FASHION Magazine

Judged either by the vulgar mathematics of marketing or by higher, more refined artistic standards, fashion exhibitions are flourishing. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, a show that ran at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2011, attracted 661,509 visitors, making it one of the 10 most popular attractions in the Met’s 143-year history, right up there with the Treasures of Tutankhamun and the Mona Lisa.

Besides scoring big numbers, the show also ranked high on a scale of aesthetic satisfaction. “It was really about an artist who spoke very emotionally through his work,” says Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, who saw it three times and speaks of it as “the most extraordinary fashion exhibition I’ve seen.”

In 2013, the exhibition boom continues. Steele and her curatorial team tackle an explosive subject with Queer Style, opening at FIT next September. The first major show to explore the gay influence on fashion, it’s been a long time coming, but its arrival this year seems thrillingly on-trend, 2013 having got rolling with an inaugural address in which U.S. President Obama gave a shout-out to Stonewall and a showing of Chanel haute couture that concluded with lesbian brides.

And transgressive seems to be trending. Costumes worn by rock music’s great gender bender are featured in David Bowie is, an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (March 23 to July 28).

See the top ’90s-inspired beauty products in Diane and Dick’s tool kit »

By Celia Ellenberg

About halfway through the spring 2013 shows in New York, one thing became clear: Contours, not colour, were set to define the season. Gone were the deep wine-stained lips and tinted lashes from fall; in their place was, well, very little to speak of.

“It is a reaction to the economic times we are in. Huge, glamorous, overdone hair and makeup don’t make sense,” says makeup artist Diane Kendal, who had a big hand in this sea change. Over the past few seasons, Kendal has made boyish, raw but beautiful faces something of a calling card as the backstage go-to for cool designers like Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang and, more recently, Victoria Beckham. “Their point of view is what I translate,” Kendal humbly insists, pointing out that there was a ’90s-era lens on the collective perspective for spring.

“The look seems to have a modern feel,” she says, explaining why designers requested the decade’s sparse style en masse. “People like the simplicity—the pureness of design. It’s clean.” It’s also significantly less undone than it was 20 years ago. “It’s less grungy this time around.” The new minimalism is about subtly accentuating features rather than cultivating a full-on “look.” The irony, of course, is that a full-on look is actually easier to pull off than the “nothing” makeup that Kendal and fellow face-painters such as Shiseido artistic director Dick Page pioneered.

Read all the backstage tips from Peter Som Spring 2013 »

More was more on Peter Som’s Spring 2013 runway when it came to beauty. Bright orange eyelids were mixed with washed out pastel hair extensions, resulting in the ultimate cool-girl vibe for spring.

The Peter Som beauty team—led by Wella Professionals global creative director Eugene Souleiman and makeup artist Tom Pecheux—matched the collection’s watercolour-print boardshorts and billowy floral dresses with bright pops of colour. However, the models’ natural skin tone played a key role in the look. “There is no blush, no highlighter—no need,” said Pecheux, noting that all the models were returning from summer vacation with flawless, toned skin. As our spring trends guide reported, skincare products play a major role when it comes to the “natural” skin look. Pecheux used hydrating gel, foundation and a translucent powder to ensure complexions looked fresh.

See the images from our metallic photo shoot »
See the metallic trend on the runway »

Make like Raf Simons and Christopher Bailey and put some shine in your step this spring. With so many shimmering silks, skins and sequins for spring, the time to reflect on metallics is undoubtedly now.

By Olivia Stren

I’m in wedding empress Ines Di Santo’s Toronto boutique, fondling a frothy, aisle-long expanse of Chantilly lace, Italian silk and doppia faccia (double face) Italian satin—a decadent marriage between peau de soie and taffeta. “It feels like orchid petals,” says Di Santo, caressing it. “To know a gown, you have to feel it,” she tells me in a seductive rasp. “How do you know the man you’re going to marry? You have to feeeeel him. The same goes for a dress.”

We sit on a gold-framed divan, the kind of perch that looks designed for fainting, nibbling on petits fours or getting fanned by manservants. There are no men here, though, and one gets the sense there never are. Di Santo’s couture dresses—also for sale at New York’s swish Bergdorf Goodman department store—are lavish, theatrical scene-stealers redolent of the designer’s childhood in Buenos Aires during the 1950s and ’60s. “I remember going to the theatre with my papa and a handsome actor pulled up in a Rolls-Royce, and I thought, ‘Everybody should always look like that—fancy,’” she says. Her first fashion show in Toronto was appropriately dramatic; she rented Casa Loma and had a tiger escort her models down the catwalk. “I see beauty everywhere,” she says. “My husband tells me, ‘All I see is a rock, and you see what it would look like drizzled with rose petals.’” She tells me what she saw when she first saw me: “I see a New York night wedding at a glamorous restaurant and you in a long Chantilly lace gown.” (I’m getting married during the day at City Hall in San Francisco in a knee-length cocktail dress.)

