FASHION Magazine

View the photo gallery »

If last night’s cocktail party at The Room in Toronto was all about the Mugler woman, the party’s many attendees showed just how diverse that woman can be. At one end of the spectrum was the usual mix of the city’s most fashionable ladies: Model Yasmin Warsame in exaggerated shoulders and a floor-length skirt, the Bay’s Sarah Kosloff in a velvet and shimmering silver vintage duo (the whole outfit bought for a cool $45), and our own Bernadette Morra in a black metallic Herman-Sellers-Gough jacket with a platinum-tipped fox collar. At the other, two transgendered attendees respectively in lace and coned leather, looking every bit Mother Monster as Gaga herself.

View the photo gallery »

Joeffer Caoc showed us how to stay glam on and off the court in his Spring 2012 collection. Despite the early afternoon start time, the fashion week veteran drew in high profile attendees including Jeanne Beker and our very own Bernadette Morra. Models marched down the runway like they were about to play a championship game—a champion in a much more chic uniform. Sportif looks included loose tanks and shorts with flashes of fuchsia, orange, and blue layered under breezy jackets and tunics, singlet-inspired column dresses, and gold lamé harem pants covered in black mesh. Aside from the occasional colour-blocked tote on the models’ arms, Caoc held back on accessories. (Who wants to lose an earring during a game?) Next time Caoc is hosting a game of pickup basketball, we hope we make the cut.

The world’s biggest, and perhaps bravest, pop star stormed Roy Thomson Hall last night for the premiere of W.E., a film she directed and co-wrote. The love story of Wallis Simpson and the Prince of Wales, with a parallel tale of a Wallis-obsessed doctor’s wife, is Madonna’s first feature effort, a career move that film critics have not taken kindly to. I found W.E. to be entertaining, stylish, and fun, and I admire Madonna for holding her Garren-coiffed head high amid the barbs. After a private meeting, screening, and invitation to join her at her table for dinner, here are some other things I learned:

“You’re a smart girl. You don’t need to work in fashion.”

The white-haired retiree uttering those words to a wide-eyed MBA grad who expressed interest in the clothing industry was oblivious to the fact that I was reeling from his remark.

Nor did anyone else around the breakfast table at a friend’s cottage twig to the fact that I had just been insulted. At one time, I would have piped up and suggested he ask billionaire Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, whether he thinks there is any upside to a brilliant business mind in fashion.

View the photo gallery »

As we reported back in early June, Mercedes-Benz and IMG have introduced Start Up, their internationally lauded joint competition and mentorship program for up-and-coming designers to Canada. Well, here we go!

Early Wednesday, the first Start Up step was put into place, as I—along with a slew of notables including designer Marie Saint Pierre and FDCC president Robin Kay—judged the Montreal semi-final applicants. As a fan and avid supporter of Canadian fashion, I was thrilled to be a guest judge. Especially since FASHION Magazine is the official magazine sponsor!

Welcome to our new feature, “What’s in your bag?” Each week, we’ll be taking a look at the most commonly used items by our editors: bags! Sometimes snazzy and sometimes a tad worn down, our bags—and what’s in them—give you a little peek into our personal quirks. First up, we’re sneaking a peek into editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra’s gorgeous Chanel 2.55 flap handbag.

Let’s explore! »

Yesterday marked the start of Fall 2011’s Paris Couture Week. Though couture is often luxe and intricate, one house stands apart from the rest in boldness and charisma: Christian Dior. But as the cloud of former Dior designer John Galliano’s ongoing trial still looms over the industry, critics suspected the collection would be different due to his absence of direction. To our surprise, “different” turned to out mean shocking, and frankly disappointing.

The collection was what can only be described as an overzealous attempt to rework what is known as Dior. It seems to be of widespread opinion that from the patterns to the cuts, the ensembles simply did not belong in a couture collection. Overall, there was a vast lack of direction and vision, with colours and materials clashing all over the runway.

At the end of the show, creative director Bill Gaytten took a bow, accompanied by his first studio assistant, Susanna Venegas. He seemed elated to be at the head of the runway, but that’s probably because he didn’t see the giant elephant in the room with the “It Wasn’t Galliano” sign around its neck. Gaytten is already set to take over Galliano’s self-titled label, and though there were suspicions that he’d be taking over for the estranged designer at Dior, those can probably be put to rest. Is Gaytten going straight to the guillotine?

Who hasn’t dreamt of living the luxuriously fashionable life of Hollywood grand dame Elizabeth Taylor? From Cleopatra to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Taylor dominated the big screen and captured the hearts of her stylish followers. Today, Christie’s officially announced they’ll be launching a landmark series of public exhibitions to display Taylor’s jewelry, fashion, accessories, decorative arts, and memorabilia that will eventually end with their sale.

Beginning in September, the collection will make stops in Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris, and Hong Kong. It’s then set to head to New York City for December 3, where a 10-day exhibition at Rockefeller Center will be followed by four consecutive days of auctions. In keeping with Taylor’s life-long devotion to humanitarian causes, a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which she established in 1991.

Now, who isn’t looking forward to the glamorous-to-end-all-things-glamorous exhibit?

Need to know more about Lady Gaga‘s fabulous get-up on the cover of our August 2011 issue? Have no fear, editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra and senior editor, fashion news, Sarah Casselman break it down in this exclusive video as well as divulging some fun Gaga facts! Read our Q&A with Lady Gaga for her thoughts on […]

The post Cover girl discussed: Lady Gaga graces our August 2011 issue cover appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Even someone who chooses a career in the public eye might not be all that comfortable being lavished with attention. “Some actors are very amorphous and transformative, and they need anonymity in order to exist psychologically,” Romola Garai tells features editor Rani Sheen in “Bright Light” (page 59). “And then others have strong, powerful presences and personality, and fame is something they are attracted to and that they need to be happy.”

While in Paris during the couture shows, editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra had a rare glimpse into one of fashion’s most treasured troves: the apartment once inhabited by a one Mademoiselle Coco Chanel. Luckily for us, she brought her Flip Camera. Come inside!

The post This is how legends live: Our tour through Coco Chanel’s apartment appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

In their latest profile, the globetrotting, style-snapping trio behind the website The Coveteur turned their voyeuristic lens on the wardrobe of our editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra. We go behind the scenes with the team⎯designer Erin Kleinberg, stylist Stephanie Mark and photographer Jake Rosenberg⎯in this exclusive gallery of photos from their various shoots in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles.