Toronto Fashion Week, while “not New York,” “not Paris” and “not blah, blah, blah,” is still a busy time of year (it happens twice—that’s about one entire month), and our dogs were certainly barking. We looked over our comprehensive runway coverage from fall/winter 2011 and spring/summer 2012 and have pieced together 12 looks that stood out (to us) as the best of the bunch. Say hello to Joe Fresh (yes, seriously), Pink Tartan, Chloé Comme Parris, Calla, and more in our gallery after the jump.

Check out our top 12 looks from 2011’s Toronto Fashion Weeks »

There are many criteria for being considered “best dressed” by any person, website or publication, but what we were looking for this season was someone who wore an outfit or accessory with confidence, to a point where even if we weren’t sure we’d wear it ourselves, we’re glad they did. Among our favourites were: Suzanne Rogers, wearing head-to-toe Louis Vuitton with a little dash of David Dixon; Suzanne Boyd, wearing an original Mountie hat and structured jacket; style scribe Sarah Nicole Prickett and her sister Amy, who proved that siblings don’t always borrow each other’s clothes; and hair stylist Tony Pham, who picked the perfect accessories to complement a vibrant mohair sweater and an even more vibrant pair of leggings. Find out which of our stylish shots this week made the list for Toronto Fashion Week’s best dressed.

Check out Toronto Fashion Week’s best dressed »

Toronto Fashion Week is over, which means it is time to take all of the “CanadaCool” trends we learned about last week and implement them in real life. Our final look at the trends from last week is a series of prints, from Fair Isle scarves to African textiles to a metallic fringe jacket with zebra stripes. We always say that if you’re going to dress like an animal, it should be the most haute animal—no stylish zebra would ever be caught dead without a little sprinkling of bling. But the zebra isn’t the only animal kingdom A-lister, since the world is full of glamorous animals, including the sporty lion, who never leaves home without his fur vest and contrasting waistcoat (a lion never knows when he’ll have to look his best for an unscheduled networking opportunity). We just love that Canada’s coolest kids were showing some colour this fashion week, and so brazenly, too—without it, we’d all just have dark and cold clothing to match how bummed out everyone felt for having to wait in line for 40 minutes for an already-late show.

Images: Erin Simkin

The penultimate fashion show, ending two long weeks of air kissing and finagling for front-row seats, was David Dixon’s eponymous line. The socialites may have been exhausted, but we still spotted long-time supporter Suzanne Rogers, Dixon’s brother and Daytime Toronto host Glenn, Jenna Bitove, Lovas designer Wesley Badanjak and Fashion Television host Jeanne Beker. Our favourite looks were the lace overlays on top of shimmery ivory in skirts, minis and a boat-neck top that would be perfect for summer parties. Similarly ideal for getting gussied up was the white trench with a stripe of black at the hem with floral appliqués. Check out our review and a gallery featuring David Dixon’s full spring/summer 2012 collection after the jump.

Check out David Dixon’s spring/summer 2012 collection »

Dixon’s styling seemed bolder and edgier this year, and we loved the cocktail rings, metallic ropes, a cross-shoulder chain and leather cuffs with attached chains that saved two black evening gowns from being otherwise unremarkable. The oversized butterfly print Dixon used on a one-shoulder black dress and an exposed back number wasn’t a crowd favourite (one nearby guest was overheard remarking, “It looks so Shopping Channel”), and some looks—like a knee-length halter and a series of long black dresses—weren’t really inventive enough for a runway show. Dixon’s show won’t have the fashion media scrambling to crown him the new king of cool, but many women will find something to covet in this season’s collection—even if they buy it on The Shopping Channel.

David Dixon spring/summer 2012 (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Check out all of the hits and misses from the David Dixon spring/summer 2012 show at Toronto Fashion Week, including sheer overlays, silk flower appliqués and a few ho-hum designs (Check out our review, and cruise the gallery after the jump to check out the entire show).

Click on to see our start-to-finish gallery from the David Dixon spring/summer 2012 runway »

As day five drew to a close and fatigue from a long week began to set in, Denis Gagnon presented his spring/summer 2012 collection, reminding us why we love fashion week. In a collection entitled “Denise in the Garden,” the Montreal veteran made a return to florals after season upon season of black, white, black and, well, black. The front row was packed with Gagnon fans, including Jeanne Beker (wearing a black-and-white striped blazer from the spring/summer 2011 collection), Zoomer’s Suzanne Boyd, Greta Constantine boys Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong, Fashion magazine’s Bernadette Morra, hairstylist Tony Pham, the Star’s Derick Chetty and InFashion’s Glen Baxter. The show began with a somewhat drawn-out (though beautifully shot) video featuring Gagnon in a woodsy cottage sipping champagne (a sponsor) and looking out at models who cautiously wandered through a forest dressed in the collection. We can’t say we really understood it, but the ominous music kept us glued to the screen, wondering what would happen next. As the lights dimmed, the brash sound of an accordion broke the silence and playful French crooning filled the room as models skipped down the runway, twirling, winking, waving, blowing kisses and making cheeky faces at the audience before hamming it up for the cameras at the end of the runway (one person commented that the models looked as though they could have been on acid). Check out our review and the complete Denis Gagnon spring/summer 2012 gallery after the jump.

