FASHION Magazine

See the full backstage gallery from Tanya Taylor Fall 2013 »

If you’re a fan of loose curls and beachy waves, listen up. While backstage at the Tanya Taylor Fall 2013 show I witnessed an incredibly inventive way to add movement and texture to hair without relying on a curling iron.

Justin German, Pantene Pro-V’s consulting stylist, wanted “dropped out waves” for the ’60s-inspired look, which meant no structured ringlets were welcome. Instead, German added texture and movement to the hair by rolling pieces up into pin curls and setting them with a quick clamp of the flatiron. “To make it a little more random we [rolled] some one way and some the other way,” German explained of the technique. “We didn’t want it to look like it was done with a curling iron.” Finally, he set everything in place with a quick spritz of Pantene Pro-V Stylers Flexible Hold Hairspray.

See our street style photos from Toronto Fashion Week »

At night two of Toronto’s The Shows, three impressive collections had the fashion scene raving. Up-and-coming designers Tanya Taylor and Steven Tai both made their home-turf runway debuts, and Toronto-based designer Jeremy Laing closed the evening with a flashy collection (I’m looking at you, gold trench coat) previously shown at New York Fashion Week. As our own fashion week continues, so does the Toronto street style. The setting sun gave attendees a certain glow as they arrived at the east-end venue Andrew Richards Designs, many of them keeping warm and stylish in transitional leather jackets. Yes, it’s still cold out, but let’s just pretend it’s not!

See the backstage beauty gallery from Jeremy Laing Fall 2013 »

The makeup: “The cool thing about this look is the shape of the eye; Jeremy wanted to have a very hollowed out eye socket. He doesn’t like the girls to look too preppy, princess-y, or too done. Maybe a little bit androgynous. It’s all about the shapes; and you can tell his shapes are a little bit unusual. “ – Greg Wencel, Cover Girl makeup pro

To achieve this “Sleepy Hollow” look, Wencel custom mixed a shade of slate grey, using both shades from the Cover Girl Smokey ShadowBlast eyeshadow stick in “Onyx Smoke” on the back of his hand. The cream shadow was chosen because it would give a “lived in, glossy eye effect.” Wencel applied the majority of color is from the crease of the eye to the brows, leaving a slightly lighter wash of grey on the lid of the eye. To set the cream, a silver shadow was pressed over top, which also added a “hint of blue.” The lashes were kept natural with no curling or mascara. To keep models looking fragile, Wencel wanted a “pale veil of color” on the skin. He used a foundation one or two shades lighter than the models natural color then set it with an even paler shade of pressed powder. For cheeks, it was all about “hollowing and sculpting” with bronzer to exaggerate the contour. Finally, lips were almost devoid of pigment: Wencel applied a clear balm on the lips and then buffed foundation over the edge of the lip line for an ombré effect.

See the complete Tanya Taylor Fall 2013 collection »

Here are the places I want to go with Tanya Taylor: On a road trip through the midwest USA. Back to the ’60s. To a rumble in the parking lot of Rydell High. All of these ideas and places permeated the designer’s Fall 2013 collection, which was brought from New York to The Shows in Toronto, Taylor’s hometown. An ambient Trentemøller remix of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper” echoed throughout the room as models in thick cat-eye liner came down the runway, some wearing leather driving gloves which only added to the retro road trip fantasy.

Tanya Taylor is a champion of feminine style with cool-girl edge. Waistlines were defined with three skinny strands of elastic-looking cord, usually colour coordinated with the fabric below (a mustard-yellow leather tunic being the most show-stopping of them all). On dresses, forward-folding pleats and side cutouts made for flattering silhouettes—especially so on a black A-line dress with beaded detail that was worn over a white turtleneck.

See the Jeremy Laing Fall 2013 collection »

Jeremy Laing knows how to churn out cool-girl clothes. For fall 2013, the Toronto-based designer, who also shows at New York fashion week, delivered a strong 31-look collection that focused on languid layers, colour-blocking (mustard is having a moment) and experimental fabrics like gold laminate seersucker. Known for his architectural shapes, Laing sent out a chic quilted cocoon coat–a key outerwear trend for fall that said snap-me-up; while his painterly smocks and shirtdresses nailed the concept of effortless dressing. As for this artiste’s palette, muted shades of grey, cream and rust ruled, though the occasional flash of gold (primarily splashed on jackets) lit up the runway. A graphic black and white stripe-and-cross print also ran throughout the line-up–a collaboration with friend, and artist, Vanessa Maltese. Looks like cool girls everywhere will be lusting after Laing’s latest hits come Fall 2013.

See the Steven Tai Fall 2013 collection »

If the meek inherit the earth, the geeks will inherit the fashion industry. At the second day of the off-the-grid fashion week, The Shows, we were introduced to Vancouver-born Steven Tai, who virtually blew the room away with his abnormal talents. We mean abnormal in the best way possible. A self-professed mad scientist who concocts fabric mixes as if they were potions, Tai showed a vibrant, street conscious and highly wearable Fall 2013 collection made of new and unique fabrics like…silicone. “There’s a big future in silicone,” he told me after the show. How so? Well, take the two apocalyptically quaint looking sweatshirts that closed the collection (exhibit A and B). Their quirky combinations of magnets, embroidery (the little gals pictured), digital prints (the UFOs hovering menacingly) are easily covetable, but the Kool-Aid orange and turquoise poured silicone is what really makes them stand out from the rest. Tai’s fabric experimentation also extended to his use of unusual quilting on cotton pockets and jackets and his peekaboo pant pleating was extraordinary. Any way you slice it, really, Tai gets two thumbs up.

