America’s Next Top Model is in its 18th season cycle, and it is making its way to Toronto Fashion Week on this week’s episode—not New York, Milan, Paris, London or Berlin, but Toronto. Of course, the cycle was filmed when Jay Manuel was still a figurehead for Attitude by Sears, so the episode will probably serve as a bit of a PR campaign, but a teaser trailer reveals that Kimberley Newport-Mimran will also be getting some screen time. The aspiring models will be going on go-sees for Toronto Fashion Week, and in a conversation on the runway with a model, Mimsy flat-out tells her that if she can’t walk, she could ruin the show. Real talk.
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Jean-Pierre Braganza plays with purple and brings the puffy shirt back for fall/winter 2012
Jean-Pierre Braganza greets his public (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
The last day of fashion shows in Toronto finally came yesterday, and after a grueling almost-three weeks, the editors can now shelve their Longchamps and Louboutins and settle into sweats and sneakers. “The ShOws” at the Ritz-Carlton presented Jean-Pierre Braganza’s collection (the only designer to return from last season) to a busier room than Monday evening. Since “the ShOws” are more designed for the media than the socialite crowd, we noticed the usual suspects: Flare’s Liz Cabral, Glen Baxter, the Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy, the Globe and Mail’s Tiyana Grulovic, editor David Livingston and Now’s Andrew Sardone. The funniest moment came when Livingston booted a bunch of very fancy-looking ladies from his seat (don’t worry, they still managed to find a front row spot). Check out Jean-Pierre Braganza’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
GALLERY: 58 shots from Jean-Pierre Braganza’s fall/winter 2012 show
Just a month after showing his fall/winter 2012 collection at London Fashion Week, Jean-Pierre Braganza joined “the ShOws” to give Toronto a special preview of the collection. We saw cathedral prints in vibrant reds, pinks, oranges and yellows, fur (obviously, it’s winter), and a series of voluminous sleeves on sweaters (which we’re not totally convinced is something most women would wear). Check out Jean-Pierre Braganza’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
Our 12 favourite looks from Toronto Fashion Week fall/winter 2012
Look after look marched down the runway, from young emerging designers like Chloé Comme Parris and Sid Neigum to titans Joe Fresh and Pink Tartan, and to be perfectly honest, the task of narrowing down the list to 12 great looks was no easy task. Who made the list? Here, our 12 favourite looks from Toronto Fashion Week
Toronto Fashion Week’s best dressed: fall/winter 2012
We see so many people during Toronto Fashion Week, and while some people get all of their costume jewellery out for the occasion, we sometimes prefer a look that is a bit more understated and refined. That said, as usual, the attendees of Toronto Fashion Week really stepped up their game, from channeling the Queen of the Nile to pulling off this season’s hottest Pantone: Tangerine Tango. We selected 16 of Toronto Fashion Week’s best dressed—did you make the cut? Click here to see who did »
Ruffian channels Downton Abbey and sexy librarians for its fall/winter 2012 collection
“The ShOws” second presentation of the evening came from New York–based label Ruffian, created by Brian Wolk and Claude Morais (Morais is from Montreal, while Wolk is a New York native). Fortunately for organizer Paola Fullerton, more guests flooded the Ritz-Carlton at the 7:30 p.m. show, like Zoomer’s Suzanne Boyd, Flare’s Lisa Tant (just back from Paris) and Citytv’s Mary Kitchen. Check out Ruffian’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
GALLERY: 44 shots from Ruffian’s fall/winter 2012 collection
Last night at the Ritz-Carlton, Ruffian showed its Downton Abbey–meets–sexy secretary fall/winter 2012 collection, complete with high ruffles, bowler hats and lace and button detailing. Check out Ruffian’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
David Szeto mixes feminine and masculine details for his spring, er, fall/winter 2012 collection
