FASHION Magazine

Heralded as the art party of the year by those who know (you don’t ball till you Power Ball, I’ve been told), the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery’s annual fundraising bash, Power Ball, has upped the ante this year by adding Toronto’s very own golden designing boy Jeremy Laing to its committee of cool-kid co-chairs. Alongside Jessica Rose (others on the committee include Gabe Gonda and Trinity Jackman), Laing was charged with conceiving this year’s theme, Thirteenth Floor (“It’s the 13th Power Ball, so we decided to embrace the odd and unlucky,” he says). His other task was to program artists, DJs and events for the night. “We landed some great projects for the party, including an installation and performance by New York–based Karen Azoulay, as well as a party room installation by Assume Vivid Astro Focus, an internationally regarded art collective based in France, Brazil and New York,” says Laing. “Think massive digital projections, custom lasers, huge inflatables and a limited-edition party mask with refractive lenses to be handed out at the stroke of midnight.”

Also in Laing’s co-chair description: Dressing this first-time Power Baller (yours truly) in one of his designs. Along with my boy Lewis Mirrett, I stopped by Laing’s studio yesterday for a bit of a pre-party dress-up. My first time being “dressed” for a party, I only had to try on a few numbers before I knew which was to be mine (for one night only).

What did I choose? Peep the dress-up session after the jump! »

This year’s Power Ball takes place next Thursday, on June 16. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit powerplant.org.

Last week we found out about the nationwide renovations that are to take place at 80 of The Bay stores. Today, the company’s move towards a more luxurious market was further confirmed with a press release stating the expansion of The Bay’s luxury boutique, The Room, into Vancouver. The 23,000 square foot Yabu Pushelberg-designed space will be housed in the Granville Bay Store and will stock ready-to-wear and runway pieces, as well as footwear from thirty-five coveted designers.

Congratulations are in order. Our own Jeremy Laing, who has been announced as one of six finalists for the 2011 ANDAM Prize. The organization (the National Association for the Development of the Fashion Arts) is focused on assisting young designers internationally, the winner receiving €200,000 (about $280,000) as well as year long mentorship with Ralph Toledano, a former managing director at Chloé and Karl Lagerfeld.

Every year, we get a new “future of fashion.” Some fifty students—the hopeful designers of next year’s womenswear, menswear, swimwear, whatever-you-can-wear—graduate from Ryerson‘s School of Fashion. It’s the best in the country they say, and we believe.

Their annual show-off, Mass Exodus, is a bigger deal every year. From the fifty, twenty final collections are selected for runway staging. The theatre fills with fellow students and parents, yes, but also people who don’t have to be there: stylists, buyers, and media peeps like us. Plus, an eternal favourite sighting: beloved alum Jeremy Laing.

This year’s titular theme was Zenith & Nadir. Glossy show notes (plus, for the first time ever, a pretty impressive magazine—should we be watching our backs?) explained that Zenith and Nadir is up for exploration, for you to define. Sorry to be all English-y here, but that’s not quite true. Zenith and Nadir are opposite celestial poles, so zenith is used to mean “the highest point,” and nadir, the lowest.

So, we present the highest points of this year’s Mass Ex. But first, claps to all those who showed.

My day starts on a good note (clear blue skies and I’m able to hail a cab without looking desperate/like a tourist) and it just keeps getting better. First stop? Jack Studios for an extra-large cup of Canadian cool at Jeremy Laing.  There are twenty-eight looks in total and each one is stunning in its own right. The highlights? The moonscape silk jersey gown (love this print, it’s so fresh!), the dolman coat in pebbled cotton and the starry night box sweater.  The gallery-like space is filled with buzz about Laing’s new collection (yes, he has done it again, congrats to Jeremy and Frank!) but I do miss the pomp and circumstance of an actual show.  Call me old-fashioned.

By Corrine Aberdeen

Canadian fashion darling Jeremy Laing has donned a new, but equally creative hat by curating a special project for the Toronto International Art Fair (October 20 to November 1, from $16, tiafair.com).

Everything Must Go is a shop within the festival, and was inspired by end-of-season and liquidation sales. It is as much an ode to the aesthetics of merchandising as it is to the art being showcased. From shelves and fixtures designed by artists to the flyer-styled catalogue, each detail has been thoughtfully chosen to explore the exhibit’s themes–and everything is for sale. We asked Laing, via email, about his latest project.

How did this project come about? “I was approached by the Toronto International Art Fair and asked to put together an exhibit tying together ideas and themes around art and fashion however I saw fit.”

It takes a certain amount of guts to co-opt Diana Vreeland’s famous line, “Pink is the navy blue of India.” Holt Renfrew turned that on its ear at last night’s LG Fashion Week opener, casting magenta–their signature shade–to fill that role in Canada. Well it was, at least for the night, when the luxury department store brought nine designers from their stable of homegrown talent to the runway. It was a blockbuster ticket that included five looks each from Jeremy Laing, Lida Baday, Line, Pink Tartan, jacket specialists Smythe, glamour veteran Wayne Clark, Mikhael Kale, menswear label Wings + Horns and Montreal designer Denis Gagnon. With a few of the designers, it was a bit of an appetizer–Pink Tartan and Line show tonight and Gagnon presents on Friday–but the show also served as a crib sheet for some of our country’s brightest fashion lights (and a handy-dandy walking catalogue for Holts’ customers).

See a gallery of looks from last night’s show»

Watch a video of the Holt Renfrew runway show»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

It’s the last day of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week but it’s not a teary farewell.  After all, I get to start my morning off with a little classic Americana–Ralph Lauren!

Judging from all the fringe, cowgirl jackets, suede and blanket patterns seen on his spring runway, it looks like we’re heading to the ranch with Ralph. Even Lauren’s wife, Ricky Lauren, got into the country cool spirit in her fringe-y little jacket.

It’s Christmas in September: Tom Ford and Olivier Theyskens will preview their womenswear collections–Theyskens is designing a line for Theory–during New York Fashion Week. [Fashionologie]

Karl Lagerfeld won’t show his Lagerfeld line in Paris. He’s working on a new “masstige” label that will sell online. [WWD]

A party at Holt Renfrew in honour of shoes and a fashion blogger almost sounds too cliché to be true. It probably would be if Holt Renfrew couldn’t pull that kind of thing off (which they did) and if the attendees weren’t suckers for shoes (which we are).

Bloggers are noticing that images of this male model from a Japanese Vogue Hommes shoot looks suspiciously like Lady Gaga. The performer’s stylist, Nicola Formichetti styled this shoot and tweeted “Lady Gaga As A Boy For Vogue Hommes Japan?”  [Oh No They Didn’t via The Cut]

Another fashion “mystery”: Madonna and daughter Lourdes have chosen a face for their upcoming Material Girl line for Macy’s. The name hasn’t been announced, but it’s hinted that she’s known for her rocker style when she isn’t on the set of a certain hit TV drama. Basically, it’s Taylor Momsen. [The Cut]

Selling out is déclassé among art types, until it comes to fundraisers. And a whole week before Power Ball 12, the city’s wildest (read: only wild) art party was most emphatically sold out. Which meant everyone wanted to be there last Thursday night. Which, in turn, made the night feel like the sum of all Fears of Missing Out (FOMO).