FASHION Magazine

Word: Sangfroid

Meaning: Coolness and imperturbability in the face of difficult things.

Usage: “They looked like everybody else, nondescript. They shared in the torpor of the town and in its puerile agitations. They lost every trace of a critical spirit, while gaining an air of sang-froid.” — Albert Camus, The Plague

It’s that time again! Oscar has spoken, and the nominations are in. Although we would’ve liked to see Tilda Swinton, Elizabeth Olsen, Kirsten Dunst, Shailene Woodley, and Charlize Theron be part of the Best Actress hoopla, it’s probably on Meryl lock anyway. We combed the Pre-Fall collections (with one couture exception) and plucked the gowns we think Oscar’s Best Actress nominees should consider for February 26. Let the countdown begin!

View our picks »

The Kelly, the PS1, the Speedy: It bags have become so major over the years, that they scarcely even need a designer name attached! We discuss the appeal at length in our Winter 2012 issue, but today, we’re putting these bags to the test: in the battle of It bag supremacy, which comes out on top?

View our top 10 »
Vote for your favourite »

By Emily Burke

We’re still buzzing about My Week With Marilyn, the newly released film starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, a great film based on the actress’ time in London while filming The Prince and the Showgirl during the 1950s. Williams is a premier indie darling, famed for her heartbreaking (and Oscar nominated) roles in Blue Valentine and Brokeback Mountain. Toss her into any indie flick and ask her to play the hardened but sympathetic beauty, and her many admirers will eat it up. She carries herself as a serious woman with a sharp mind. She is absolutely sexy, but it’s hard to separate that sex appeal from her innocent intellect or her pixie cut and teensy frame. Reviews of her performance as Marilyn have been split between raves and criticisms, and we wonder whether another Hollywood It girl might have suited the role a bit better. Who do you think suits the role of Marilyn Monroe best?

View our picks »
Vote for your favourite »

Word: Melancholia

Meaning: A gloomy state anywhere between sober pensiveness and habitual depression.

Usage: “ALL the morbid states of depressed feeling, or, as more commonly expressed, of mental depression, are comprised under the term melancholia.” — from Clinical lectures on mental diseases by Thomas Smith Clouston (1884)

Praise the red carpet gods! The stars really pulled out all the stops this year at TIFF, which was great to see, given some years’ lackluster outings. Lace, length, and print were big trends this year, and so were megawatt designers, from Marisa Tomei‘s Proenza Schouler, to Madonna‘s Tom Ford, to Elizabeth Olsen‘s Erdem. They’re all big winners in our eyes, but if you HAD to choose, who would be your favourite? Vote after the jump!

View the photo gallery »

If you’ve been reading this site so far at all, you’ll know that we’re big fans of a one vamp Viking, Eric Northman aka. Alexander Skarsgård. Well guess what kids, we met him! In the flesh! The living flesh! Not the dead kind from TV! At last night’s Hugo Boss and GQ party for Melancholia, to be exact. Alongside Kirsten Dunst in her beauty of a ‘40s-inspired, polka-dot blouse and white skirt, the Skars infused the room with so much Swedish hotness, it was almost too much to take. After much giddy giggling, we (Holt Renfrew’s Jennifer Daubney and I) got the courage to let ourselves be introduced. Not like there was a point, since the two of us could barely say anything beyond “Big fans!” Then, naturally, we followed him out to the patio where we stole peeks of his behind. TMI?

View the photo gallery »

Kirsten Dunst stepped out for last night’s Melancholia premiere in a ’40s inspired pairing: a navy polka-dot button down blouse and a long pleated white skirt. Can we just say: we love! Kiki’s been looking real good lately, so much so that we’re shopping in the name of!

Shop our guide in the name of Dunst! »

Thought the thrill of being on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight was… being on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight? Well, when you’re an A-list celeb who’s flown north for TIFF, we guess there’s got to be more to sweeten the deal. Introducing the “Made in Canada” lounge, a post-show mini-shop (sans price tags, of course) hosting the most deliciously curated selection of made-in-Canada goodies. Everything from the custom Gregory Allen bow ties (he gets his shirts custom made!) to the Sweets from the Earth goodies (he just went vegan!) has a personal Strombo touch. The Ninutik maple sugar? It’s made next door to the host’s house! Apparently the aroma wafts through the heating vents in the winter… But lets not get carried away. (George? Me? A fur rug on the floor? Not kosher?)

The official TIFF guest list has been released and, as usual, it’s major! Amongst the cast of glittering names, heralded directors and studly leading men (would you like a side of Ryan Gosling/Alexander Skarsgard/Brad Pitt with that?), there promises to be some serious It girl action on the red carpet with everyone from Tilda to Keira to Blake to Carey heading to town. Stay tuned for our coverage leading up to and during the festival, but in the meantime, let’s indulge in a little girl crush freak-out. Who are you most excited to see?

Vote after the jump! »

It’s no secret that we’re all a little fixated with the styles of the past. Each season, a reference (or many) to full skirts, bellbottoms, or drop waists pops up on the runway, and we embrace it with a fresh new take on how to dress it up. Riffing on the past without looking like you came out of a time machine though—therein lies the rub. Before you delve into your old gems, take a look at how the style icons of today have interpreted the icons of days gone by.

View our icons of then and now »

There’s something dangerous and sexy about Istanbul: the clash and dance between East and West, between hot new scene and ancient culture. It makes it the right place for culturati to collide and let loose in a way you’d never see at, say, a New York Fashion Week party. Hence: Istancool, which is a Liberatum Global festival (in association with Vakko, Istanbul ’74 and AnOther) in its second year, and how I spent my weekend.

Liberatum’s stated aim is “connecting Britain’s finest minds with the world”⎯in addition to Istanbul, they’ve done festivals in Rio, Moscow and Papua New Guinea. But it’s best understood as a travelling circus: the hyper-charming, 27-year-old Liberatum founder Pablo Ganguli plays ringleader, while fashion (and art, and culture) freaks tag along.