Rachel Zoe, stylist to the stars and subject of a Bravo show called the Rachel Zoe Project, will be in Toronto on Monday, Aug. 15 at the Bloor Street Holt Renfrew from 2 to 3:30 p.m. to launch her new collection of women’s clothing, footwear and handbags. It’s not unusual for Bravo stars to have side projects (who can forget Real Housewives of New York’s Countess von Auto-Tune Luann’s and Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kim Zolciak’s singing “careers”?), which is why we’re not caught off guard by Zoe’s high-end debut (after all, she has already created collections for the prestigious QVC network). It remains to be seen whether people will go “bananas” for clothing exactly like Zoe’s (oversized sunglasses, wide-legged trousers, kooky chapeau, and a fur vest), but if ladies are looking to attract their very own Brad Goreski, this is as good a place as any to start.
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We don’t “die,” but Rachel Zoe is still coming to Holt Renfrew in August
Uncle Otis, one of the few Toronto businesses that has matured with its clientele, turns 20
Uncle Otis is 20 years old. (Image: Tony Enns)
When Yorkville men’s boutique Uncle Otis turned 20, they had booze sponsors, Toronto’s top DJs—Brendan Canning, John Kong, DJ Serious and designer Hiroshi Awai—and a Red Bull patio packed on a Sunday afternoon-turned-evening with what owner Donnell Enns describes as “fashion types, music-heads, industry people and people that shop at the store and appreciate what we do.” Since taking over in 2000 and bringing in manager–co-buyer and fashionable gent Martin James in 2009, Enns transformed Uncle Otis from go-to street style (think Stussy and Supreme) to upscale emporium with casual lines like Dunderdon, Rag and Bone, Wings and Horns, Klaxon Howl and Kin by Sydney’s. But a company can’t typically last 20 years without encountering a few bumps, and Uncle Otis saw its share—from recessions to inflation to staff changes—but the store survived and prospered through a period fuelled by what Enns calls “naïveté.”
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Club Monaco likes men—a lot—beginning this October
Toronto dudes disappointed with the news that the city’s first J. Crew store will be ladies only should be happy to learn that Club Monaco has opted to do something for those oh-so hard-done-by fellas, much like Ben Sherman’s latest “let’s hear it for the boy” endeavour. The store’s flagship locations on Bloor Street and in New York City’s Flatiron District will retool their men’s sections this October, partnering with Michael Williams—founder of the popular menswear blog A Continuous Lean—to bring in brands like Wolverine footwear, Archival Clothing, Cunningham Classic Sports Equipment and more. Pop-up shops and brands aligning themselves with bloggers aren’t new concepts by any stretch of the imagination, but thanks in part to Club Monaco and A Continuous Lean, this city is soon going to be rolling in Japanese selvage and military tarp–lined, um, everything
Tenue de Nîmes taps Canadian cult denim brand Naked and Famous for a 24-piece exclusive
It isn’t every day that a Canadian brand teams up with an international boutique for a collaboration, and since the Hudson’s Bay Company’s team-up with France’s Colette seems like a distant memory, we were pleased to see that Canadian success story Naked and Famous has launched a collaboration with Dutch denim boutique Tenue de Nîmes—but we should mention that this pair of jeans is far more exclusive than the average pair of Levi’s. Tenue de Nîmes announced today that the online boutique is carrying only 24 of the 100 per cent made-in-Canada rope-dyed pants, going for 219 euros (308 Canadian dollars) a pop. See details of this limited edition denim after the jump.
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Reaction Roundup: H&M announces collaboration with Versace, most people make jokes
Donatella looks to the Versace archives for her collaboration with H&M (Image: H&M)
H&M announced another collaboration today, this time with Versace (available in North America on November 19). We won’t bore you with the details, because every H&M-designer pairing is the same—limited production (causing mass hysteria and hordes of fans lining up at 4 a.m. to snag the goods) and designer wear at bargain prices. Instead, we present the reaction of Toronto’s fashion community to the news. Writer Sarah Nicole Prickett tweeted “Versace’s up next at H&M. Another hit I’m sure. But a bit of the thrill’s gone out of this hi-lo game no?” and joked that customers would receive a “Donatella-hued self-tanner with purchase,” while the National Post’s Nathalie Atkinson hoped “the just-announced Versace for H&M fall collab (“full of leather, print, colour & exuberance”) ads [would] star Maya Rudolph.” The Grid’s Kate Carraway mocked the press release, noting that “‘Versace is a brand steeped in glamour to its very core’ is just a bad sentence.” As for us, we’re just hoping there’s some Nomi Malone–type items, because we plan to stay orange and tanned until December, and we want to look our best.
Introducing: TNT’s latest facelift in Hazelton Lanes
TNT adds square footage to its Hazelton Lanes empire (Image: Carole Park)
The place: Hot on the heels of its 20th anniversary, TNT’s three Hazelton Lanes location moved around to help unify the separate spaces strewn throughout the shopping centre. TNT has taken over Teatro Verde’s past location, and the spaces that were home to Greg Couillard’s Spice Room and David Nganga’s Mayata now house TNT’s selection of women’s fashions, accessories and shoes. Even the store’s men’s department has a wider selection, since it has taken over the more spacious area on the upper level of Hazelton Lanes (formerly the women’s section). The two sleek spaces offer a combined total of 18,000 square feet of shopping, allowing patrons to peruse more merchandise at once (which we love, because will no longer have to run from TNT gallerie to TNT blu to make separate purchases). Check out the store in a gallery after the jump.