Check out Denis Gagnon’s complete spring/summer 2012 collection »

A dense, embroidery-like floral print took centre stage alongside cropped pants, pleated skirts, short shorts, cropped jackets, sheer blouses with pleated silk fronts, leather bustiers, tuxedo-inspired jumpers and sleeveless jackets—all accented with leather-strap details. The collection still had much of the black, white and leather we’ve come to expect from Gagnon, but the floral accents kept pieces playful and fresh, while many of the models wore sneakers and actually looked like they were enjoying themselves. Accessories included diamonds from Birks, floral clutches, knapsacks, simple leather-strap bracelets and leather visors, and our favourites included a cropped leather jacket with jersey sleeves and leather-strap closures, floral cropped pants, and a long, billowy black dress with white leather belt-like straps. Keeping with the playful theme, the show closed with an odd wedding between two models that, again, we didn’t really understand, but accepted because the collection had been so fun to watch. As Gagnon took his bow like a rock star, flocked by models, the crowd roared with applause and the buzz continued all the way out to the street as we bid farewell to David Pecaut Square until next season.

Denis Gagnon spring/summer 2012 (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Check out all of the hits and misses from Denis Gagnon’s spring/summer 2012 show at Toronto Fashion Week, including acid-trip florals, bridal wear and some great tuxedo detailing (check out our review, and cruise the gallery after the jump to see the entire show).

Click on to see our start-to-finish gallery from Denis Gagnon’s spring/summer 2012 runway »

What says “CanadaCool” more than the coolest Canadian colour? (We’re talking about red, obviously.) Frankly, our favourite kind of cheetah is the very rare, ever-elusive fire-engine-red variety, and we were so pleased to see one out and about and on the prowl. Also, mark our words: red velvet is the new black velvet (sorry, Alannah Myles), and nothing says “I’m an aesthete” like matching your perky lips to the colour of your jacket, be it blazer, leather or wool. Our question is, how else would you show you’re Canadian? It is the only way, and we’re just so happy to see more of this kind of overt patriotism.

The ginger society threw a party, and we weren’t invited (Image: Erin Simkin)

Nights three and four of Toronto Fashion Week were completely packed with household names, like Canada’s Next Top Model walk coach Stacey McKenzie, Kimberley Newport-Mimran, InFashion’s Glen Baxter, media mogul Moses Znaimer, Zoomer’s Suzanne Boyd, philanthropists Catherine Nugent and  W. Bruce C. Bailey and more. Check out who was the most adorable duo in the house and who fashioned a dress out of a duvet after the jump.

Golnaz Ashtiani spring/summer 2012 (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Check out all of the hits and misses from the Golnaz Ashtiani spring/summer 2012 show at Toronto Fashion Week, including contrasting collars, a great pair of white pleated pants and lots of purple silk to go around (cruise the gallery after the jump to check out the entire show).

Click on to see our start-to-finish gallery from the Golnaz Ashtiani spring/summer 2012 runway »

Bustle spring/summer 2012 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

There’s one thing that designers Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow wanted us to take away from the spring/summer 2012 showing of their collection Bustle: they represent the boating class—those people who are day traders from Monday to Friday and cottagers and revellers on weekends. There’s nothing wrong with the theme, and the three swimsuit-clad female models paid to dance for our enjoyment while drinking champagne (likely just water) seemed to be enjoying themselves. But although Bustle has certainly grown leaps and bounds from past seasons in terms of tailoring, we’re still not certain they’ve really hit the nail on the head as far as capitalizing a market for people who don’t shop at GotStyle. Check out the scene, our review and a full gallery of Bustle’s spring/summer collection after the jump.

