Tom Ford | torontolife.com

Justin Bieber named one of Time’s 100 most influential people

Bieber in doll form, sits on a kitchen counter (Image: Gareth Simpson)

Apparently purple high-tops, wind-swept mop tops and songs about babies are pretty influential these days—or at least that’s what the folks at Time seem to think. The newsweekly has just named Justin Bieber, Stratford’s pop prince, one of its 100 most influential people in the world, an honour bestowed upon those whose “ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution.” And who better to justify the selection in those august pages than Bieber’s mentor, Usher?

The Hype

Awards Season

March 30, 2011 | 4:03 pm

Can-con heart warmer: Gonzales and Drake make nice at the Junos

Last weekend’s Juno Awards ceremony may not have been this season’s red carpet high point, but it seems as though it was the venue for some old-fashioned hatchet burying. Judging from his opening skit, Drake seems to have struck up a new friendship with his one-time detractor, oddball pianist and songwriter Gonzales (a.k.a. Chilly Gonzales a.k.a. Jason Beck). The two looked positively chummy onstage, performing a mash-up of Canadian hits during the hip-hop host’s opening monologue (see video, left).

The Goods

Home Guide

August 3, 2010 | 9:10 am

Taking Stock: five Toronto trendsetters tell us what they can’t live without

We talked to five Toronto trendsetters from the fashion, art and design worlds who make a living selling style. Here, an inventory of home stuff they can’t live without

The Hype

TIFF Talk

July 21, 2010 | 11:59 am

Celebrity speculation begins: are Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Freida Pinto coming to TIFF?

Colin Firth and A Single Man director Tom Ford (Image: Karon Liu)

We have a preliminary leak of some stars expected to attend TIFF this September. Martin Knelman of the Star dishes that The King’s Speech (starring Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth, and Geoffrey Rush) and Miral (Julian Schnabel’s new film starring Slumdog Millionaire beauty Freida Pinto, Vanessa Redgrave and Willem Dafoe) will have their world premieres at the festival.

The Goods

Required Reading

January 28, 2010 | 2:30 pm

Thirteen-year-old makes Flare editor cry, H&M organic line is not organic, Jimmy Choo emulates Tommy Ton

• Are Tommy Ton and Jimmy Choo starring in the sequel to Single White Female? Ton thinks so. Earlier this morning, Toronto’s famed street-style snapper pointed an accusing finger at the luxury shoe company when he tweeted, “Is it me or does the Jimmy Choo 24:7 campaign look a lot like…ahem…you know what I mean :S.” Truth be told, it doesn’t take much inspection to see the striking similarities between the images Ton shoots for his blog, Jak and Jil, and Choo’s new campaign. [Fashionista]

• Fashion editors were appalled when 13-year-old blogger Tavi Gevinson sat front row at the Dior couture show, wearing a gargantuan bow atop her head. Flare editor Lisa Tant tweeted, “Sobbing to think that a 13-year-old gets a front-row seat to cover couture. No justice in this world.” Meanwhile, Jeanne Beker took to Twitter, calling Gevinson’s bow “outrageous.” Both women later said their comments were taken out of context. Apparently “outrageous” is a good thing in the fashion world, but burning bridges is not. [Mondoville]

The Goods

Required Reading

December 3, 2009 | 2:15 pm

Hermès accused of hoarding alligator skins, Karl Lagerfeld creates SpongeBob doll, Tom Ford disses Jason Reitman

Tom Ford at the TIFF premiere of A Single Man (Photo by Karon Liu)

• Canadian model Coco Rocha announced last week that she’s launching her own fashion line. No details yet, but her sketches include high-waisted skinny jeans, ankle-skimming pants, and a shirt, skirt and cape. We’re not impressed with the initial designs, but if her line comes out anything like Kate Moss for Topshop (we hope, coming to The Bay), we won’t complain. [Oh So Coco]

• SpongeBob SquarePants got a makeover courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld, who moulded the cartoon creature into a golden mini-Karl, complete with sunglasses, fingerless gloves, shirt and tie. The figurine fetched 1,000 euros at a World Wildlife Fund charity auction. Lagerfeld has already designed a teddy bear in his image, but fans shouldn’t wait for a Karl doll. The designer told W magazine, “Nothing scares me more than people with some doll collection. Frightening.” [WWD]

The Goods

Required Reading

October 23, 2009 | 8:28 am

Tom Ford will design for women again, faux-hawks for babies, designers ditch Toronto fashion week

Rejoice: Tom Ford returns to womenswear (Photo by Nicolas Genin)

• Sure, swine flu is going around, but that’s no reason to be impolite. As fashion week presses on, Torontonians continue to embrace the oh-so-European double-cheek kiss as their preferred greeting. May we suggest Cold FX? [Toronto Star]

• Tom Ford has confirmed he will be creating a line of womenswear for his eponymous label. Cue sighs from everyone who thinks Gucci hasn’t been the same without the dreamy designer. Ford is waiting for financing before launching, but some sources say the line could be ready as early as fall 2010. [WWD]

• We’ve already got babies in Che Guevara tees, Uggs and Canada Goose jackets, and now we’ll be able to artfully faux-hawk their hair thanks to Le Baby Hair Gel. Free of such irritants as fragrance and parabens, the gel is safe to use on baby scalps, and perfect for taming annoying frizzies and fly-aways. [Bella Sugar]

Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 17, 2009 | 10:04 am

Tom Ford does not want to talk about the reason he’s famous

Tom Ford at the press conference for A Single Man at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009 (Photo by Karon Liu)

Fashion icon Tom Ford has a thing for Mr. Darcy, just like everyone else (Photo by Karon Liu)

Hoping to get a glimpse of fashion icon Tom Ford, we visited The Sutton Place Hotel, where he was holding a press conference to discuss his directorial debut, A Single Man, which stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore and premiered at TIFF. Ford is best known for being the creative head of Gucci and starting his own line of men’s clothes under his own name. Much to our chagrin, however, he was hesitant to answer questions about fashion, making sure to repeat ad nauseam, “fashion and film are two separate types of expression. Fashion is a commercially creative outlet, whereas film is purely impressionistic.” The costumes, he said, were “to serve these characters. It wasn’t a costume parade for me.” When a reporter asked him what he was wearing, he scoffed, “Oh, we’re wearing… clothes.”

Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 10, 2009 | 5:30 pm

Latest from Yorkville: Celebs are staying inside until nightfall

Sassafraz awaits the teeming masses (Photo by Fraser Abe)

This afternoon, we went to the secret celeb hotspot known as Yorkville in an attempt to see a few of our faves, but were shocked at the serenity of it all. The calm before the storm, perhaps? Sassafraz’s patio was nowhere near capacity. One‘s lunchtime terrace was looking sparse. Ditto for other local favourites Remy’s, Hemmingway’s and Flo’s. Like the celebs themselves, the stalkers still seem to be in hiding. The scene at the front doors of The Hazelton and The Four Seasons were all crickets and tumbleweed.

Toronto International Film Festival 2009

August 13, 2009 | 5:02 pm

Celeb spotting warm-up 4: Ewan, Demi, Weisz, Viggo and, yes, even more Clooney

Where Demi goes, can Ashton be far behind? (Photo by TechCrunch50-2008)

In today’s lineup of galas and special presentations we have Ewan McGregor and Clooney chasing government conspiracies, Natalie Portman playing a stepmom (in non-Julia Roberts fashion) and Demi Moore and David Duchovny at war with their neighbours. Learn about all of these, plus the directorial debut of designer Tom Ford and many other screenings, after the jump.