FASHION Magazine

Leather, wool and tons of fur—it may be spring in the city, but due to sub-zero temps, show-goers stepped out for day one of Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week swaddled in layers upon layers. These stylish few incorporated spring accents into their ensembles with ease. Spotted in front of the tents at David Pecaut Square, […]

The post Street Style, Toronto: 32 shots from outside the first day of World Mastercard Fashion Week appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Forget sports: We’re all about a fashion fantasy draft. FASHION’s editors share their favourite runway looks and the real ways to wear them come springtime.

See the Spring 2014 editors’ picks »

See the photos from Holt Renfrew’s Uncrate India party »

We gave you a behind-the-scenes peek at how Alexandra Weston and Waris Ahluwalia curated the Holt Renfrew H Project Uncrate India collection. We shared 50+ artisanal items from the collection. And now it’s time to take a look at the incredible bash that Holt Renfrew threw last night in celebration of it all. The Bloor Street store was transformed into a vibrant Indian market, welcoming hundreds of guests adorned in sari-inspired attire. Rooms were tented with pink and orange fabric for an intimate feel, gilded bird cages stuffed with flowers hung from the ceilings and guests were greeted upon arrival with a shower of rose petals. But the lavish extravaganza didn’t stop there.

See the photos from Michael Kors’ Toronto visit »

“Just when you thought you had everything, along comes a camouflage mink stole,” drawled Michael Kors, as a model glided into Holt Renfrew’s café in an outfit from his Fall 2013 collection.

The mini-show followed lunch for 20 or so top clients at Holt’s Cafe yesterday following a fête at his Bloor Street store on Wednesday night, with hostess Hilary Weston presiding over the affair in an aqua Oscar de la Renta tunic and pants.

Elsewhere there was much Michael Kors Spring 2013 about, including a dermatologist in a colourblock dress, and a capital markets trader a peony pink sheath. After tucking into sweet pea ravioli, lobster over fried green tomatoes and a sliver of cheesecake, there was an exodus downstairs to the racks of fall clothes available for special order.

See what our editors wore to prom »

Oh, prom. That all-important day in many a young lady’s life that comes and goes with many awkward photos to document. We all aspire to be gazelles, but most of end up looking all too earthly too forget. Ill-placed bows, unflattering chiffon cuts, forehead framing ringlets… y’all know what we’re talking about. Prom.

Since we’re big into making prom as awesomely fashionable as possible for our youngest readers, we decided to throw our own prom looks into the ring as both cautionary tales and endearing looks back as what we looked like back on our respective big nights out.

Take a peek at what some of FASHION’s editors looked like on prom night!

With a month long of Fall 2013 fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris coming to a close and Toronto Fashion Week just revving up, our mental shopping notes are already full with all the new things we want added to our closet. Heeled oxfords! Mini globes! Next level grunge! Most mere mortals will have to wait at least six months for Fall 2013’s newness to hit the ground floor, but we’ve found a few ways to get in on the trends you’re drooling over right now. The best part? You won’t be spending a dime. From Prada’s ever-clever fur and gingham combo to Chanel’s necklace-over-hair combo, our very own editors are showing you 5 chic and easy ways to get on your favourite Fall 2013 trends ASAP.

View FASHION’s 35th anniversary party photos »
Check out our archive of every FASHION cover since 1977 »

What’s better than a birthday party? Your own birthday party! On Wednesday night, the FASHION team (well, that’d be us) celebrated the magazine’s 35^th anniversary, and as you might expect, Toronto’s most stylish guys and gals were out in full force. 700 of our closest friends packed into the Distillery’s Fermenting Cellar to toast us with Skyy Vodka cocktails, mini burgers and musical performances by Divine Brown and The Parallels.

See the photo gallery »

The tutus were out in full force for the official opening of the National Ballet of Canada’s twofold exhibitions celebrating the company’s first 60 years. 60 Years of Designing the Ballet and the Tutu Project debuted with a glitzy reveal at Toronto’s Design Exchange, with everyone from the ballet’s own dancers like Greta Hodgkinson, Tina Pereira and former prima ballerina Victoria Tennant to Jeanne Beker and Vawk’s Sunny Fong raising a glass in toast. The first exhibit, a look back at some of the most notable costumes and sets curated by the company’s former costume designer Caroline O’Brien, came complete with ultra-lifelike dessert tables and a magical blue sleigh from The Nutcracker and several costumes for the wishful dancers to try on and pose with (we indulged, obviously). The second, an assembly of 60 specially designed tutus—one to celebrate each year in business—was displayed throughout the room. Guests seemed to take their toast quite literally, with Kara Alloway in a voluminous Mary Katrantzou lampshade skirt, Karolyne Ellacott in an actual tutu dress and several other attendees sporting pulled-back ballet topknots.

