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).
A compendium of the latest store openings, hottest parties and runway shows and all the buzzy fashion gossip. Sign up for the Style newsletter for weekly updates
A small slice of Uniqlo is now available in Toronto
Fans of Japanese fast fashion label Uniqlo will be excited to note that Queen Street West’s Community 54 launched a small capsule collection of the brand’s Andy Warhol collaboration this weekend. The shop will be be carrying a limited selection of T-shirts ($50) and a sampling of Uniqlo’s popular—and relatively inexpensive—denim ($85). This is the second coming of Uniqlo to Toronto—last year, Lost and Found was selling the company’s plain T-shirts. Now it’s officially time for Community 54’s 15 minutes. Check out a selection of the Uniqlo collection »
The Room at The Bay to host a party with Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy in late May
Coco Rocha models a Rodarte dress for The Room (Image: The Bay)
The Bay announced yesterday that it is bringing the Rodarte sisters to Toronto for an intimate party at The Room on May 23. It is an opportunity for The Bay to showcase Rodarte’s Room-sold fall/winter 2012 collection, but also, we imagine, it’s a way to get back into the swing of things in a big way—we were at parties at The Room quite regularly last year, and lately we haven’t heard a peep. (Well, outside of the wait-in-a-line-and-pay-to-see-Kim-Kardashian opportunity.) Rumour has it The Bay is orchestrating a public appearance for shoppers on May 24, but no official details have been reported.
Anna Dello Russo to launch accessories collection for H&M
The last time Anna Dello Russo was in town, she told us that she likes “fantasy and garbage,” and now ADR is bringing her brand of fantasy and garbage to H&M with an accessories collection collab debuting October 4 at 140 stores worldwide. The collection of accessories will be available in Toronto at the Eaton Centre and Bloor Street H&M locations. A sneak preview reveals that the majority of the collection will feature rose gold (like an adorable whale-shaped clasp) with turquoise and tangerine accents.
Kim Kardashian making a public appearance at The Bay for an hour (and only an hour)
Kim Kardashian (Image: Eva Rinaldi)
Fans of Kim Kardashian—who became famous through a certain exhibition of her, um, bedroom antics—will get the opportunity to spend money to meet her on May 10 at The Bay on Queen Street from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. (customers who spend $50 or more on items from her Belle Noel collection may get the opportunity to snap a photo and chat with her, time permitting). We really hope Kris Jenner, her “momager,” comes along—who wouldn’t want to get their copy of her literary world–shaking book signed?
Walmart isn’t fun like Target, say analysts
Discount retailer Walmart isn’t sitting on its thumbs while Target prepares for its expansion into Canada next year—Walmart is planning to remodel and open 73 new Canadian stores this year, bringing the number of locations to almost 400. Walmart investors are set to meet in Toronto on Wednesday and Thursday next week to discuss the Canadian retail market and, presumably, prepare for the company’s biggest competitor since its arrival in 1999. Director of global research for Planet Retail Natalie Berg told Reuters that Target “has the fun factor. They will come in and wow Canadian shoppers. Walmart will have no choice but to become even fiercer on price.” And we can’t say we disagree, considering Target has really built a good reputation with buzzed-about clothing and home decor collaborations, while Walmart has relied on being the lowest price guaranteed. It’ll be interesting to see how low Walmart will go in its pricing and fun strategies. Read the full story [Montreal Gazette] »
Target will be under federal review for its lack of CanCon prior to its arrival in 2013
Before Target can land on Canadian soil next spring, the federal government has launched a review of the company’s practices to ensure that enough Canadian content will sit on the shelves. Instigated by Heritage Minister James Moore, the review, under the Investment Canada Act, focuses on Target’s future book, DVD, music and magazine offerings. The act “requires foreign investment in the…book industry to be of net cultural benefit to Canada,” says Department of Canadian Heritage spokesman James Maunder. It’s not the first time Moore has ordered an Investment Canada Act review—in 2010, the department ordered a review of big-time book seller Amazon’s proposal to set up a warehouse in Canada. The move was okayed, with conditions that Amazon invest more than $20 million, including $1.5 million for cultural events and awards, promoting Canadian-authored books abroad. Target plans to open between 125 and 135 Canadian stores, after a deal brokered with the Hudson’s Bay Company saw the retail giant purchase former Zellers locations. The American company—which employs more than 355,500 people in 1,763 stores—is 109 years old, with revenues of more than $67 billion (U.S.) last fiscal year—Walmart is the only larger discount retailer in North America. All we can say is we’ll welcome another place to buy a copy of Margaret Atwood’s latest release, Degrassi DVDs, Blue Rodeo CDs and Chatelaine all under one roof.
