It was announced today that Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine will be designing the new staff uniform for the Thompson’s Lobby Bar. The design very much embraces the Greta look, with signature draping and form-flattering silhouettes, perfect for serving drinks to a wide array of young professionals, leather-clad club kids (who don’t have passcards and passwords for the rooftop bar) and other hotel patrons. The hotel chain’s Toronto outpost has already partnered with Bustle to design uniforms for its diner, and the ladies serving drinks upstairs on the rooftop wear custom dresses designed by Jeremy Laing. It seems that the Thompson will go to great lengths to ensure that none of its staff are caught wearing a mangled Chanel suit (and, of course, that they wear Canadian).
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The Thompson’s Lobby Bar taps Greta Constantine to design its wait staff’s uniforms
Camera: Toronto’s peerage class gets dolled up for a royal visit at the TIFF Lightbox
November 2, TIFF Lightbox. It’s not often that royalty comes to town (not that we’re bitter, Will and Kate). So when Prince Albert Grimaldi, ruler of Monaco, arrived with his new wife, the South African former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, Toronto’s peerage class got all dolled up. The couple was here for the launch of Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, a TIFF exhibit celebrating Prince Albert’s late mom. They toured the exhibit, then repaired to the VIP room, where the prince downed brewskis and the press-shy Wittstock, understated in Dior, chatted quietly with the much less understated Suzannes (Boyd and Rogers). Though the royals departed around 8:30, the rest of the party hit the dance floor to the grooves of a live Motown band, energized as they were by their brush with nobility—the champagne-soaked jelly desserts didn’t hurt, either.
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THE SCENE: The Bay throws a party with special guest Nicola Formichetti of Thierry Mugler
The many faces of Stacey Kimmel (Images: Jenna Marie Wakani)
The Bay continued their party-hosting streak last night (they’ve previously entertained Madonna, the Proenza Schouler boys, Jason Wu and Kelly Osbourne) with a visit from the Thierry Mugler boys Nicola Formichetti and Sébastien Peigné. The Room, the Bay’s repository for expensive designer shoes and dresses (and jumpsuits—we wonder which socialite is wearing that peekaboo lace-panelled Stella McCartney catsuit this week), had Formichetti and Peigné holding court with socialites, fashion media (shocking, we know) and fellow designers like Jeremy Laing and Kirk Pickersgill. Formichetti is famed for styling Lady Gaga but, sadly, we spotted nary a meat dress or McQueen armadillo in the place. We did see socialite Stacey Kimmel sporting a Mikhael Kale dress-cum-white-leather-harness-cum-monkey-vest, Suzanne Rogers in a floral Givenchy number and a statuesque Suzanne Boyd; the rest of the crowd stayed remarkably staid. Check out the scene in our gallery after the jump.
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THE SCENE: Holt Renfrew launches Holt’s Muse with the Man Repeller Leandra Medine
Blogger tension: Jay Strut and the Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine meet (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Tuesday night at Holt Renfrew, fashion fans flocked to the third floor, where the Man Repeller Leandra Medine hosted a party to launch Holt’s new blog Holt’s Muse. Medine is known for her NYC-based blog, where she showcases the best women’s fashion men love to hate, like harem pants and figure-hiding blouses. The society mavens we’re used to seeing at these things were no-shows (they have people to read blogs to them, we guess) save for Alexandra Weston, who in addition to the famous last name has a new gig at Holt’s. The crowd wasn’t without famous faces though: we spotted designers like Jeremy Laing, Kirk Pickersgill of Greta Constantine, Jake Rosenberg (who had a swarm of ladies crowding him most of the night—it pays to be a straight guy in fashion), Stephanie Mark and Erin Kleinberg of The Coveteur, Uncle Otis’s Martin James and stylist Corey Ng. Check out the scene after the jump.
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Denis Gagnon showed a long video, an exciting collection and a model wedding (we’re still not sure why) at Toronto Fashion Week
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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.
