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.

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