Club Monaco will be opening its online shop to Canada soon
Model with a Tommy Ton for Club Monaco bag (Image: Club Monaco)
After sleepless nights spent trying in vain to find anything other than pictures of a white button-down and some khakis on Club Monaco’s website, our prayers have been answered: the Joe Mimran–founded chain has announced its expansion into online retail, with the U.S. web store launching March 26 and the Canadian one following suit on April 11. (Our prayers had it the other way around, but we’ll take what we can get.) The embrace of Web 2.0 doesn’t stop there: fans of the Facebook page get a head start on the shopping on March 23 in the U.S. and April 10 in Canada. At least on the Internet there’s no danger of getting socked in the eye over a Tommy Ton bag.
Introducing: Philip Sparks, Ossington’s latest shop for the dandiest men (and women)
Fresh off the success of his pop-up shop on Ossington (extended three months past its expected close date) and celebrating five years of being in business, designer Philip Sparks is opening his first standalone retail space in an airy former garage just off Ossington on Foxley. Though it looks tiny from the exterior, the space is deceptively large—there’s a hidden downstairs level almost twice the size of the main floor. The shop is replete with the requisite knick-knacks of many new store (and restaurant) openings, like vintage roller skates and typewriters, but these curios actually have some backstory: Sparks has owned one of the typewriters for years (it was actually used to fashion a modified version of his logo signage) and picked up the others over years of visiting flea markets with his partner, Now magazine’s Andrew Sardone. The official opening is this Saturday, with more merchandise for men and women coming in daily (Sparks says it should be fully stocked by the end of March), but the entire collection is not yet in store. Take a tour of Philip Sparks’ new shop in our photo gallery after the jump »
Another win for Yorkdale mall: Tory Burch is set to open a store
The words “Yorkdale mall” used to conjure images of too many teenagers hanging around the Rainforest Café, but the mall has been on a bender of adding chichi new retailers in the past few years—Canada’s first J. Crew, Michael Kors, Burberry, Tiffany and Co. In May, the mall will be home to Canada’s first Tory Burch store. Tory Burch is known for her preppy bohemian aesthetic and has earned a slew of accolades, including being named one of Forbes’ most powerful women in the world in 2010 and one of Glamour’s women of the year in 2011, and winning the CFDA award for accessory designer of the year in 2008. The new Yorkdale store will be a 2,500-square-foot space housing the breadth of Burch’s collection, including ready-to-wear pieces, shoes, handbags, eyewear, jewellery and small leather goods. There will even be a bookshelf with iPads for beleaguered boyfriends and husbands. Now we’ve got yet another reason to brave those intimidating teens—maybe we’ll just steer clear of the movie theatre.
Dandy man Philip Sparks is opening up a real store (no more pop-up shops for him!)
Philip Sparks is opening a store (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Philip Sparks fans who are tired of waiting for that interminably slow elevator in the Burroughes building (or, Heaven forfend, walking those five flights of stairs) will be happy to learn that the designer is finally opening a permanent retail space on Ossington. Set to open on March 15 at 162 Ossington Avenue (beside Ideal Coffee), the Sparks retail store will house his men’s and women’s collections, though footwear won’t be sold in-store right away. This will be one of Ossington’s few clothing retailers (save for Jonathan and Olivia and a smattering of vintage dealers) among a sea of bars—here’s hoping Sparks gets some extra-boozy brunch traffic.
