FASHION Magazine

Panelled, peplumed, zippered or embossed, leathers dominate with their versatility and sex appeal.

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To celebrate fashion’s biggest season, we’ve put all of the most major ads (So much image slicing!) together in one space. We’ll be adding new creatives as they become available, so be sure to check back for all the biggest and best.

See all the campaigns »

Drenched hair and skin, cheeks flushed from exertion—with clear eyes and full hearts, Kari Molvar contends this season’s beauty can’t lose.

Gearing up for fashion week is always a sport in itself, but this season designers and backstage beauty pros went for a literal interpretation. With slicked-back hair and rosy cheeks flushed as if they’d just come in from a run, models strode athletically down the runways in mesh tracksuits, neoprene zip-ups and jerseys ticked with racing stripes. But even if you’re not in training mode, the look is just as chic. With that in mind, we asked the elite hair and makeup pros to give us a few pointers on pulling off the trend.

We break down this season’s trend » HAIR | SKIN | FULL GALLERY

See our vintage-inspired slideshow »

By Samantha Shephard

It’s a sunny Saturday morning in West Hollywood and Rita Ryack, the Oscar-nominated costume designer known for her work on Casino and A Beautiful Mind, is on a hunt for sequined dresses. Production on the film Rock of Ages is wrapping and she needs one more piece for Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character. Judging by the racks she’s browsing, which are filled with this season’s hottest labels and trends—Versace print T-shirts, heavily embellished Moschino jackets, sweeping red carpet–worthy gowns—you’d think she were shopping at an upscale department store. Think again. She’s at The Way We Wore, a vintage-clothing mecca that attracts A-list clients like Angelina Jolie, Dita Von Teese and Katy Perry. The shop is full of high-end designer pieces, like little black dresses from Chanel, elegant Christian Dior gowns, Pauline Trigère party dresses and Pucci pyjama pants, all dating from the 1930s to the early 1990s.

View the Vawk collection »
View the Vawkkin collection »
See all Toronto Fashion Week coverage »

If yesterday’s Vawk show was any indication, designer Sunny Fong’s muse for fall was a Grecian goddess-meets-art-deco Amelia Earhart. Models stormed down in the runway in aviation caps (sans goggles, sadly) and in regal purple and bronze.

The collection touched on some of the biggest trends for fall. The waist was the zone of focus; fur adorned peplums and leather bands created super-flattering nipped-in silhouettes. And then there was the art-deco detailing seen on the spring runways of the likes of Gucci and Alberta Ferretti. Geometric lines decorated skirts and dresses to much success.

Post-finale, the audience was shown a film of Fong describing the Vawkkin (Vawk’s accessible sister line) modus operandi. Kudos to the designer for making a fashion week film with some substance.

Then came Vawkkin, modeled by “real women” (because real women can only ‘Vawkkin’ budget clothing lines?). The more affordable collection of maybe too much black and grey (and a somewhat budget looking turquoise fabric) touched on some real trends (read: peplums) and seemed to be met with approval from the crowd.

With Milan Fashion Week just kicking off, here are my top five obsessions of day one:

1. Gucci‘s opulent romanticism: Judging from the miles of velvet and silk, iridescent feathered frocks, croc saddlebags, leather capes, uniform-inspired dress coats, and innovative fabric mixes (mink inlaid on chiffon, anyone?), Gucci’s Fall 2012 collection begs for a crisp night and a brilliant moon.

2. Brian Atwood: We love the man and the shoes. I popped into Atwood’s showroom to preview his new Fall 2012 collection, which includes his first full line of handbags. Editors and buyers were asked not to tweet, so you’ll have to use your imagination: over-the-knee lace-up leopard-print boots, giraffe and Dalmatian patterns, blue fringed cross-body bags, multi-coloured python clutches with metal rivets, and plush minaudieres. One word: WANT.

Was it my imagination or did the maître d at the Charleston Restaurant light up when he saw me coming tonight, hugging me and my pasta partner in crime, Newsweek/the Daily Beast’s Robin Givhan, and proudly declaring “spaghetti rosa for you!”

One of the things I marvel about in Milan is the flawless service from a loyal cast of shopkeepers, hotel concierges, restaurant owners, and wait staff who lovingly keep the same job year after year, and have become my Milanese family away from home when I touch down twice a year. But enough warm and fuzzy. You want to hear about the clothes!

Your mom will probably want to compare the movie Ten Year, about high school friends coming together for one night at their 10 year reunion, with movies like The Big Chill. And your older sister will probably compare it to Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, but while the movie does have some similar themes against the backdrop of who-we-were-then-isn’t-who-we-are-now, what it has that these do not is the most genetically blessed graduating class ever assembled. Case in point, the cast-members who showed up at TIFF to promote the film: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Justin Long, Ari Graynor, Kate Mara, Brian Geraghty, Lynn Collins, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Noonan, and Scott Porter. There may have been more, but we ran out of fingers.

We asked the cast, who of their co-stars they would want to go to a reunion with. Read their answers after the jump:

By Sarah Casselman and Susie Sheffman

From swinging ’60s to cowgirl chic, the hot looks
and perfect pieces you need for fall.

View the runway report now »

View by trend: Colour | Strict Rules | Tux Luxe | Flash Mob | Mod Squad
True Grit | Geometry Class | Accessories

Consider Kirsty Ward’s penchant for blending sharp silhouettes and severe structure with the most romantic of shades and fabrics a beautiful exercise in contrast. After completing her masters at Central Saint Martins and working a little over a year under the wing of Alberta Ferretti, Ward started her own label in 2010. Most likely a combination of the avante garde aesthetic that CSM has become known for and Ferretti’s floaty femininity, Ward’s new line straddles to perfection.

Check out our Milan fall 2011 fashion week photo gallery »

Sequins, ruffles, jewel toned chiffon… Could I be anywhere but an Alberta Ferretti show? But wait! There is a distinctly minimal look that’s new for the reigning queen of chiffon as well as a bit of a mod ‘60s vibe I am seeing in bright trim little coats, simple shifts and bellbottoms. What’s this? Has Ferretti set down her Bedazzler once and for all? Never!