Di Santo is, she explains, in the business of making dreams come true. But I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her wedding day. I’m sorry to add that it was by no means because I was focused on more virtuous or sensible pastimes; I just preferred to view marriage as an ending, rather than a beginning. So thoughts of the Big Day, freighted with the suffocating weight of Forever, were generally wed to a bridal party of neuroses; the festive theme of my outlook was summed up nicely once by actor Jeff Bridges, who said about his marriage: “I thought it was a giant step toward death.”

See all 36 must-have Spring 2013 accessories »

If you’re looking to round out your Spring 2013 wardrobe before the thermometer hits a favourable temperature, we have some easy fixes and it’s all about accessories. From peekaboo panels on red leather purses to woven wedges, these on-trend pieces can complete any look.

For Spring 2013 we saw festival style take its place on the runways of Altuzarra and Band of Ousiders, so why not complete your Coachella packing with a woven bangle and wicker clutch? Sun-drenched raffia, wicker and straw are woven into wedges, stacked heels and shopping totes, signalling laid-back summer style. And if you’re not flocking to one of the many summer festivals and want to keep it basic, the new see-through trend is one that will keep you in the clear. Basic accessories have been redefined by giving oxford shoes plastic inserts and chunky heels on strappy sandals have been made see-through. These peekaboo plastic panels lend lightness to polished metallics and patent leathers.

By Janine Falcon

See 8 all-natural beauty products to try now »

Nature’s whimsy can be utterly charming—like sunshine when it rains. Whimsy is less than charming, however, when it comes to crafting high-quality, high-performance skincare and cosmetics from natural ingredients. Synthetics win in terms of stability and reliability over plant-based products that lack quality controls. But despite the complexities involved in formulating with naturals, more and more cosmetic chemists are enjoying the creative challenge. Our payoff is more—and better—eco-friendly beauty products we want to use.

The Custom Manufacturer
Mark Rival developed one of Canada’s better-known natural skincare brands—though its name can’t be revealed as the custom-formulation industry is highly competitive and secretive. The president and chief formulator for Leslie Cosmetics, an Ontario custom manufacturer of prestige personal-care products, Rival’s work with that brand and the success he’s watched it achieve have profoundly affected how he formulates overall. Consider him the stealth game-changer, steering skincare in a more natural direction one client at a time. “It’s convinced me to look into alternative raw materials, natural and certified organic alternatives for all new products,” he says.

See the Tokyo Pop photo shoot »
See the Asian-inspired trend on the runway »

Just in time for a late winter pick-me-up, we transport Spring 2013’s Asian-inspired trend to the Miami streets for this vibrant, cartoon-hued photo shoot. Get lost in the sumptuous hues, tropical landscape and standout designer gear from Prada, Miu Miu, Mary Katrantzou, Emilio Pucci and more.

“How many shows do you see when you are in Paris?”

I get asked this question often, and to make things easy my response is, “Lots.” But the truth is, though the world’s eyes might be on the runways, insiders know there’s more to fashion week than catwalk parades.

Re-sees, essentially a closer inspection of the clothes in a designer’s showroom, fill the gaps between shows. And if there’s any time left, we try to swing by to see out-of-towners who have rented space in hotels or apartments. As you will see in “French Immersion” (page 54), my diary from the Spring 2013 collections, off-runway adventures are rewarded with the chance to touch or even try things on. And if we’re really lucky, the designer is on-site and in the mood to chat. Of course the extra appointments make for days so long that dinner often winds up being a yogourt I have stashed in the minibar.

ALWAYS IN FASHION
36 fashionmagazine.com
40 Letter from the editor
42 Contributors
44 Behind the scenes
46 Letters from our readers

FASHION
50 NEWS Face Hunter debuts a new book, the hottest hue to wear now, Guess lands a Canadian model and DKNY teams up with Refinery29.
52 FLASHPOINT Stylish women from across Canada step out in stripes and statement tees.
54 DIARY Join Bernadette Morra as she traipses from showroom to showroom at Paris Fashion Week.
60 AT THE SHOWS Card games, hot baths and dish duty—some of fashion’s finest reveal how they deal with pre-show jitters.

Homegrown actress Emily VanCamp covers FASHION Magazine’s April 2013 issue. In this sneak peek, features editor, Elio Iannacci recounts the best moments from his interview with the actress last month.

Unlike the slick, sly person she plays on the hit TV show, Revenge, Canadian actress Emily VanCamp does not fill her days ruining other people’s lives. In fact, the only thing VanCamp admits to sharing with Emily Thorne—the sociopathic socialite from the ABC hit television series—is her character’s first name. While chatting with us for FASHION‘s April cover story, the Port Perry, Ontario native—who is rumoured to star in the upcoming Captain America sequel—made it clear that she is not going to embark on any ruthless conquests for vengeance any time soon.

Instead, the 26-year-old talent is focusing on honing her craft, choosing the right scripts and, when awards season hits, figuring out best practices for the red carpet. “There is definitely a secret dress code when it comes to Hollywood,” she says. “For awards shows, I feel if you’re nominated for something you can take it to that extra level because it is— in a weird way—your night. When you’re presenting, you need to be demure and understated. I do believe there’s an art to choosing the right dress for the right moment.”