FASHION Magazine

See the photos from Holt Renfrew’s Uncrate India party »

We gave you a behind-the-scenes peek at how Alexandra Weston and Waris Ahluwalia curated the Holt Renfrew H Project Uncrate India collection. We shared 50+ artisanal items from the collection. And now it’s time to take a look at the incredible bash that Holt Renfrew threw last night in celebration of it all. The Bloor Street store was transformed into a vibrant Indian market, welcoming hundreds of guests adorned in sari-inspired attire. Rooms were tented with pink and orange fabric for an intimate feel, gilded bird cages stuffed with flowers hung from the ceilings and guests were greeted upon arrival with a shower of rose petals. But the lavish extravaganza didn’t stop there.

See all the party pictures from the Canadian Stage Theatre Ball! »

Based on an informal poll of FASHION’s online department, an event that allows you multiple chances to talk with Jason Priestley is the best event of all. Such was the case at last week’s Canadian Stage Theatre Ball, which celebrated 25 years of the company—a company that just happens to include Priestley in its forthcoming season. The gala event was more cabaret than fundraiser, with Canadian Stage performers singing hits from classic productions as partygoers found their seats for dinner. As an oversized birthday cake was wheeled on stage, Hair’s “Let the Sunshine In” echoed throughout The Carlu. (Though to the dismay of this attendee, no naked hippies jumped out.) “Every time they say CanStage we have to drink!” shouted one guest at the Corus Entertainment table during host Seamus O’Regan’s opening remarks of the evening—and the energy stayed just as palpable until the last guests shuffled off the well-used dance floor at the end of the night.

See all the Paws for the Cause party pictures! »

If you’re the type of person who spends most of her time at a house party chasing down the host’s pets, the third annual Paws for the Cause gala was an event not to be missed. Last Thursday night, partygoers and animal lovers came together to support and mingle with their furry friends—and one special guest in particular. Maddie the Coonhound, star of the popular blog “Maddie on Things,” played the role of theme, decor and fundraiser for the gala—with some help from her owner, photographer Theron Humphrey. Maddie was completely nonplussed by the crowds, weaving between people planting Joe Fresh lipstick kisses on a live art installation and drinking doggy-themed cocktails, all while displaying the poise and charm she’s known for in her “Maddie on Things” photographs. With raising money for the Central Toronto Veterinary Referral Clinic’s Cares Foundation as the goal of the night, guests took part in a silent auction for prints of said photos—while other clever partygoers grabbed Maddie cut-outs for their own Instagram-worthy moments. But the picture of the night definitely goes to Laura Serra and Kate Makinson, who got Maddie the Coonhound to pose on their backs.

Last Saturday night, Toronto’s historic Fort York was transformed into an enchanted spot fit for a diva. A diva and 500 of the city’s most well heeled (and well dressed) donors that is. Grammy and Oscar winning singer, actress and belter Jennifer Hudson headlined the first ever Bliss Ball marking 10 years of philanthropic work by the SickKids Foundation and the Dilawri Foundation. Also featuring Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, who acted as host, Emmy award winning actor Martin Sheen who acted as auctioneer and supermodel and ex-Victoria’s Secret Angel Selita Ebanks who did her best Vanna White alongside Sheen, the night was star-studded, to say the least.

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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.

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Last night the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was brimming with the who’s who of Canada’s design scene, there for the opening night party of the country’s largest contemporary design fair, the Interior Design Show. Dashing gents­, like fashion designer Philip Sparks and veteran FASHION photographer George Whiteside, and sophisticated design ladies—Sarah Richardson, Dee Dee Taylor Hannah (in Christopher Kane, no less), Love It or List It’s Hilary Farr—sipped flutes of Veuve and paraded along the rows upon rows of out-of-this-world design.