Greta Constantine draws a big crowd at Century Room (yes, that Century Room) for the kick-off to Rogue Fashion Week
Draped, as per usual (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Read the rest of this entry »Rogue Fashion Week is upon us, and Greta Constantine kicked it off last night with a show and after-party at King West’s Century Room. Designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong are known for their extravagant shows (held at car dealerships, Rosedale mansions and TIFF hot spots with celeb models), so it was no shock to see the bevy of gussied-up Torontonians at the typically bottle-service-heavy club (oft complete with heavy beats, and rowdy men and women) for Greta Constantine’s spring/summer 2012 show. This city always seems to show its love for the Greta boys, and last night was no exception, with the many guests including socialites Suzanne Rogers, Sylvia Mantella, Amoryn Engel, Jenna Naumovich, Alexandra Weston, Suzanne Cohon and Catherine Nugent, gossip columnist Shinan Govani, performer K-os, ET Canada’s Rosey Edeh and MuchMusic personality Sarah Taylor. We also spotted Global News anchorwoman Anne Mroczkowski smoking outside with FDCC chair Robin Kay (who carried out an entire conversation with someone across the runway during the show using only hand gestures) and club king Toufik Sarwa, but the most interesting gossip was about Vanessa Mulroney, who requested 10 front row seats for her gal pals, a collection of Maple Leaf hockey wives—no word of a lie. Sitting front row alongside socialite Mulroney were Emilie Witt, Brittany Perlman, Jessica Peczek, Katarina Brown, Ania Rembacz, Dale Chaplin, Jeanne De Partout, Mel Armstrong and Jessica MacArthur. Check out our full collection gallery after the jump.
THE SCENE: Greta Constantine’s splashy poolside Primer party at an Annex mansion
It was a very relaxed party. There was a lot of vodka. (Image: Erin Simkin)
We wish every fashion party took place at an Annex mansion. Greta Constantine went back to the opulent estate of Michael Cooper and Krystal Koo for the sneak peek of the second instalment of their basics line, Primer. Longtime Greta fans Amanda Blakley and Ashleigh Dempster accessorized with enormous baby bumps that had even the iciest socialites cooing (overheard: “I’d love to look half as good as she does nine months pregnant”). Daniel Johnson of the band Stereos held court by the pool (which, thankfully sadly, no one tumbled into, although there were a few close calls due to some of the deathly high heels being sported), while Jay Levine of Fashion Television and PR maven Natasha Koifman chatted like old high school chums by the vodka bar. The CBC’s Kirstine Stewart and Maple Leaf GM honey Jennifer Burke also made cameos, along with INK honcho Charles Khabouth. Suzanne Timmins—looking fierce in animal print—made a fashionably late entrance with white tux–jacketed Ports ad campaign creative director Tu Ly in tow before navigating her way delicately across the pool to get a personal tour of the collection from co-designer Kirk Pickersgill (the unofficial star of the night was his tiny godson, who was dancing like a maniac and fending off media requests). Check out the scene and read more about the collection after the jump.
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Chris Nuttall-Smith takes on La Société, Charles Khabouth’s sexy, buzzy French bistro
La Société serves up social cachet wrapped in sex appeal, and some decent French food, too (Image: Eugen Sakhnenko)
Four million dollars buys a lot of restaurant, even on Bloor Street, at the heart of the city’s richest retail mile. Charles Khabouth, the nightclub impresario behind La Société, the new, two-storey, 380-seat, more or less slavish recreation of a belle époque Paris bistro, brought in 29 tile workers, many of them from Montreal, to complete the spectacularly elaborate black, white and gold mosaic floors in the restaurant’s main bar and dining room. He and Alessandro Munge, of the Munge Leung design firm, commissioned a stained-glass ceiling for the bistro’s main space (which they’ve backlit, inexcusably, with sallow fluorescent lights), purchased their zinc bar top from France, outfitted the banquettes in brass and burgundy leather, and panelled the room in enough mahogany to deforest the best-endowed of banana republics. The rent, meantime, likely adds $2 million annually to Khabouth’s overhead. He’ll need to sell a lot of steak frites to cover that, but the man isn’t afraid to go big.
Introducing: La Société, Bloor Street’s massive new bistro and people-watching hub
The bar at La Société (Image: Gizelle Lau)
La Société, Charles Khabouth and Danny Soberano’s new upscale bistro, opened last week to just the chic red-carpet reception one would expect, with guests like “jersey boys” Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine, media mogul Moses Znaimer, Canadian Read the rest of this entry »musician music manager and producer Jake Gold and Food Network Canada host Kevin Brauch (no RPattz sighting, though). We first scoped out the dining room’s impressive stained-glass ceiling shortly after it was installed, and returned last week to see how everything turned out.