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The Bay releases a first look at its high-end collaboration with Canadian ex-pat Erdem Moraliuglo
The Bay is full of surprises these days, and today it leaked images from its much-anticipated bespoke collection with London-based Canadian designer Erdem Moraliuglo. The print-happy designer will debut his exclusive-to-The-Room collection for fall 2011, and The Bay promises a series of pieces inspired by “jungle orchids.” Vancouver is getting its own Room for fall 2011, which means there are only two locations to pick up these several-of-a-kind items, making this a coup worth noting. If only Moraliuglo didn’t have to move away to get our attention.
Holt Renfrew announces major brand acquisitions for fall, including exclusive rights to Tom Ford’s women’s collection
Now more than ever, Toronto’s biggest fashion retailers are engaged in a battle of the brands, with Holt Renfrew and The Bay going punch for punch for high-street supremacy. Measuring whose stock is up these days seems to depend on who can gain exclusive rights to a high-profile collection (or, as mentioned last week, a celebrity endorsement), and today Holt Renfrew announced that it would be the exclusive Canadian retailer for Tom Ford’s much-hyped fall 2011 women’s collection. But that wasn’t the only good news this morning: Barbara Atkin, Holt Renfrew’s vice-president of fashion direction, announced the acquisition of Givenchy’s men’s collection, the Pendleton Portland collection for women and, for those fans of the Olsen twins, their collaboration with TOMS Shoes. Suddenly, it seems like the consumer is being pulled by the arms in two directions, from Queen Street West and Bloor Street. Should anyone’s limbs fall off, we’re sure somebody will have exclusive rights to designer prosthetics next month.
Evan Biddell returns to preview his fall 2011 collection in Toronto after a long departure in Vancouver
During fashion week, whether on- or off-site, there has always been—at least since he won Project Runway Canada—the presence of Evan Biddell. That is, until the fall 2011 shows at LG Fashion Week, where we learned that Biddell had moved to Vancouver and there was no whisper of when he’d return. This likely brought out a mixed bag of emotions from Toronto’s most fashionable, since people seem to either love or hate the sometimes wild designer, but we’re excited to note that Biddell will be previewing his fall 2011 collection at UPC Boutique in Yorkville on May 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Those looking to attend must RSVP, but space is limited, and likely reserved for Biddell’s closest critics.
See the New Labels competition collections, because they’ll all be sold at TNT in Yorkville this fall
Ashtiani named winner at TFI’s New Labels (Image: George Pimentel)
Last week’s New Labels showcase at the Design Exchange brought out boldface retail names like Holt Renfrew’s Natalie Lecomte, The Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy and TNT. Unlike LG Fashion Week, where buyers have seen everything months prior, this was a first look at emerging designer goods, and it prompted TNT to scoop up a selection. Coming this fall to the Yorkville retailer will be pieces from finalists Caitlin Power by Caitlin Power, Ashtiani by Golnaz Ashtiani and Narces by Nikki Wirthensohn. See each designer’s full collection after the jump.
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Introducing: Domison, where Canadian-made furniture is affordable
Introducing Domison, the latest in Toronto's custom furniture game (Image: Carole Park)
The place: Across the street from St. Lawrence Market in a cluster of furniture shops is a glass storefront that invites pedestrians to peer inside a 3,500-square-foot showroom by award-winning interior design firm Blazysgerard. To break up the stark-white open space, designers Alexandre Blazys and Benoit Gérard placed black metal columns as contrasting graphic inserts.
New Michael Kors flagship store coming to Bloor Street
Michael Kors at his New York Fashion Week show last year (Image: Masaki-H)
It seems that Bloor Street’s recent makeover—complete with new granite sidewalks, London plane trees and sleek, minimalist bike racks—is starting to pay off. First, designer label emporium Intermix announced that its first Canadian location would grace the Mink Mile, and now we hear—courtesy of Toronto Star fashion writer Derick Chetty—that Michael Kors will be opening a flagship store on Bloor sometime soon.
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Introducing: Lost and Found, the Dundas West boutique carrying Charlotte Ronson and (soon) Uniqlo
Lost and Found’s industrial-chic space (Image: Laura Cameron)
The place: Lost and Found, a new clothing boutique and espresso bar, feels right at home in the mixed bag of vintage shops, hair salons and hip restaurants of Little Portugal. Plywood floors and exposed brick walls enclose a space furnished with vintage pieces. Co-owners Zai Rajkotwala and Jonathan Elias offer brands that aren’t available elsewhere in the city. Rajkotwala, a fashion school grad, chooses the women’s clothing and Elias, a former merchandiser for The Gap, buys for men. A third partner, Justin Veiga, handles the coffee side of the business.
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Introducing: Sara Duke Factory Store, the new Bloordale location for the designer’s creations
The spare display at Sarah Duke’s new store (Images: Glynnis Mapp)
The place: Sara Duke’s Factory Store is a sight for sore sartorial eyes along the quietly gentrifying section of Bloor Street West between Lansdowne and Dufferin (“gentlemen’s club” House of Lancaster notwithstanding). Some vintage retail shops offer kin company—namely furniture–meets–fashion store Lost and Found and 69 Vintage—but it’s been a while since this ’hood has welcomed a new clothing hub, and a bespoke one at that.
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Ben Mulroney: fashion designer?
He’s not a full-on designer yet, but Ben Mulroney is going to develop a line of, wait for it, pocket squares! He’s partnering with Canadian tie-makers Braemore Neckwear to do it, but why? Well, according to the press release, Mulroney says “most men don’t take advantage of the best way to distinguish themselves: a breast pocket square.” And he seems to mean it—we looked through photos of the eTalk host over the years (see our slide show of Ben’s 10 Best Pocket Square Moments) and could only find two instances of him in a suit sans pocket square, and that was back in 2003 and 2006. But then, we also found a photo of him wearing this. In Toronto, the line will be carried at Holt Renfrew, Got Style and Ted’s Style Shoppe.
Begin the Ben Mulroney Pocket Square Slide Show >>
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