In a recent interview with I-D magazine, Toronto-based designer Jeremy Laing revealed his feelings about the state of Toronto fashion: there’s no money here, and that’s why young talent is leaving, he says. While Laing may have clients in Paris, Dallas, New York and elsewhere, he still calls Toronto his home base, because he likes to “[drop] in and then [peace] out” of international markets—he’s got a husband to come home to, and episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race to watch. (Aw, bless.) Laing also mentions that he’d like to start working on a menswear collection in the next five years. We think dudes could totally pull off bleached velvet. Read the entire story [I-D] »
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Jeremy Laing on Toronto’s fashion scene: there’s no money here
Like Revenge? One of the Graysons is hosting a party at Joe Fresh next week
Season one of Revenge is coming to a close, and as sad as that is, Joe Fresh wants to keep the Revenge fire burning by throwing a party with Christa B. Allen (Charlotte Grayson) on May 23 at its Queen and Portland location. The event is a private affair, but getting in won’t be so difficult if you have the chops of Emily Thorne or a sensei like Satoshi Takeda. If you have either of those things, you should really be using your skills to get Madeleine Stowe (Victoria Grayson) to come to this party. Ah well, at least it isn’t Connor Paolo (Declan Porter)—better known as the actor with the worst Boston accent in the history of television (at least, we think it is a Boston accent).
Glory Box’s pop-up project is back, ditching clothes and pots for patio furniture
The sweltering and humid Toronto summer is coming, and the promise of getting post-work drunk sitting outdoors is becoming mighty appealing. (It’s true, it is.) Back in December, a couple of local girls, Natalie Petozzi and Abigail Van Den Broek, threw together a Glory Box pop-up shop with 70 per cent off Le Creuset pots and designer denim. Now, they’re moving on, selling patio furniture from Andrew Richards Designs, Sunbrella, Enclover, Cana-Foam, Cabana Coast by Actiwin and more. All items will be on sale for 50 to 70 per cent off, which means you might not have to buy this season’s modular wicker chaise lounge from Restoration Hardware. (You still can, but you don’t have to.)
Glory Box, 99 Sudbury St., May 26 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and May 27 (12 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
VIDEO: Worn Fashion Journal channels Ed Wood for its latest issue
Worn Fashion Journal is at it again with its kooky videos. This time it’s a sneak peek at its brand new issue, which features an homage to the film Ed Wood set at the Gladstone Hotel. The folks at Worn use a stuffed octopus, retro X-ray glasses and a bathtub to get their vision across. We were hoping to see Johnny Depp in a blonde wig, but this will do.
48 spring/summer runway looks Joe Fresh actually produced (and they’re available in stores now)
A frequent point of contention at Toronto Fashion Week is that a lot of what we see from Joe Fresh (Joe Freezy, to us) is never actually produced. Or if it is produced, a cheaper material is substituted for leather, and it just doesn’t look the same. But Joe Fresh has stepped it up this season. A lot of what’s in stores looks exactly like it did on the runway—and, like always, it’s pretty darn cheap (most pieces are under $100, including shoes). The runway collection dropped yesterday at Freezy’s Queen and Portland, Forest Hill, Maple Leaf Gardens and Queen’s Quay locations, and according to a Joe Fresh rep, Queen and Portland and Forest Hill will have the largest selection. Joe Fresh’s awesome printed pants are in-store, but sadly the colour-blocked button-up is not. And fortunately for womankind, these leather pants have not been produced (though for some reason, this monstrosity made the cut). Check out all of the available looks and how much they cost »
Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 12: there is still no winner
This episode is the worst yet. We have no trouble saying this, because, after the promise of an actual, legit conclusion to the series, we are still left wondering who won. Marcia is up first for judging, and every single judge says exactly the same thing: she’s a great makeup artist, but her two looks do not dazzle. Why on earth does this take five minutes to report? And why couldn’t each judge say something constructive? We don’t see Marcia rolling her eyes, but as soon as Lisa Tant takes her turn to offer her own variation of the hive-mind opinion (she says it doesn’t “razzle dazzle”), our eyes roll for her. At least when Caylee shows up for judging, there’s a somewhat constructed faux rivalry developing between Coco Rocha and Tant. Rocha apparently loves Caylee’s two hairstyles, while Tant is “overwhelmed and underwhelmed.” Caylee’s hair-noose is referred to as a beard several times before the judging is over, and then Rocha drops the bomb: the show is technically not over. The viewers (we’re not the only ones?) now have to vote for their favourite online. Let the record show that this reality web series knows how to appease its sponsors…but not our curiosity. Vote for your favourite »
Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 11: the show must go on (apparently)
Canada’s Best Beauty Talent continues this week, and after last week’s elimination shocker (i.e., there wasn’t one), we were looking forward to finally finding out who won. Matthew and Jenna get the boot in the first few minutes, which leaves Caylee and Marcia to be named, respectively, best hair and best makeup talent. At this point in the episode, we make a triumphant sigh of relief because we think we made it to the very end, despite some moments when we just wanted to stop watching altogether. But we’re wrong: Coco Rocha tells the final two that there’s yet another challenge. Another challenge? Why? Please, for the love of humanity, send them both to Paris and end this thing.
