Toronto-based Worn Fashion Journal’s latest trend video has come at the perfect moment in time. Just a week after H&M was accused of selling a collection that glorified rape victims, videographer Daniel Reis took clips from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Hackers, The Matrix and even Ghostwriter (we can, in fact, jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace) to distill, into a one-minute video, the trend of leather-clad cyber-warriors in film. The video may not actually be a response to the H&M situation at all, but one thing is for sure: it is fantastic (um, except no one should ever try to emulate Matthew Lillard’s hacker style).
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Today is Tartan Day (no really!), so we look at Canada’s new official plaid
Canadian: check (Image: Red Canoe Brands)
Journalists at Vice have already made it quite clear that wearing plaid is quintessentially Canadian, but the federal government decided to make it official earlier this year. Not only did the Canadian government announce in 2010 that April 6 was to be known as Tartan Day across the country, but on March 9 of this year, Minister of Heritage James Moore declared the Maple Leaf Tartan a symbol of Canada alongside the coat of arms, the national flag and, of course, the beaver. While each province has its own specific tartan, the Maple Leaf Tartan, designed by David Weiser in 1964, was inspired by Canada’s environment, featuring green, gold, red and brown tones reminiscent of leaves changing over seasons.
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Is blue lipstick and eyeshadow a trend?
Jacflash owner Jaclyn Genovese, FDCC president Robin Kay, stylist Dwayne Kennedy and publicist Kate Mullin (Images: Stefania Yarhi)
We couldn’t help but notice that Toronto has turned a little blue lately (and we don’t mean the Anyone But Ford contingent). First, models at Philip Sparks’s fashion presentation sported icy eyeshadow harking back to the leg warmer and shoulder pad days of the 1980s. (In Saturday’s Globe, Maggie Wrobel touted indigo shades.) And then at Amanda Lew Kee’s show on Friday, models wore baby blue lipstick—a look we also noticed on the designer’s supporters, including Robin Kay.
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From the department of ridiculous trends: fashion designer water
Evian's Issey Miyake bottle and San Pellegrino's Missoni design
We’ve noticed some outrageous designer collaborations lately—Cynthia Rowley‘s patterned Band-Aids (a tin of 20 is $10 U.S.) rank among the more ludicrous while somehow still being covetable—but fashion water bottles are surely the most absurd.
The other week, a bottle of San Pellegrino was delivered to the office, its exterior covered in a patchwork sleeve made from Missoni fabric. What a terrific waste of material, we thought. Apparently created to promote Italian-made products, the bottles that will be sold in stores won’t have the cover; they’ll sport a pretty label instead.
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Sky-high heels are the official footwear of the recession
Pair of women's sling-back sandals with white leather uppers and sequined platforms, mid-1970s, by Casuccio and Scalera for Loris Azzaro (Image: copyright © 2009 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto)
Recessions bring many things to the style world: banal Jeanne Beker exposés of high fashion’s cautious ventures into luxury, and such new memes as “recessionista” and “staycation.” But according to the Bata Shoe Museum’s senior curator, Elizabeth Semmelhack, recessions also bring a proliferation of sky-high footwear. A New York Times slide show showcases various gravity-defying soles on display at the Bata Shoe Museum, including Salvatore Ferragamo five-and-three-quarter-inch sandals from 1938 and OPEC crisis–era six-inch Louis Azzaro peep-toe slingbacks. As Semmelhack explains to the Times, “These little trifles can elevate one’s mood.” Perhaps this season’s brogue trend, therefore, is a sign of economic optimism.
Icky or inspired: rentable maternity wear
This dress rents for $39 a week (Image: rentmaternitywear.com)
When we got a press release from rentmaternitywear.com, a business by California “mompreneur” Marcelle Costello that leases special occasion dresses to pregnant women for $35 to $75, we thought it was a brilliant idea. But then we wondered, isn’t renting maternity wear a little sketchy, kind of like buying second-hand lingerie? Don’t get us wrong: pregnant women glow in that magical hormonally imbalanced way and deserve to flaunt it in flirty summer frocks. However, it’s an undeniable fact that along with the glow, there’s increased flow—of pee, sweat and vomit. Maybe Costello thought of that, too. For an extra $25, queasier moms-to-be will be guaranteed that a dress has been worn only once.
Toronto boys ditching hockey hair for Bieber bob
The Bieber bob (Image: Jake Auzzie)
It was only a matter of time before our kids wanted to look like Justin Bieber (we only hope they don’t pick up his studying habits). As we reported yesterday, the New York Times has already written about Bieber’s hairstyle becoming a trend among boys. Today, the Star basically published the Toronto version of that article.
The difference here is that the Bieber cut can be had for $21 at Melonhead, a children’s barbershop at Yonge and Lawrence (leave it to the Times to find parents willing to pay $175 for their 14-year-old’s haircut). Toronto kids seem to be catching on at an earlier age, with a lot of five- and six-year-olds requesting the cut. But older boys (from about age eight to 12) are the main culprits, trading in mullet-like hockey hair for the Biebs’s bob.
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Yet another stupid term for men: the retrosexual
Meet the retrosexual (Image: Melissa Audrey)
Just when we thought the term “metrosexual” and all its variations died along with Ryan Seacrest’s frosted tips, the Star coined another term for guys who stray from the dominant idea of masculinity but don’t want to be called gay. Presenting: the retrosexual.
