FASHION Magazine

If there were ever an excuse to wear Canadian, it was Saturday’s second annual Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA), which took Toronto’s swanky Fairmont Royal York hotel by literal storm. In the thick of Hollywood’s awards season, the CAFAs were probably as close to the Oscars as anything we’ll ever attend, with homegrown designers […]

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See all the Toronto Life Most Influential 2013 party pics »

At first glance, a party where every guest is nose-deep in a magazine may seem like the least social event ever. However, when it’s the launch party for Toronto Life’s annual Most Influential issue, a quick read-through is totally necessary: while everyone who made the list was invited, none of the Most Influential guests knew how they ranked. Hence the frantic-yet-totally-casual flipping of pages upon entry by guests like Robert Deluce and Charles Khabouth. Held in the ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton, deep red lighting and a swanky live band made the space feel like a Swing Era soiree.

While Toronto Life’s editor-in-chief Sarah Fulford was quick to make a few drunken stupor jokes, neither of the issue’s cover subjects—that is, Bill Blair and Rob Ford—joined in for the festivities. Sure, it would have been good for gossip, but they wouldn’t have added to the impressive style that permeated the event.

See the photos from the Toronto Life Most Stylish party »

Toronto Life has officially claimed TIFF’s opening night as their own. Last night the magazine toasted the city’s best dressed with the launch of the Toronto Life Fall Stylebook and the reveal of their second annual Most Stylish list. And what a celebration it was: from the moment the elevator doors opened into the ballroom at the Shangri-La Hotel, the party was in full swing.

Leather was the texture of choice for most partygoers. From moto jackets to mini skirts to body-hugging dresses, fall’s influence was certainly in the air. Of course, summer’s influence was still in effect, with floral prints and neon brights being popular style choices, from Jenna Bitove’s flowing Hawaiian-inspired gown to Amanda Brugel’s punchy minidress. However, the guests who took risks stood out the most: Anna Abbruzzo’s pink hair caught our eye—but it was her Roland Mouret eyeball skirt that stole our hearts. And a trio of very stylish twenty-somethings in fur coats, meshback hats and logo tees circled the room with a larger-than-life presence. Lesson learned: when in doubt, go all out.

See the Power Ball 2013 party photos »

Last night, Power Ball 2013 a.k.a. the art party of the year/social event of the season and so on and so forth went down at The Power Plant gallery on Toronto’s harbourfront. Despite the rain, the city’s finest art, fashion and social types filled the expansive space in designer gowns, costumes, and in one instance, a birthday suit. Celebrating its 15^th year under the guise of Andy Warhol’s famous line “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” the space was tricked out with Factory-worthy silver foil which made for some pretty fierce voguing props for designer Jeremy Laing and Frank Griggs much later in the evening. Power Ball’s famed exhibitions and installations were omnipresent as always, including a fortune-telling psychic, Chat Roulette-style wall projections, and two twisted prom queens dancing around a birthday cake and a mounted spinning motorcycle all night long. Curiouser and curiouser…

View the photo gallery »

Lauded as the hottest art party of the year, the Power Plant’s annual Power Ball fundraiser certainly lived up to expectations last night. Complete with wall-projected animations, Kobos hanging on trees, an old fashioned swing and a pre-party hosted by the much-hyped Soho House, almost 2,000 partygoers danced into the wee hours while carving off pieces of Marc Thuet’s bison on a spit. Some of our favourite duos—The Society’s Ashleigh Dempster and Amanda Blakely, designer Philip Sparks and NOW’s Andrew Sardone, Knot PR’s Amy Burstyn-Fritz and Tatiana Read, designer Jeremy Laing and Frank Griggs, and eTalk’s Tanya Kim and CP24’s Melissa Grelo—flitted around the scene. There was a mock television talk show (which we took part in) with a dancing robot sharing hosting duties. There was a performance by Dragonette. There were ladies dressed as sailors and men dressed as women. There were, always, many types of cocktails a-flowing (shout-out to Grey Goose, who created a timely Diamond Jubilee mix at the pre-party). Surely, more highlights will come to us throughout the day, but we can’t be asked to recount them all, given how late we were up.

View the style snaps »
See all Toronto Fashion Week coverage »

We’re back to the style-spotting game with Lewis Mirrett’s first batch of shots from outside Toronto Fashion Week. Taken outside of two of last night’s biggest shows, Lucian Matis and Holt Renfrew’s Canadian showcase. As luck would have it, the skies opened for the night, leaving attendees to shield themselves from the elements in various ways. From headscarves to uncomfortable glances, see the best cover-ups (and outfits) here.