Click on to see Bustle’s spring/summer 2012 collection »

As we said, the strength of the collection was in the tailoring—gone are the days of incredibly boxy and loose two-piece suits, and this season, Bustle has ushered in clothes whose fits are comfortably snug to the body, with the exception of some shorts that were cut much too long and much too wide. Our favourite look was a jewel-toned purple suit that seemed far less King Street broker than past collections, but once again there was a series of pinstripe blazers, pants and shorts to keep those fellas happy—nothing offensive, just lacking any real runway appeal. Bustle also launched its collaboration with shoemaker Tretorn, which we took interest in, given how comfortable the shoes looked and the fact that they were in various spring-like pastel tones (we liked them, anyway). We also saw some great blazers with bordered lapels that looked very Ryan Gosling–friendly, but were somewhat confused by a silk-screened anchor on the pocket that cheapened the look. The same anchors would appear on shorts and T-shirts, which were obviously meant to contribute to the breezy, boat-side feeling, but we didn’t think they were successful—save the anchors on the brass buttons of a white two-button blazer, which were a classic addition to a functional white jacket. It may not have been the most successful show for Bustle, and the looks, as usual, may have been typically repetitive, but it was the night of a successful shoe collab, and we wouldn’t mind strutting around in a shockingly purple suit come next spring.

Bustle spring/summer 2012 (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Check out all of the hits and misses from Bustle’s spring/summer 2012 show at Toronto Fashion Week, including silk-screened anchors (why?), some great jewel-toned purple items and the subtle (but noticed) Tretorn collaboration that distracted us from some of the repetition (cruise the gallery after the jump to check out the entire show, and check out what the scene was like in our review).

Click on to see our start-to-finish gallery from the Bustle spring/summer 2012 runway »

Sunny Fong spring/summer 2012 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Sunny Fong brought his Vawk collection to Toronto Fashion Week after showing for many seasons at the AGO, closing yesterday’s festivities. This season’s theme, Insectica, had models sporting long, fluttery eyelashes and maxi dresses with prints that resembled monarch butterflies, and although outfits were dubbed “beetle dress” and “moth tank,” we didn’t see much else that related to the theme. Gold was everywhere—we spotted it on laser-cut leather details adorning black dresses and as an accent to greyish-blue mini dresses. We loved Fong’s full-bodied pleated skirts (one was so long that a model almost took a tumble on the catwalk), a white overcoat with gold buttons and tails and sexy one-piece bathing suits with cut-outs. Find out what went wrong and check out a fully gallery of Sunny Fong’s spring/summer 2012 collection after the jump.

Click on to see Sunny Fong’s spring/summer 2012 collection »

There were a few missteps: sheer mesh panels on the backs and sides of dresses that didn’t fit properly, making the slim models look like they had love handles; a slit cut so high in a grey dress that we were able to catch a glimpse of the model’s underwear; and gaucho pants that looked a little matronly. As in seasons past, Fong made use of “real” models, including one older woman (a real estate agent, we hear), who received hoots and hollers for her turn on the catwalk, and several women bigger than a size zero. But as much as we love a diverse cast of models, we didn’t think this was Fong’s strongest season (we much preferred last spring and winter). And proving that his closing walks must be cursed, a model again tripped (like one did last season during the closing walk), and he again caught her gracefully—if Sunny ever decides to quit fashion, he might just have a promising career in ballet.

Check out all of the hits and misses from the Vawk spring/summer 2012 show at Toronto Fashion Week, including accordion-pleat skirts, corset-style wrap jackets and a whole lot of mesh panelling (cruise the gallery after the jump to check out the entire show, and check out what the scene was like in our review).

Click on to see our start-to-finish gallery from the Vawk spring/summer 2012 runway »

After last season’s sailor-themed runway and two successful collaborations with The Bay (we’re still gushing over last fall’s duffle bag with heritage HBC stripes, spotted on Tommy Ton this week), we had really high expectations for Klaxon Howl’s spring collection. This week’s stark white runway felt naked without the anchors, barrels and other boat kitsch that had people talking last spring. The front row had some of designer Matt Robinson’s best customers (and some of our choice for most stylish men), Joe Amio, Martin James and moustached runway favourite Jano Badovinac, who once again walked in the show. Like seasons past, there was a series of vests, like a fitted grey wool vest with a subtle chain closure or the unbuttoned, distressed denim sleeveless jacket paired with a short-sleeve button-up—but the high-waisted denim and double-belted pleated shorts left us mystified, wondering who could ever pull those off. Check out our look at this week’s Klaxon Howl spring/summer 2012 show after the jump.

Click on to see Matt Robinson’s spring/summer 2012 runway show »

Navy, grey, camo-green, khaki and white dominated the runway, with punches of denim, chambray and salmon and some safari-inspired pieces. In place of trendsetting bags were ’80s-inspired bandanas and some serious model attitude (swagger, perhaps). Overall, Robinson gave us a sample of what we’ve come to expect from the rugged menswear line (and what we can expect to find in his new, not-so-secret Queen Street storefront), but what was lacking was that fresh new outlook we hope to find at fashion week.