It’s a term used in a trend piece to describe young men who like to dress in ’50s and ’60s garb: bow ties, sock garters, fedoras and skinny suspenders. It’s geek chic without the Green Lantern tees and hoodies with binary code jokes. Basically, dudes whose knowledge of the era is based on their season one Mad Men DVDs.
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Michelle Obama doesn’t wear pantyhose, so neither should anyone else
(Image: Steve Newman)
The latest in First World problems: the decline of pantyhose because Michelle Obama doesn’t wear them. The First Lady is not the only woman to shun nylons; a trend piece in The Charlotte Observer (obviously they’ve never heard of mantyhose in South Carolina) points to women working in banks who are avoiding them because the risk of runs defeats the intention of making legs look silkier. On the other hand, an “executive stylist” (a very niche job title, by the way) says wearing hose is still a must for women in powerful positions, like Hillary Clinton. “You’re never going to see them without hose on. It’s like a man in a three-piece suit with lace-up shoes and no socks.” Hear that, ladies? Aspiring first ladies should go bare-legged, while future secretaries of state should stock up on nylons.
• Are pantyhose on their last legs? [The Charlotte Observer via Toronto Star ]
Spring trends: anything goes—no, really
Fashion tends to move at breakneck speed. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the latest trends, which is why shoppers often turn to the media for guidance, but sometimes we can be guilty of further confusing things. To wit, this spring trends guide from the New York Times.
Suzy Menkes details what’s hot, like this season’s silhouette, which should be linear and slim or oval and hourglass. Skirts should be long and slim or short and A-line, but women can also go with a blanket wrap or a full 1950s-style number. Colours, she says, are also in, especially camel, toffee, gray, pine green, purple, orange and black. Knitwear looks good plain and minimalist or oversized and fluffy. In hosiery, go for patterns or shiny leggings or thick and matte stockings.
Well, it’s good to know that virtually every shape, length and colour is in style now. So now when we parade around in our purple hourglass coat with the short orange A-line skirt and fluffy, oversized pine green sweater, we can tell people, “No, we’re not crazy. This is in fashion. Don’t you read the Times?”
Toronto men get lift from high heels
A heeled men's boot from John Fluevog (Image: Carlo Mendoza)
High heels for men are no longer solely within the realm of drag queens. Today the Star declares them the must-have accessory for the fashion-forward modern man. Besides, with the fellas trying everything from compression underwear to mantyhose, it was only a matter of time before they would be spotted in stilettos.
Androgynous, edgy and sometimes masculine women’s footwear by Balenciaga, Rodarte and Alexander Wang is most popular among fashionistos. Montreal fashion editor Cary Tauben attended Jeremy Laing’s New York presentation in a pair of heels from Topshop and has considered buying a pair of thigh-high Rodarte boots. (The only time he lowers himself to wear flats is on airplanes.)
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Canadian style so hot, HBC Web site crashes
Smythe's blanket coat for The Bay (Photo by Carlo Mendoza)
With Alexander McQueen Olympic scarves and maple leaf mitts at a premium, Canada is officially, like, so hot right now. So it was no surprise when we took a look at the catwalks recently and saw a bit of home.
The boys at Dolce and Gabbana took a page out of DSquared2‘s look book for their D&G line. The fall-winter 2010 show in Milan lacked the polished Italian glam we expected; instead, snow bunny models looking ready for après ski at Cypress Mountain strutted in patterned leg warmers and tights, reindeer- and snowflake-patterned knits and fur mukluks.
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London calling: Canuck designers take centre stage during London fashion week
Canadians are getting a lot of attention from Londoners during the city’s fall-winter 2010 fashion week. The designers have politicians’ wives in a tizzy, American pop stars are paying personal visits, and the shows are the setting for controversy and catfights. Here, an introduction to three must-know Canucks—all with Toronto connections—who are dazzling Britain.
A frock from Erdem's fall show (Photo via catwalk.com)
Erdem Moralioglu
Shtick: Feminine, frilly, graphic prints (more sophisticated than cutesy) perfect for tea parties and après five. Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto connection: Known in the industry by his first name only, the half-Turkish, half-English designer grew up in Montreal but spent time at Ryerson for fashion design. Months later, he dropped out and skipped town to study in London, where he won the Chevening Scholarship from the British Fashion Council and was later nominated for the BFC’s 2009 Collection of the Year award.
Path to success: Erdem stocks the shelves of luxe global retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Browns and The Room (at The Bay). He recently received a nod from the wife of Britain’s prime minister, Sarah Brown, when she wore an Erdem dress to give the opening speech for London fashion week.
Celebrity fans: Sarah Brown, Michelle Obama, Thandie Newton, Chloë Sevigny and Toronto-born model Tara Gill.
Web site: erdem.co.uk
Jeremy Laing’s fall 2010 show a hit in New York
Last Friday, as some patriotic Canadians got their kicks watching the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics, Toronto designer Jeremy Laing got his by presenting a wildly well-received fall collection in New York. Laing experimented with the fur trend this season, sewing pelts (all sustainably hunted) into rows to increase movement. The pieces worked; editors at Vogue lusted after the pieces, and The Cut liked his “lightweight toppers” of beaver, raccoon and muskrat fur.
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Just in time for Valentine’s Day: the Hoodie-Footie
As we reported earlier this week, barely there lingerie has been deemed passé. Maybe the trend toward covering up helps explain the rise of the abominable Hoodie-Footie Snuggle Suit, the latest incarnation of the I-still-can’t-believe-it’s-real Snuggie and its successor, the Necky.
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