FASHION Magazine

Finally, our fashion prayers have been answered. J.Crew (jcrew.com), the famous American prepster palace, is opening its first Canadian store this month in the newly renovated Yorkdale Shopping Centre. (Can I get an amen?) Here, the ever-stylish Jenna Lyons, a.k.a. J.Crew’s president and executive creative director, talks fall must-haves and brand power.

Why did J.Crew decide to launch in Canada this year?
“We saw an increased level of traffic to our website from Canada. There was definitely a following [and] it was a natural progression. And fall is a great time to enter into a new country.”

When winter is in full swing there is no word that is music to my ears more than cashmere. This ultra cozy Talula poncho is equal parts cheap and chic and would look great paired with a pair of leggings and some sleek riding boots. ($115, Aritzia.com)

Claudia Schiffer wants to become a designer. “I’ve been in this business for so long and developed my name globally, but I have no product to show for it. And I would love to develop it now,” she said yesterday at the IHT TechnoLuxury conference in Berlin. Schiffer expressed interest in affordable cashmere, because it’s “classic” and she “wears it all the time.”

When is a sweater not just a sweater?

When it is five-ply cashmere, trimmed in Mongolian lamb, speckled with suede sequins or inset with lace sleeves.

But then, we should expect no less from Alessandra Vicedomini, a statuesque Milanese model who now resides in Geneva with her banker husband.

That Alpine air was all over the Vicedomini (vicedominicashmere.com) collection in the form of the dusty rose and faded blue-grey palette, the fox-trimmed après-ski vests and the beaded tunics perfect for curling up fireside. When selling for the spring/summer season, the designer flips to swimsuits and beachwear.

But it was her knits that had guests doffing their Balmains at a champagne-fueled trunk show at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel.