FASHION Magazine

View our Montreal Fashion Week gallery »

The Montreal Fashion Week party s’est terminé. Edition 24 of this four-day event celebrated its second instalment at the massive Arsenal Gallery in Griffintown. Here, in chronological order, were the ten most Instagram-worthy moments:

See the article photos »

It’s a sweltering summer day, but in a cavernous (and thankfully, cool) Montreal loft studio a model is glammed up like a hostess at a holiday fete. The shoot is for a capsule collection that brings together 365-store-strong Canadian retailer Reitmans and two-year-old fashion label Martin Lim, designed by Montreal-based husband and wife team Pao Lim and Danielle Martin, who won last year’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition. But these designers aren’t exactly new kids on the block. After both completing a master of arts in fashion at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins, Martin and Lim honed their design skills in Paris: she worked at Christian Lacroix; both put in time at Roland Mouret. In 2004, they returned to Canada, and launched their own line in 2010.

View our Montreal Fashion Week Spring 2013 photo gallery! »

It sure wasn’t easy getting into the groove of fashion week the day after Labour Day weekend, but this season’s Semaine de la mode was a success on many levels. A brand new venue, the return of practically all of Montreal’s cult fave designers and the city’s first ever participation in the global event of Fashion’s Night Out made for four fabulous days that will be hard to forget—and difficult to outdo next year. Here’s our round up of the top moments from Montreal Fashion Week Spring 2013:

View the full collection »
See all Toronto Fashion Week coverage »

Bringing in a packed house for their 6 p.m. show, the husband-and-wife team behind Martin Lim is clearly onto something. Winners of last season’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition, they’ve already managed to carve a space in the crowded Canadian marketplace and construct garments that are instantly recognizable as their own.

The flyaway details across shoulders and down back seams were all there along with new tricks including sliced car wash swishes of silk, boxy leather tops, a metalicized chinoiserie print (best worn front row by our editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra) and piped mesh leggings under everything from tunics to dresses. As if that weren’t enough, their bold colour blocking and playful palette are sure to get the cash registers ringing.

View the collections »

How to survive Montreal Fashion Week? A roll of Mentos; it’s like breath-freshening gum that you can swallow. And breathe! I don’t mean simply inhale, but breathe in the moment. Season after season as I watch the evolution of designers maturing with each collection, I feel like I’m learning and growing too.

View the photo gallery »

Montreal Fashion Week rolled into town yesterday and parked herself at the usual spot at Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal. But the first show to kick off the Spring 2012 collections was off-site at Harricana. Mariouche Gagné debuted her new écono-musée de la creation de mode, a kind of open atelier where the public can discover first hand her upcycling methods. Tired fur coats, wedding dresses, and old leathers that enter the building eventually exit as haute manteaux, whimsical separates, and trendy accessories.

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!