J. Crew is getting a second Toronto location (and the fellas are included this time!)
Oh hey, J. Crew man (Image: J. Crew)
Dear J. Crew,
The fashionable men of this city were a little miffed when they were left out of your first foray into Toronto retail. But we just received your e-mail, and were pleased to note that the second J. Crew store, which will be opening in the Eaton Centre in the fall, will indeed include J. Crew’s classic menswear. Sure, you’ll be carrying womenswear too, and this store won’t look anything like the men’s shop in New York, but you’re trying, and we appreciate that. Are you opening up in the spot that Esprit is vacating? All we know at the moment is that the shop is 8,287 square feet on one floor—sounds large enough, but we sadly don’t have the time right now to bring a measuring tape into the Eaton Centre to double-check. Also, we hope you’ve sorted all of the earlier pricing snafus, although considering your attitude toward the last scandal, we doubt it. But seriously, thanks for coming to Toronto. Let’s hear it for the boys.
Best,
The Goods
Update: J. Crew will officially open its Eaton Centre location in October.
Jason Wu for Target pop-up store comes to Toronto for one day only (elbows out, chin up)
Jason Wu for Target (Image: Target)
Even though Toronto is still a year away from getting its first Target store, Torontonians who love designer collabs and bargains will get a one-day shot at snagging a few pieces from the Jason Wu for Target collection next week. Target will be selling 2,500 garments from the highly coveted collection at a pop-up store at 363 King Street West on February 23—and word is that Wu himself will show up. The line sold out ridiculously quickly across the U.S. (even Michelle Obama got in on the action), so get ready to battle some sharp-elbowed ladies and gents for the goods—there’s a three-item maximum (sorry, eBay resellers), so we recommend a pre-game perusal of the collection online. The best bit (besides the cheap designer duds, of course) is that the proceeds from the sale will go to United Way Toronto. Everyone wins (except for the people who wait a long time in line and miss out on the things they actually wanted).
Walmart might have Happy Meals, but Target Canada will have venti chai lattes
The much-anticipated Target Canada has announced it will be partnering with Starbucks beginning in spring 2013. Senior vice-president of merchandising for Target Canada John Morioka says the company’s goal is to bring the “true Target shopping experience to Canadian guests, so expanding [the] relationship with Starbucks is a natural fit.” Most of the 135 Canadian stores will include a Starbucks outlet, continuing in the 12-year American tradition of selling frappuccinos to people who still say things like “Tar-jay” in the comfort of a Target store.Introducing: CB2, a middle finger to all surrounding furniture shops on Queen West (also, it used to be the Big Bop)
CB2, 651 Queen St. W. (Images: Fraser Abe)
Nothing seems to get Torontonians going like an American chain finally opening its first Canadian store here (take that, Vancouver and Montreal). So naturally, the feverish frenzy surrounding the opening of CB2—Crate and Barrel’s younger, hipper sister—wasn’t unexpected. We’ve been anxiously awaiting the new arrival for well over a year, so we took it as no surprise that on the Sunday we visited, hundreds of shoppers enjoying the unseasonable weather were crowding the space, taking seats on virtually every couch in the place (Morba who? Design Republic what? Urban Barn where?). The space is a far cry from previous tenant the Big Bop, and the landlords have completely renovated the exterior—there’s no more hideous does-it-contain-lead purple paint, and the brick has been beautifully restored and cast aside a heck of a lot of glass. Mid-century modern furniture rules here, for prices slightly more affordable than fellow mid-century modern purveyors Design Within Reach. Get the lowdown on CB2’s penchant for shockingly bright colours, our favourite items and some scratchy sheets in a gallery after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
