FASHION Magazine

See all the IDS 2014 Opening Night party photos »

Alright, Toronto. Your post-holiday hibernation is officially over and it’s time to get back into the social swing of things. Given the record-breaking low temperatures of late, The Interior Design Show’s Opening Night Party served as an ideal transition: the normally drafty Metro Toronto Convention Centre turned into a cozy hub of design last night, welcoming hundreds of stylish guests eager to get a sneak peek at the show’s wears. After all, where else can you browse luxe fireplaces, decadent rugs and overstuffed sofas with a cocktail in hand?

Lest you think the crop top trend was so 2013, IDS partygoers proved that it’s still going strong. Midriff-baring shirts were paired with structured jackets and sheer layers—a necessary addition on a chilly winter night. Fur hats and leather leggings were also just as popular with the ladies, while the men were all about suit jackets in various textures and fabrics (perhaps inspired by the opulent upholstery on display throughout?) the from blue velvet to camo-print.

View photos from the Interior Design Show kick-off party »

There is nothing like a blowout art party to get the who’s who of Toronto’s design scene out of the house despite frigid temps—last night’s kick-off for the Interior Design Show certainly was that. The city’s design-inclined denizens and partygoers flocked to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where they were wowed with this year’s offerings from the likes of Andrew Richard Design, international guest of honour Oki Sato and up and comers featured in the Designboom Mart, where items were up for grabs for as low as a dollar each. There was talk of an igloo too, which upon closer look, was actually the name of design duo Alain Courchesne and Anna Abbruzzo’s company: Igloodgn, who exhibited their work and play space as part of the How Do You Work? exhibit.

The designed life

Toronto’s annual Interior Design Show (January 27 to 30, interiordesignshow.com) is a blow-up labyrinth of commercial and sponsor exhibits, indie design experiments and much spectacle in-between. On opening night, 20 one-off Vitra Panton chairs will be up for charity auction, all reimagined by big names like design legend Bruce Mau and fashion darlings Greta Constantine. In an exhibit titled Sibling Revelry, Sarah Richardson dreams up a space with her younger brother, Theo Richardson (who happens to be one-third of the hot N.Y.C. design trio Rich Brilliant Willing), while ladywear designer David Dixon worked with his brother Glenn Dixon, an interior designer. For discoveries, you can’t miss the Studio North exhibit, featuring bright young talent like Montreal graffiti art object–maker Trash Bonbon and Toronto eco-minded, sleight-handed furniture designer Evan Bare. —Sarah Nicole Prickett