The Scene: Power Ball 13, a party where people drink a lot and eat meat in designer clothes
Forget the fashion—Power Ball 13, 2011’s edition of the annual Power Plant fundraiser, was all about the meat. Think a pig on a spit is decadent? Well, there was an entire bison. Flocks of formally attired party-goers crowded in front of the massive spit to ooh and aah over the roasting beast like enchanted Temple of Doom acolytes as Marc Thuet sliced meat into sandwiches. “We need meat!” cried Stephen Wong of design duo Greta Constantine as he and partner Kirk Pickersgill tucked into their fat-dripping sandwiches. Also spotted: Belinda Stronach, Jeff Stober, Kenneth Montague, Shinan Govani, Loretta Chin and more carnivores (and some herbivores, lest we forget). Check out the fashion, art and meat in a gallery after the jump.
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The Scene: Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez hosted a hot party last night
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez don’t sweat it at The Bay last night (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Last night in The Room at The Bay, this month’s fete celebrated Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. The Room is almost the perfect environment for a party, with good lighting for photos and lots of room to explore, but like any good party, the best place to hang out is the kitchen, or in The Bay’s case, one very cramped corner, hovering around the title guests. This gave way to sweat-lodge heat that created what one partygoer described as a “distinct fashion B.O.,” but McCollough and Hernandez drank very chilled champagne anyway and toasted an appearance-well-done alongside Suzanne Rogers, Nicholas Mellamphy, Shinan Govani, Stacey Kimmel, Jeremy Laing, Tommy Ton, Kimberley Newport-Mimran, Stephen Wong, Kirk Pickersgill, Susie Sheffman and Liz Cabral. Check out our full scene gallery below.
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Greta Constantine’s Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill launch Skin, their collaboration with Danier
Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong have turned to leather in a collaboration with Danier (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Last night, Toronto’s glossiest glamourpusses—well, at least the ones willing to trek to Queen Street West and Brock Avenue on a rainy Monday—hit Neubacher Shor Contemporary for the premiere of Skin, the much-hyped collaboration between Danier Leather and Greta Constantine tag team Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill. The event brought out Sebastian Pigott (we had to catch ourselves from referring to him as Kai Booker, his character from Being Erica), Shinan Govani, Ivana Santilli, Glen Peloso, Katie Boland, Andrew Sardone, Natalie Lecomte and Sandra Pittana, and on display—on a model and at an on-site pop-up shop—were the six outfits from the capsule collection. See our coverage of the showcase and a gallery of the pieces and the scene after the jump.
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The Scene: Nicole Richie helps TNT launch their newly renovated Yorkville location
Nicole Richie, surrounded by admirers at last night’s TNT party (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
The offer of free alcohol used to be enough to lure Toronto’s social butterflies away from their at-home pasta binges and walk-in closets. These days, however, a celebrity name–sponsored soirée seems practically necessary to attract names like Dan Levy, Toufik Sarwa, Kirk Pickersgill, Tommy Smythe, Liz Cabral, Derick Chetty, Natalie Lecomte and Biko Beauttah, all of whom were present at Nicole Richie‘s fete last night celebrating TNT’s remodel. As far as celebrities go, The Bay has brought us Jason Wu, Derek Blasberg, Charlotte Olympia, Erdem and Anna Dello Russo (to name a few), while Holt Renfrew has nabbed Alexander Wang, Oscar de la Renta, Todd Selby, Todd Lynn and Rag and Bone for their parties. It seems that TNT felt some pressure to stay current—and who says “au courant” better than Nicole Richie?
The ex-Simple Life star (who helped establish such teeth-grinding catchphrases as “that’s hot”) was in town to promote her brand House of Harlow, but she spent the evening attracting cellphone-camera photographers, young bachelors (the kind that wear hoodies) and people who insisted on doing a lot of pointing. We miss the sassy Nicole Richie, who was more likely to crack a joke for the camera than a smile, but we figure she has matured since becoming a mother and marrying a fella from Good Charlotte. Good for her, boring for us.
Denis Gagnon and Greta Constantine announce buzz-worthy collaborations
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Two designer collaborations in Canada have been announced today. The first comes from Montreal designer Denis Gagnon, who will be offering a series of stacked black heels through Aldo for spring 2011. The second is from Toronto’s own “jersey boys,” Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine, who are teaming with Danier to offer a diffusion line named Skin for fall 2011.
Greta and Ezra Constantine drum up a new direction on the final night of Rogue Fashion Week
Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill greet their adoring fans (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
The boys from Greta and Ezra Constantine closed Rogue Fashion Week with a star-studded (well, by non-TIFF standards) show at the Bayview Extension Audi dealership. Suzanne Boyd, Jeanne Beker, Tommy Smythe, Barry Flatman and Jully Black (sporting a costume change from the day’s earlier Arthur Mendonça show) filled an expansive showroom so packed with fans, that, even with hundreds of seats, there was a back row labelled SRO (standing room only).
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