We induct 13 city style icons into Toronto Life’s best-dressed hall of fame
Only a mighty few rock a signature look for a lifetime. Introducing, from our inaugural Stylebook, 13 entries into Toronto Life’s best-dressed hall of fame
Maryam Keyhani unveils her incredibly striking fall/winter accessories
You may remember Maryam Keyhani from Stylebook’s Toronto’s Most Stylish feature, but on top of being a smart dresser, she’s also an emerging accessories designer whose pieces can be found at Holt Renfrew, Joyce in Hong Kong and other retailers. In addition to becoming a global brand, Keyhani took part in Vogue Italia’s new talent showcase last year, Frieda Pinto has been spotted sporting her designs and rumour has it Madonna’s stylist placed a call for a couple of the designer’s pieces. For her fall/winter 2012 collection, Keyhani has created insane shapes with folded silks, structured metal and strands of pearls. It’s certainly not for the kind of girl who tucks a bit of coin away every paycheque for a Tiffany and Co. tennis bracelet. Keyhani’s pieces are for women who can stand to look a bit ostentatious. Take a peek at Keyhani’s impressive fall/winter 2012 collection »
The Bay on Queen is opening up 19,000 square feet for Toronto’s second Topshop
The Bay announced today that it will be opening up two new Topshop and Topman locations in Vancouver and Toronto in October—Vancouver’s shops are going to occupy a staggering 33,000 square feet of the Granville Street location, while Toronto’s new shop-in-shops will be hosted at the Bay on Queen, filling a much humbler 19,000 square feet of space. We spoke to a Topshop rep who says given the typical Queen West shopper, there’s a good likelihood that The Bay on Queen will be stocking some of Topshop’s edgier pieces. Perhaps that means Toronto will face a push for sequined Aztec leggings and, um, whatever this is.
Street Style: 16 looks at Queen Street’s baristas from east to west
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, British coffee bars employed a rule: stick to one type of clientele. Suits hung out with suits and academics hung out with academics. Even café owners and coffee pushers mimicked the type of coffee drinker they served, sartorially speaking. This romanticized old coffee culture is extinct in Toronto, though, and the style code of today’s barista has become universalized. The person serving you your first, second, third, fourth or fifth daily cup at your local indie café is almost certainly dressed casually: for the fellas, a tee or plaid shirt, jeans and facial scruff; for the ladies, a vintage ensemble. Sure, it’s exactly what you’d expect; but we think there’s something comforting about receiving your morning joe from someone who isn’t wearing a workaday uniform. In this week’s instalment of our street style series, we look at Queen Street baristas (i.e., some of the coolest coffee fiends in the city).
Should a 15-year-old girl be told she’s a supermodel? Sutherland Models thinks so
Winner Anna Stephenson (Image: CNW Group/Sutherland Models Inc)
It’s no surprise that models are in their prime when they’re young, because they’re still, well, youthful, and have yet to develop massive egos. In a competition run by the Sutherland Models agency at the Convention Centre, 15-year-old Anna Stephenson, of Toronto, took first place and was named Sutherland’s supermodel of 2012. Ann Sutherland, the agency’s president, says she is “thrilled to have found such an extraordinary new face—the next Canadian supermodel!” The question now is: will Stephenson be able to maintain a proper work-life balance? We just hope she finishes school, on the off chance that this is just an annual publicity stunt for Sutherland Models. We’d hate to see her at an auto show giggling when gentlemen ask her if she comes with the car.
Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 10: it isn’t over yet (no, seriously)
In this episode of Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, it’s judgment day for Marcia, Matt, Caylee and Jenna, and we finally get to see their red carpet looks. Caylee and Jenna create a Grecian-inspired look with lightly bronzed skin and an updo, while Matt and Marcia go for something softer with porcelain-white skin and a soft wave. However, though the judges are happy to offer up their opinions, we don’t get an actual result, because that’s being reserved for another episode. Why? We have no clue. Sigh.
Read the rest of this entry »
Did Coco Rocha look glamorous at the 2012 Met Ball?
Coco Rocha at the 2012 Met Ball (Images: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Sure, the theme for last night’s Met Ball was Schiaparelli and Prada, and yes, Coco Rocha’s look-at-me pink dye job resembles the colour Elsa Schiaparelli is famous for, but for one of the glitziest events on the fashion calendar, Rocha opted for pants. Okay. We do think this vintage Givenchy pant and matching matador-style jacket demand attention, but it’s not because they’re inherently stylish—they’re just shockingly bright. As if Rocha didn’t already get enough press (have you read Cuckoo for Coco?), here are some of the ways she begged the cameras to look at her last night: tossing her pink tendrils over a shoulder; wearing a matching pink top (as if the canary just wasn’t enough); and alerting the world to the fact that Elizabeth Taylor once wore the jacket and that it has a wine stain that won’t come out.
The Thing: this spring fashion is all about colour, colour, colour
It’s loud and fearless and showy. We like it
2012 is shaping up to be a preposterously fun year. Spring showed up early. Bryan Adams is touring again (woot woot!). And the city’s tastemakers are all wearing super-bright colours. It’s a trend inspired by nostalgia for the sporty vibe of the ’80s and ’90s: neon is back, and while there aren’t any jumpsuits, casual is the thing (sorry, Mad Men). But this time around, it’s more sophisticated.
Click here to check out our colour-crazy spring fashion spread »