Perhaps the most shocking part about American Apparel’s latest ad campaign is that it’s really not shocking at all, at least not for the reasons AA has become known: instead of high-rise thongs or bared breasts, a “senior” model serenely poses in AA garb, her silver hair flanking her shoulders. Though it wouldn’t be AA if there weren’t at least one gratuitous crotch shot, Jacky (whose last name or exact age hasn’t been released yet) still manages to keep it classy.

“There was something so compelling about Jacky’s look and energy when we first spotted her in a New York restaurant this winter, we introduced ourselves and pulled up a chair. During a long discussion that touched on everything from career choices and nutrition to insights on relationships, age and beauty, we asked if she would consider being photographed by us. We were thrilled when she agreed,” AA posted on their Facebook page, which also has an entire album devoted to the senior beauty’s campaign.

We have to admit that American Apparel’s latest campaigns have grabbed our attention for all the right reasons, which is a welcome departure from some of their tackier fare in earlier years. Take their last campaign, for example, which featured transgendered model Isis King of America’s Next Top Model fame sporting the label’s “Pride” tees and tanks. Instead of a 16-year-old waif who only a tiny fraction of the population can relate to, AA seems to be expanding their market and their demographic, making the brand more inclusive.

Though we’re normally wont to question the sometimes-shady brand’s motives, we’re all for timeless beauty and style, and this campaign and King’s are definitely a step in the right direction for making advertised fashion and beauty more relatable. What do you think about AA’s latest campaign: are they making positive strides in their latest batch of ads, or is this simply a ploy to change the public’s opinion about them?

Well, this is certainly a game-changer: Yves Saint Laurent has just announced that under the creative direction of Hedi Slimane, the fashion house will be entering a new era, complete with a new moniker.

In the next few months, the legendary French fashion house will undergo its transformation into Saint Laurent Paris, a nod to “Saint Laurent Rive Gauche,” the name YSL’s first-ever ready-to-wear collection was produced under in 1966. The rebranding will first hit sales floors as the S/S 2013 women’s collection later this year.

A YSL rep told WWD that Slimane wanted to recapture the original “impulses” that led Saint Laurent himself to make his foray into the RTW world: youth, freedom and modernity. The rebranding’s aim is to bring the house back to its “truth, purity and essence.”

Obviously, you can’t make a big change like this without eliciting some strong responses. Saint Laurent died relatively recently (in 2008), and understandably, a lot of people are still very attached to the image of the man behind the label. Taking the eponymous brand’s name in a new direction has been met with a certain degree (i.e. a lot) of outrage so far. The Twitterverse in particular was blazing with anger, with big-ticket fashion players from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to Independent Fashion Bloggers tweeting their distaste.

“Yves Saint Laurent is changing their name… Not gonna lie.. I’m a little upset,” MBFW tweeted.

“Why anyone would want to name change the classic Yves Saint Laurent is beyond us […],” IFB opined.

We’re a bit torn on this one: calling the “YSL” moniker iconic is almost an understatement, and anyone with the slightest inclination to fashion is probably a bit attached to the fashion house’s name and logo (which, thankfully, Slimane isn’t changing). Then again, maybe Slimane is right — maybe it is time to breathe some new life into a brand that’s long been shadowed by its founder’s legacy.

What do you think: can you get behind SLP or will you always be a YSL type?

Today, we’re going inside the vintage bag belonging to one of FASHION’s newest team members, our always-classy assistant fashion editor, Eliza Grossman. As the bag itself might suggest, Eliza is a Hepburn type who seems to be stylishly pulled together at all times. She’s got a penchant for cat-eyes, and, well, we’ve got a penchant for her, so what better way to show our love than to snoop her things!

Let’s explore! »

Just when we thought the world had enough (or one too many) celebrity clothing lines, Rihanna decided to give us another one. Yes, the Barbadian singer took to On Air with Ryan Secreast to announce her intentions of launching a fashion line of her own.

While RiRi doesn’t actually have any design chops of her own (then again, when has that ever mattered before?), she intends on earning the respect of the fashion industry by working closely with designers:

“This is also a road that I want to earn it. So I’m working with designers. Designers that I respect, and [fashion] companies that I respect. I want people to really trust me before I just say ‘Buy it, because it’s mine.'” Hmmm, is this starting to sound suspiciously like Kanye West part 2 to anyone else?

To be fair, Rihanna does have some serious commercial power behind her. After being spotted on the Jonathan Ross Show in head-to-toe Boy London, UK retailer Selfridges saw sales of the brand soar 45 per cent overnight. And then there’s her two-year-strong “design collaboration” with Emporio Armani (though the word “collaboration” has literally lost all meaning to us ever since Lindsay Lohan pastied Ungaro).

Maybe we’ll be eating our words in a year’s time, but we’re not too optimistic. While the singer has had some major fashion wins of late (think: her “self-designed” Armani Grammy gown) sometimes her taste is just a tad questionable. Remember her Thug Life tattoo? We do. And frankly, we’re not #overit.