See the Comrags Fall 2013 collection »

Judy Cornish and Joyce Gunhouse are no strangers to the catwalk. This year marks the 30th anniversary of their beloved Toronto-based label Comrags, and nearly one year in their new digs on Dundas West. “We’ve been at it for so long, it’s fun to have something that challenges us,” Cornish said from the top of the runway at The Shows, in a discussion about the collection with Dr. Alexandra Palmer of the Royal Ontario Museum. “We never forget that what we do is make clothes,” Gunhouse added. And these are clothes that were made for wearing.

“Nothing too precious” was the mandate for the duo’s Fall 2013 collection, translated via exposed pockets, drawstring waists and more practical pieces like a raincoat dress and a jumpsuit that made me think of Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive (always a good thing). The designers also washed, but didn’t press, some of the garments after they were made, giving them a bit of a life of their own. Cornish and Gunhouse are self-professed vintage lovers and said that they generally like to work with older found pieces that they deconstruct before putting them back together in a contemporary way. This season differed in that they fell for some vintage fabric, which they used to create original pieces. And ankle-lovers will be pleased to know that these are the body parts du jour. Nearly every piece in the collection hit just below the knee or at the mid-calf, showcasing an elegant and flattering silhouette in Italian wool dresses, swinging skirts and printed capris.

See all the backstage pictures from Jean Pierre Braganza Fall 2013 »

The makeup: “It’s a very structured eye. We’ve applied a black shimmery shadow over black liner and blended it out. There are two graphic lines [that almost merge near the inner corner of the eyes] creating a downturned feline-esque look. It’s very lioness and a little bit sixties.” — Greg Wencel, Cover Girl makeup pro

To achieve what Wencel deemed the designer’s signature eye (“[Jean Pierre] likes graphic shapes and contrast”), he dragged a black eyeliner pencil along the upper lash line all the way to the inner corner of the eye, splitting it into two lines. He used white liner along the water line and in between the two noir streaks to highlight the space between them. He blended the black liner up into the lids, layering a black shimmery shadow on top and blending it out “to diffuse the colour.” Wencel also brushed two coats of black mascara through both top and bottom lashes, and used a clear mascara to make brows look “clean and tapered.” On cheeks, “we created a soft sculpted look,” he says, applying blush really close to the hairline and contouring cheekbones. For a dewy complexion, he blended a highlighting serum into skin with a flat synthetic brush targeting the chin, the bridge of the nose and the cupid’s bow. The mouth was kept simple with just a swipe of a flesh-toned glossy lip pencil.

See our street style photos from Toronto Fall 2013 Fashion Week »

It’s back! Toronto’s twice-annual semi official off-the-grid fashion week, The Shows, began last night at the east side furniture emporium, Andrew Richards Design. Debuting with two back-to-back shows from local staple, Comrags (celebrating its 30th anniversary), and Canadian-born London-based designer Jean Pierre Braganza, we were treated to a little taste of Fall 2013 on a day when we were still feeling the everlasting effects of the season for this year. To our pleasant surprise, however, the frigid temps had little effect on show attendees, who illuminate this first street style photo gallery in their fashion week best.

Judy Inc. stylist Odessa Paloma Parker defied winter in a spring-ready camel trench, a holographic coloured Kate Spade clutch and her mega-printed dress/scarf combo. Once again (ahem), blogger Anita Clarke showed off the power of the offbeat pose, with her perfect mid-jump snapped by our street style photographer extraordinaire, Stefania Yarhi. Meanwhile, designer Jeremy Laing’s signature curls were caught looking ever so windswept as he spent time outside between shows.

Flip through our gallery, we daresay you’ll be delighted.

See the Jean Pierre Braganza Fall 2013 collection »

Samurais from outer space. Ancient Greek mathematical theories. The bad guys in Frank Herbert’s cult sci-fi novel Dune. These are but a few of the places Jean-Pierre Braganza found inspiration when creating his Fall 2013 collection. The London-based Canadian designer brought his séance-ready pieces across the Atlantic to present them to a select gathering of editors, bloggers and fashionable friends last night at The Shows in Toronto. Models with pin-straight hair accentuated by a sumo-wrestler bun (courtesy of Pantene hair wizard Justin German) strut down the runway to an ambient-industrial soundtrack, their heels so high they had front-row regulars feeling anxious.

While many of the looks featured Braganza’s signature asymmetrical colour-blocked pieces, he introduced several key motifs and custom prints, each calling out to be worn by The Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen, or maybe David Bowie—a white tuxedo by Braganza recently made an appearance along with Tilda Swinton in Bowie’s video for “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”. The sci-fi influence was undeniable in the Alien-esque print featured on floor-grazing gowns, knee-length dresses and low-slung pants, while belted kimono jackets kept things right on this season’s Eastern-influenced trend.

See the Opening Ceremony Fall 2013 look book »

Images of Opening Ceremony’s Fall 2013 collection have just been released and if you’re like me, you’re like “haaaaay!” For fellow OC enthusiasts, a new collection is just a preview into what your closet is going to look like in a few months, so it’s exciting to say the least.

This season, the brand has taken its muse to Las Vegas, where “she explores the ever-sparkling City of Sin” (this, according to the press release) in luxe textures, eye catching graphic prints and even richer jewel tones of crimson, bordeaux, indigo, plum and crystal blue.

Admittedly, the collection takes a bit of inspiration from two recent collections—Christopher Kane Fall 2012 and Alexander Wang’s Fall 2013 debut at Balenciaga—but where Opening Ceremony Fall 2013 really breaks new ground at a contemporary level is its fabric and pattern experimentation. Bringing together furs, moiré wood-grain patterns, stretch lurex jersey, Mongolian shearling and velvet, the Fall 2013 collection breathes new life into fashion staples of late such as the motocross jacket and the recently-classic Galaxy print.

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.