel’s annual alternative design event, COME UP TO MY ROOM. The ninth instalment of CUTMR will take place from January 26 to 29, 2012 at the historic Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto. Site-specific work will be mounted in the rooms and public spaces in the second floor Gladstone Gallery and ground floor spaces of the hotel.
Ideal candidates for juried consideration are practitioners who approach their discipline with a radical personal vision, and who use design to converse, connect, collaborate and construct delight in the unexpected.
SHOWstudio has two brilliant videos about Yohji Yamamoto. The first video is called In Conversation with Yohji Yamamoto. It’s a one and one interview with SHOWstudio.com fashion director Alexander Fury. This interview has me excited for the upcoming documentary, Yohji Yamamoto: This is my Dream.
The next video is called In Conversation, About Yohji Yamamoto.
Photographer Nick Knight, art director Marc Ascoli and graphic designer Peter Saville discuss their work on Yamamoto’s seminal 1980s catalogues in a one-off conversation chaired by Madga Keaney, captured on film and edited by Ruth Hogben.(source)
While I was in Vancouver, I learned about a New York based fashion line called Primary which has a Canadian connection. Â Vancouver native, Cleo Schroeder worked in the film industy in costume and styling before branching into design. She moved to New York to attend Parsons School of Design in 2007 as part of that transition. Primary was created in 2010 by Cleo and Steven Ahn.
The first thing you notice about Primary is this incredibly striking model staring back at you. Christina Caradona serves at model/muse for Cleo.
Leather, silk and wool are fabrics of choice for Primary luxe casual looks.
I love the whole collection with the skirts, dresses and jackets being my favourites.
DANIER x Greta Constantine collection is so good. I had no inside access to these designs this time around. Â So, the debut of the collection at the Neubacher Shor Contemporary gallery was a complete surprise. The gallery is a beautiful space with adjustable white walls, a huge window and exposed brick. It’s a great space for hanging artwork with the high ceilings.
The six look collection ranges in price from $399 for a sleeveless bolero with exaggerated lapel to $999 for an asymmetrical, draped coat with rounded back. Key colour motifs include black, slate, eggplant, walnut, and lava, in a variety of fabrics ranging from Italian lamb leather to silky suede. As part of the capsule, Kirk and Stephen designed a contemporary take on the obi belt, a welcome addition to each look.
“We sought to find a happy medium between fashion and function; to offer silhouettes that were appealing to the eye and still flattering on a variety of different body types,” explain Kirk and Stephen.
The collection features several jacket types in leather and suede options. All the jackets came in different colour ways. There were two long jackets style:  a suede asymmetrical draped coat with a raw edge ($549) and a leather asymmetrical draped coat with rounded back ($999). The two shorter jackets include a suede asymmetrical draped coat  and an asymmetrical kimono style wrap coat ($869).  Kirk and Stephen also designed the perfect leather obi belt to go with all the garments.  Out of all the jackets, I really fell in love with the grey suede asymmetrical draped coat with a raw edge.  The short purple asymmetrical draped coat has a strong siren song too.
Long grey suede coat with raw edge
Rounding out the collection was a leather shift dress ($499) in slate grey, red and black options. The sleeveless Sleeveless bolero with exaggerated lapel ($349) is the perfect little topper. It’s my second favourite piece in the collection.
asymmetrical kimono style wrap coat
The high ceilings and white walls were perfect for the debut of  the DANIER x Greta Constantine SKIN ad campaign.  Long time Greta collaborator, Gabor Jurina shot the campaign.  It featured newbie model, 17-year-old Madison(Ford).
Sleeveless bolero with exaggerated lapel
The DANIER x Greta Constantine SKIN collection will be available in 20 DANIER stores nationally for mid-August. International fans can rejoice as you will be able to order the collection online at DANIER.com.
Natalie wears the slate grey shift dress with the obi belt
The wonderful DANIER x Greta Constantine SKIN collaboration is a great signal of things to come. Â Press previews for Mark Fast and OBJECT by George Antonopoulos are coming up in the next few weeks.
See all photos from the DANIER x Greta Constantine SKIN Launch Party
