FASHION Magazine

See the Bellavance Fall 2014 collection »

By the way Bellavance designers Nolan Bellavance and Ava Hama described the rigorous military education inspiration behind their latest collection, you could almost be led to believe they themselves had been sent away to the school of hard knocks as kids (for the record, they met studying at Parsons in New York). Tough elements such as stiff raw denim with hand-distressed seams cut into a structured dress, trench and matching skirt and jacket combo, and a graphic chain link pointillist pattern screen printed on silks alluded to the severity and rigidity of learning institutions. Swooping fabric panels also made the grade, a smart play on graduation sashes. But while strictness may have been the initial jumping off point, rules are made to be broken, and rebellion is inevitable under such restraint. The chain link became fragmented when the volume and movement in the pleated pieces broke their continuity. Mohair on merino had a tattooed effect, several hems were left unfinished and peekaboo flashes of skin under apron-like shapes gave way to a little sex appeal. It may be several years since these two have been out of school, but they’re certainly on the honour roll for fall 2014.

Next Friday, all eyes will focus on New York for the latest onslaught of fashion week shows. For those attending Fall 2014 fashion week, that means T-minus 7 days to get your sartorial sh*t together. For those designing, it’s probably high time for panic. As most creative types would find easy to empathize with, one week till takeoff is the time when everything goes wrong. Model castings, seating charts and beauty briefs—they’re all going down right about now. We reached out to a few of our favourite Canadian designers to see how they were doing and to our shock, they all seem pretty cool and collected. Meanwhile, they gave us a peek at what they’ve got on slow burn for their upcoming shows during New York Fashion Week.

See the biggest Spring 2014 fashion trends »
See all our fashion month coverage »

With the end of fashion week in Toronto marking the close of Spring 2014 show season, it’s time we looked back at all the trends that emerged. As much as the runway sets the pace for what’s to come for the top Spring 2014 trends, the streets play a major role as show-going trendsetters give us the relatable breakdown of how to wear what’s hot next season. Prints take two spots on our top Spring 2014 trends list through those with a painterly quality and those influenced by international cultures. At Hérmes, Rousseau-inspired water lily florals were printed on luxurious fabrics while at Diane Von Furstenberg, dresses and skirts depicting an African wilderness roared. As for fashionable time travel, prepare to keep reminiscing about the youthful 1990s, which haven’t ceased to get reincarnated season after season. Designers like Rodarte, Balmain and Jason Wu have reinvented the decade’s essentials yet again. To help with your daydreaming of long sunny spring days we’ve compiled the ultimate gallery of top Spring 2014 trends as dictated by the runways and our favourite street style stars in New York, London, Milan, Paris and Toronto! Feel free to let this be your guide to budgeting and creating closet space for next season’s must have pieces.

View by trend: 1. 1990s | 2. Art-Inspired | 3. Athletic | 4. Blue | 5. Crop Tops | 6. Embellishment | 7. Metallic | 8. Pleats | 9. Sheer | 10. Worldly

See the street style from Toronto Fashion Week »

As the Spring 2014 season makes its way to Toronto, our homegrown street stylers have some statements of their own to be making. They arrived for the first day of The Shows last night; and as they prepped for viewings of Calla and Bellavance’s wares, photographer Stefania Yarhi flipped the focus to wares of their own.

Those outside the shows included Hipster Musings blogger Isabel Slone, who showed her penchant for fall’s pink trend with pops of the girlish hue on a button down shirt and artfully placed candy pins on her jacket lapel. She finished her look with whimsical striped socks and sturdy leather loafers.

Last night at The Shows in Toronto, the backstage was bustling as Covergirl makeup pro Amélie Ducharme and Pantene Pro-V consulting stylist Justin German created a look for Bellavance’s Spring 2014 collection described by Ducharme as sport meets city. Dewy skin was achieved using Covergirl Clean Liquid Makeup Sensitive Skin ($8, well.ca), while apples of the cheeks were given a sporty flush using Covergirl Cheekers Bronzer in “Copper Radiance” ($7, well.ca). Eyes were swept with shimmery orange and white shadows along both the upper and lower lash lines. Covergirl Smoky ShadowBlast in “Citrus Flair” ($9, at drugstores) was used on the outer half while Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pot in “Blazing White” ($5, well.ca) lit up the inner half of the eye. This contrast in colour, as well as the bare bottom lashes, were intended to make eyes appear large and round, explained Ducharme. The final step was a neutral, soft pink lip created with a light coat of Covergirl Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm in “Be Sweet” ($6, well.ca).

See the Bellavance Spring 2014 collection »

Since its launch fresh out of Parsons less than two years ago, Bellavance has been doing the fashion version of kicking ass and taking names. The New York-based label with an all-important Can Con connection (co-designer Nolan Bellavance grew up on a farm near Red Deer, Alberta) won MADE’s first young designer award in 2012, which amped the duo with support of Parsons alum like Antonio Berardi and Roopal Patel. Currently, Bellavance is stocked at cool kid haven Opening Ceremony, which is a feat in and of itself.

For their sophomore collection, Bellavance and co-designer Ava Hama went classic sportswear, naming Claire McCardell, founder of the all American look, as their muse. It was all about elevated simplicity, from the humble cotton dobby used on a peach and cornflower blue day dress to the classic robe, elevated for night with the use of ribbed silk and black trimming. The understated pieces benefited from last night’s intimate presentation, which capped off with a fabrication drilldown by Dr. Alexandra Palmer of the ROM. So too, did the duo’s mention of stripes, a repeated motif in the collection also rooted in sportswear history and perfect for another spin come Spring 2014.

New York, London, Milan and Paris may host countless (and mind-blowing!) shows during September, but with October quickly approaching our minds are already prepping for Toronto Fashion Week. When it comes to saving the best for last, our city is wrapping up the Spring 2014 season with stellar home-grown talent.

The packed Toronto schedule includes both The ShOws and World MasterCard Fashion Week, both of which are sure to show spring collections that will have us wishing we could just sleep through winter. Need more intel? Read on—we’ll be updating this guide to Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2014 as the details roll in.

Jump to: World MasterCard Fashion Week | The ShOws