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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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Scene Stealers

June 1, 2011 | 2:19 pm

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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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Scene Stealers

May 17, 2011 | 1:50 pm

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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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Scene Stealers

May 13, 2011 | 1:54 pm

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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.

The Goods

Business of Fashion

April 14, 2011 | 4:51 pm

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Denis Gagnon and Greta Constantine announce buzz-worthy collaborations

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.

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Rogue Fashion Week

March 28, 2011 | 12:05 pm

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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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Rogue Fashion Week

March 28, 2011 | 12:04 pm

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PHOTO GALLERY: see the fall/winter collections from Greta and Ezra Constantine

2011’s Cruella (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta and Ezra Constantine opened up the Bayview Audi dealership on Friday night to show a fall/winter collection they called a “global dialogue.” The objective, however, seemed to be to show that the designers could do more than create Grecian-draped jersey column gowns. Did they succeed? You decide. See the full collection below and have a look at our complete scene coverage.

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Industry Standard

March 21, 2011 | 4:07 pm

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Designers versus bloggers: this edition’s showdown pits Nolan Bryant against Kirk Pickersgill

Left: Karolina Kurkova and Nolan Bryant in Berlin; right: Kirk Pickersgill (Images: Nolan Bryant and Felix Wong)

The professional fashion scene in Toronto is made up of many members: designers, editors, PR flaks and, much to everyone else’s chagrin, bloggers. Once the awkward stepchildren of the scene, they’ve now risen to front-row fixtures. In the run-up to the runway action this month at LG Fashion Week, we wanted to check in with some of the city’s best designers—from the up-and-comers to the respected old captains—as well as Toronto’s fashion bloggers to ask some burning questions: are there rivalries? Secret alliances? Are they working together or falling apart? Read on for inspiring pro-fashion spirit and grudge matches galore.

TODAY’S MATCHUP: Blogger-cum-photographer and social butterfly Nolan Bryant squares off with Kirk Pickersgill of design house Greta Constantine

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The Goods

Rogue Fashion Week

March 14, 2011 | 3:51 pm

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The six buzziest rogue fashion week shows

Coco Rocha for Greta Constantine S/S 2011 (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Going rogue seems to be a designer’s raison d’être when the ad-clad walls of LG Fashion Week seem a bit too restrictive. Showing off-site may be more expensive for designers (well, there isn’t a premium on water), but Toronto’s fashion-inclined flock to these out-of-the-way warehouses and brickworks because the CNE can be depressing and equally out of the way. There’s usually free-flowing bubbly to be consumed at the off-site shows as well, which beats a marked-up beer and gratis sampling of watery espresso. Enter 2011’s class of rogue designers—check out the list below.

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From the Print Edition

November 12, 2010 | 9:11 am

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Spotted: seven Toronto tastemakers sport collegiate-cool style

Seven Toronto tastemakers sport collegiate-cool style (adorable dog and red motorcycle not included). Begin the slide show >>

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The Goods

Rogue Fashion Week

October 18, 2010 | 12:12 pm

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Coco Rocha, bouncers and an hour-long wait at the Greta Constantine show

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

A Greta Constantine show is always a spectacle; last season, design duo Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong showed the collection at a sprawling Audi dealership on the Bayview Extension. It’s the most anticipated event in the run-up to LG fashion week, so it’s no surprise that the atmosphere at the spring 2011 show echoed that of a nearby Richmond Street nightclub—lineups, broken glassware and surly bouncers included. The venue: 161 Spadina Avenue (the same space used for TIFF’s splashy Soho House parties and Colin Firth’s 50th). Guests waited an hour after the scheduled start time for the show to begin, tweeting their dismay but sated by an open bar and charcuterie table prepared by Parts and Labour.

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Toronto Fashion Week

October 15, 2010 | 10:11 am

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Coco Rocha to appear in Greta Constantine show tonight

(Image: Louis Vuitton)

A-list models are usually the calling card of the Joe Fresh Style show (see: Crystal Renn, Irina Lazareanu), but at tonight’s Greta Constantine presentation, Coco Rocha will strut her stuff. Rocha—who’s also appeared in the Joe show and on runways for Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Marc Jacobs—is a long-time friend of GC designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong and approached the duo about appearing in their show. She’ll also host a party in celebration of Canadian fashion on Monday at the Roosevelt Room. Look for photos of the show and Rocha here on Monday.

The Goods

Toronto Fashion Week

March 30, 2010 | 10:37 am

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The problem with Holt Renfrew’s designer showcase

One of the looks Greta Constantine showed at Holt Renfrew (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Yesterday morning, Holt Renfrew invited the media to attend an intimate showcase of five Canadian lines it will be carrying at the store. Considered some of the best in the country, each of the designers—Denis Gagnon, Jeremy Laing, Mikhael Kale, Greta Constantine‘s Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong, and Lida Baday (who was not in attendance)—showed a few pieces from their fall collections. Also present were fashion week queen bee Robin Kay and Vogue writer Mark Holgate. The problem? None of the designers are showing during LG Fashion Week, which runs until Thursday in the massive Allstream Centre that’s been pimped out in all the razzle-dazzle of a King West club. And Holgate, who came to Toronto as a guest of Holts, won’t be attending any of its shows. Kay was clearly stung by yesterday’s event, despite rumours that Holts may bring the designers to fashion week in future seasons. Kay told the Star that the designers “will not get the coverage that a brand needs in that [Holts'] environment because there isn’t a large number of shooters and tweeters, or live-streaming.” She also described the event as “quiet” (and it was—delightfully so) and chastised the store. “Holt Renfrew is a sponsor. With their largesse, they should have made a point of bringing that gentleman to the site to see that we are a fashion week and to see designers he may not have heard of. That’s a sponsor’s duty and responsibility.”

* UPDATE: Despite what was reported previously, Holt Renfrew tells us that they did take Holgate to the Izma show, which opened fashion week on Sunday evening. The writer was only in town for 24 hours, however, and therefore not able to make it to other presentations.

• Best in show, far from the runway [Toronto Star]

The Goods

Rogue Fashion Week

March 22, 2010 | 9:50 am

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Runway photos: Greta Constantine fall-winter 2010

Friday night, an east-end Audi dealership received a dose of glamour as hundreds poured in for one of Toronto’s must-see fashion shows, from Greta Constantine. As they did last season, Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill opted to present outside of fashion week, in order to have more creative control. Slinky dresses in grey, navy and black were accessorized with Studio 54–style chunky metallic bangles and mirrored spike-heeled booties. Black fur vests and tops were paired with skin-tight leather leggings and bodysuits—if Catwoman ever needs a new getup, she should call Greta Constantine. The menswear collection, known as Ezra Constantine, was darker and edgier, with models sporting fake bruises, cut lips and head wounds. See all the looks in the gallery below >>

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Toronto Fashion Week

March 9, 2010 | 1:16 pm

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Greta Constantine’s fashion show is next week, collection far from ready

In yesterday’s blog entry for the Post, designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine offer a glimpse into their background as designers. Both were clearly brown-nosers from the start, scoring major internships while still in high school: Pickersgill with Toronto fashion label Comrags and Wong at Alfred Sung. Wong pursued his passion for fashion with veteran costume designer Susan Dicks; Pickersgill moved to Milan, working with fellow Canadians DSquared2 and British designer Neil Barret.

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