Just when we think we’re out, we get pulled back in. Though Toronto Fashion Week officially ended last Friday, the last of the shows come from “the ShOws,” a designer spotlight at the Ritz-Carlton. “The ShOws” (we can’t get over how much we despise that capital O) focus on bringing Canadian talent that shows internationally back to Canada, and first up was David Szeto, a Vancouver native who is now based in Belgium but presents in Paris—Szeto has had his own label since 2004. The ShOws are thought to be a more exclusive invite than Toronto Fashion Week (you can’t purchase a ticket for these), which is a great idea in theory, but in practice, at the 5:30 p.m. show, it meant a lot of empty seats. We spotted typical fashion faces like Flare’s Liz Cabral, InFashion’s Glen Baxter, designer Jeremy Laing (who will show tonight) and the Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy, but perhaps due to last week’s fashion overload or timing, many front row seats were left empty until organizers told guests to move forward. The funniest moment came at the end of the show, when the heavy overhead lights remained on but the music stopped, leaving guests (except editor David Livingston and Baxter, both of whom bolted quickly) glued to their seats for fear of ruining a photographer’s photos, whilst awkwardly exchanging glances with others to see if it was all right to stand. Check out David Szeto’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
GALLERY: 37 shots from David Szeto’s fall/winter 2012 collection at “the ShOws”
David Szeto showed his fall/winter 2012 collection at the Ritz-Carlton last night, and although there were some missteps in styling, we dug how Szeto balanced masculine and feminine details in his series of dresses, jackets and pants. Check out David Szeto’s complete fall/winter 2012 collection »
The Scene: a doctor channels Flava Flav and Stacey McKenzie is a bombshell
Designers were everywhere in the tents on Friday night, from Evan Biddell to Linda Lundström, and spirits were considerably high, despite the fact that over 30 shows had passed and fatigue was finally starting to set in. Did we spot you in The Scene? Check out who channeled Flava Flav and more »
Jeanne Beker found her inner model and WWE wrestler Trish Stratus found herself a man at the Dare to Wear Love gala
After a full week (and then some) of shows and parties, the fashion elite and well-to-do guests tend to let loose at the Dare to Wear Love gala fundraiser, which has closed out Fashion Week since 2009. At this year’s festivities, socialite Biko Beauttah out-dressed the rest of the front row in a gold Queen of the Nile get-up, complete with a lion diadem, and model Stacey McKenzie hopped up out of her seat to boogie with reggae singer Errol Blackwood during a mid-show performance. Singer Divine Brown and designer Brian Bailey were content to watch, but Jeanne Beker took her turn doing the catwalk thing—complete with a model pout—in a Greta Constantine dress. David Dixon, Izzy Camilleri and Adrian Wu were among those who designed outfits using African print fabric, all to benefit the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Check out the Dare to Wear show »
GALLERY: 64 shots from the Dare to Wear Love show at Toronto Fashion Week
Dare to Wear Love (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
The Stephen Lewis Foundation hosted its annual celebrity-filled Dare to Wear Love show in support of HIV and AIDS relief efforts in Africa on Friday night. Models this year included CityLine’s Tracy Moore and singer Sarah Slean, and they wore designs by Linda Lundström, David Dixon, Wesley Badanjak, Jason Meyers and more. Check out the celebrities in the Dare to Wear Love show »
Can Arthur Mendonça make patent leather glamorous and sexy for fall/winter 2012?
Arthur Mendonça takes a bow (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Though Arthur Mendonça’s show was at 4 p.m. on a Friday of a very long Toronto Fashion Week, his team of cheerleaders, like Pink Tartan’s Kimberley Newport-Mimran (with daughter Jacqui in tow), Stacey McKenzie (who had a near wardrobe malfunction in a low-cut blazer), the Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy and a late-arriving Jully Black (who had to have the front row squish in to accommodate her), all came to check out this season’s wares. Check out Arthur Mendonça’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
GALLERY: 73 shots from Arthur Mendonça’s fall/winter 2012 show
Arthur Mendonça’s fall/winter 2012 show proved to us that he’s still the same designer he once was, offering sexy clothes that a variety of women would want to wear, from a glossy patent leather rain jacket to an acid yellow gown. It was a mostly impressive showing, and truth be told, we didn’t find the A Clockwork Orange–style bowler hats one bit hokey.
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GALLERY: 42 shots from Rad Hourani’s fall/winter 2012 collection
Futuristic unisex looks abound at Rad Hourani’s Friday night show at Toronto Fashion Week, and we loved every last one. Mossy and khaki green wools and felts were paired with thick, buttery leather to create his vision of what our future will look like (and surely director Michael Anderson deserves some credit, too). Check out Rad Hourani’s fall/winter 2012 collection »
