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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)

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.

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The Goods

Scene Stealers

May 13, 2011 | 1:54 pm

4 Comments

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 Dish

Opening

March 30, 2011 | 11:45 am

47 Comments

Take a look inside the newly renovated Amber, Toufik Sarwa’s Yorkville mainstay

Amber’s new bar is made from Calcutta marble (Image: Gizelle Lau)

For almost 12 years, Yorkville’s Amber has been the place to see and be seen. Having just finished turning his Cinq 01 into the new Briscola Trattoria at the end of February, it seems owner Toufik Sarwa has reno fever—he’s just completed another major renovation at Amber. We checked in with Sarwa to get the dish on the new digs.

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The Dish

Opening

February 25, 2011 | 3:59 pm

4 Comments

Introducing: Briscola, Cinq 01’s rustic Italian successor

Inside Briscola Trattoria (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Briscola, the new rustic Italian restaurant from Ink Entertainment’s Charles Khabouth and Amber’s Toufik Sarwa, opened last Friday to the packed crowds one would expect from a collaboration between the two nightlife vets. After taking over the space of Sarwa’s short-lived Cinq 01 restaurant, Briscola apparently saw visits from Ben Mulroney and Galen Weston Jr. on its first weekend.

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The Dish

Opening

February 11, 2011 | 3:11 pm

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Cinq 01 closes, Italian eatery Briscola Trattoria to take its place next week

Nighttime entertainment vets Charles Khabouth of Ink Entertainment and Toufik Sarwa of Amber have announced a new collaboration that will take over the space of Sarwa’s former College Street bistro Cinq 01. The new restaurant, Briscola Trattoria, will be a casual Italian eatery, and is set to open next Friday, February 18 (Cinq 01 closed in January).

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The Hype

Telling Tales

November 29, 2010 | 12:34 pm

3 Comments

Secrets of a society photographer: George Pimentel shares his favourite shots

Galen Weston Jr.’s Bieber haircut, a commando mission to shoot Conrad Black, and the never-ending battle for fashion supremacy—George Pimentel has seen, done and documented it all. Tonight, the celebrity photographer shares 300 of his favourite Toronto society snaps at a VIP-filled bash at the Carlu. In case you didn’t get an invite, here’s a sneak peek at some of Pimentel’s most memorable shots.

Begin the slide show >>

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

May 14, 2010 | 4:24 pm

1 Comment

Cinq 01 adds its own boozy weekend menu to College Street’s already crowded brunchscape

Cinq 01 awaits its brunchers (Image: Karon Liu)

Fresh from bringing the party back to College Street, Cinq 01 is now stepping up to continue the area’s brunch tradition. The resto-lounge’s first venture into brunch territory seeks to capture New York’s post–Saturday night vibe of which owner Toufik Sarwa is so fond. “I want it to be a nice, civilized brunch, something that would remind me of my New York Sundays,” he says. “I love New York on Sundays, and I find Toronto is sometimes too sleepy on Sunday.”

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

May 10, 2010 | 3:38 pm

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Tease those TIFF taste buds with a Shinan Govani Q&A

Shinan Govani at the launch party for his book, Boldface Names (Photo by Jen McNeely)

Local gossip king Shinan Govani landed the cover of the premiere issue of In Toronto magazine this week (it’s like Xtra or Fab for the Yorkville crowd), and while we already know too much about the party pundit, the story revealed some tidbits that might be useful for amateur celebrity spotters. The highlights of the 1,400-word Q&A:

Govani’s picks for celebrity sightings:
Drew Barrymore was spotted at Sweaty Betty’s twice when she was in town for TIFF, Robin Williams once visited the Dora Keogh, Daniel Craig and Megan Fox have dined at Avenue Road’s L’Unità, and Toufik Sarwa’s Cinq 01 on College is the go-to place for local celebs.

His answer to the tired “will Toronto ever be like New York” question:
Up the population by one million. “Toronto is plenty engaging and glam—what we’re still lacking is scale,” he tells the magazine, adding that a Toronto party may have 10 “cool” people, but a New York or London party may have 100 “cool” people.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 23, 2010 | 9:59 am

2 Comments

Toronto is now out-partying Montreal

After years of being known for its rather conservative party scene, is Toronto finally getting its act together? Resto-lounge mogul Toufik Sarwa says yes; in fact, Toronto now outshines Montreal as the best party city in the country, he tells BlogTO.

Ten years ago, I wanted to get the hell out of here. Now you couldn’t push me out. Even New York has reached its nighttime apex, and there’s a feeling in Toronto that it’s continually evolving and still has room to grow…that’s a good feeling.
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The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 11, 2010 | 2:10 pm

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Is Cinq 01 the new Amber?

Cinq 01: Take the boy out of Yorkville, but not Yorkville out of the boy (Photo by Karon Liu)

After finding success among the socialites with Yorkville’s Amber, nightclub king Toufik Sarwa opened Cinq 01 to create a more grown-up venture—a place where the emphasis is on the food rather than the guest list. But no such luck. Since the spot opened last fall, it has been increasingly packed with the well heeled, making this the first time since the ’90s that the glitterati are partying on College Street (and this time, they’re not slumming it).

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The Dish

Opening

November 2, 2009 | 12:01 pm

1 Comment

Just Opened: Cinq 01

Parked on College St.: Cinq 01 contains elements from Toufik Sarwa's childhood (Photo by Karon Liu)

Parked on College Street: Cinq 01 contains elements from Toufik Sarwa's childhood (Photo by Karon Liu)

Lounge king Toufik Sarwa, owner of Amber, is branching out of Yorkville with the opening of a quaint bistro called Cinq 01 in Little Italy.

“When I set out at Amber, I thought I’d devote 10 years of my life to it. I had offers to be partners in other projects, but I turned them down,” Sarwa says. But last September, four months before his one-decade anniversary at Amber, the space formerly occupied by Arthur’s became available and Sarwa snatched it up. “It was just perfect timing; everything fell into place.”

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