FASHION Magazine

It is hard not to love the sustainable brand Laura Siegel, which combines floaty fabrics with a sustainable mission. Each item, from faux fur coats to sleek tunics, is handcrafted by artisans from rural villages around the world, employed as an effort to uplift and mentor. View this post on Instagram ️️@xuliuxu in the Silk […]

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It’s been three years since the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, which, depending on whom you ask, either feels like yesterday or too long ago for such little progress to be made in the fast fashion industry. The 8-storey factory was a manufacturing hub for companies like Primark, Benetton and Joe Fresh, and its collapse […]

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We came, we saw, we created our Spring 2016 shopping lists. World Mastercard Fashion Week may have come to a close for another season in Toronto but thanks to the trends we spotted on the runways our sartorial spirits have been lifted as we head into the seemingly endless cold weather months. From flirty ruffles […]

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If at first you don’t succeed, enter the Mercedes-Benz Start-Up competition again. That was the lesson learned last night by Montreal’s UNTTLD, who lost the competition back in 2011, only to come roaring back to claim top spot in the cross-Canada talent search. Designers Jose-Manuel St. Jacques and Simon Belanger delivered quietly seamed suits and […]

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In the era of fast fashion and high competition, where foreign workers are often subjected to low wages and inhumane working conditions, events like the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1100 workers, are not beyond the pale. The factory (which collapsed exactly two years ago today) at the […]

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See the PARKLUXE 2014 show and party photos » Like what you see on the runway? Why not buy it right after the show? For PARK, it’s less Moda Operandi with its deposits and pre-orders, and more about making in-season purchases directly from the designers at post-runway popup shops. On October 4th the concept came […]

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See the knitwear photo shoot » It’s the final day of fashion week in Toronto and we’re getting ready to wrap things up with the final designers set to present this afternoon. Today’s shows will be no less exciting than the last four days, with the exotic jewellery and handbag collection from Huntress, as well […]

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See all the photos from the Mercedes-Benz Start Up runway » In the end, it was the origami that won out on the opening night of World Mastercard Fashion Week. The six finalists in last night’s Mercedes Benz Start-Up Competition were the strongest group yet in the 3-year-old cross-Canada talent search. Sisters Chloe and Parris […]

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See the Laura Siegel Fall 2014 collection »

As folks settled into the cozy, faux-candle lit studio space at the World MasterCard Fashion Week tents in Toronto, it was a rare moment of calm during the otherwise frenetic goings on of the week. It was a fitting scene for Laura Siegel’s Fall 2014 collection, made in partnership with the Soko sustainable production facility in Kenya, which focused on natural materials and handcrafted finishes. The bohemian styles could have been plucked straight out of the Outback. For just a moment we were able to forget about the snow outside.

Although the collection of safari-inspired pieces had a few expected pieces, like relaxed drop crotch pants, billowing ivory silk shirts, and several bush hats, there were a few glimmers of ingenuity. The layered tie dye wrap skirts were a slick nod to the current ‘90s revival, with the front knot and side slits echoing the once omnipresent trend of tied plaid button downs slung nonchalantly around the hips. Siegel’s outerwear was another high point, proving her deftness in working with a material’s innate folds and shape, as seen in a distressed leather jackets with shawl collars and asymmetrical hems. Her grey green quilted pieces, a skirt and belted jacket, were neither bulky nor weighty and would be perfect fall transition pieces. A constant theme through out the collection was a unique finish of exposed cross-stitches, slightly worn down and imperfect seen on skirts, shirts and dresses. The simple stitching was clever way to do light embellishment without sparkle or flash, adding custom handcrafted appeal to the pieces.

See the JNBY party pictures »

Amidst the homegrown talent, one very cool and far away brand will be making its Canadian runway debut next week during World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. JNBY (Just Naturally Be Yourself) is big in Japan…and Thailand and Singapore and France as well as China, where it hails from. A week before its reveal at fashion week (and we’ll save the oohs and aahs till then), JNBY previewed its Spring 2014 collection to an ultra trendy crowd at a pre-fashion week party hosted by The Collections. The stellar clothes were shown alongside a large photo print by Cory VanderPloeg of a model wearing Laura Siegel‘s spring collection..

Regular scenesters like Amina Said, Sarah Magwood, Parris Gordon, Jay Strut and The Collections threesome Dwayne Kennedy, Mel Ashcroft and Brian Richards lined the walls as well as fresh faced models in Miley buns and off duty sweaters. As with any cool kid party, there were plenty of new faces to creep in true Cinderella form. We’d like to crown a new style princess, but we don’t know her name. You! Got the other glass slipper?

See the Laura Siegel Fall 2013 collection »

In fashion, it’s hard not to quickly condense designer Laura Siegel into a category like “eco-luxe,” or the much-maligned “tribal.” So I’ll fight that impulse and say this: Siegel’s work does transport you to another land. Her colours for Fall 2013 include warm-weather ivory, a blue-green reminiscent of the Andaman Sea by night and rusty red, like grains of sand you might find in Southern Africa. Laura Siegel’s style can be accessible at times (harem pants, roomy, belted dresses), and at other times a little out there. It’s clear she draws her greatest inspiration from global experience. The Toronto-born graduate of Parsons The New School for Design in New York City has travelled and observed extensively the techniques of artisans in India, Bali and Hong Kong. Her Spring 2013 collection leaned heavily on bright, voluminous layers in wood-block prints. If that seemed bohemian, it also made her a new wave designer whose vision included ethically gathered materials.

Fall 2013 sees Siegel build on her signature aesthetic. The harem pants and stretchy mixed-material bottoms are wearable enough, but it’s Siegel’s accessories and outer pieces—her capes, knits and leathers—that show her handiwork and ingenuity. Patchworks of heavy embroidery, tapestry folded over into bags and a blue-green leather jacket are fit for a rock ’n’ roll nomad (there it is: a category!), while the chunky knits are complex, multi-purpose pieces that beg to be held up for closer inspection. For Laura Siegel, the journey continues.

View the Laura Siegel Spring 2013 collection »

Just add a desert and you’ve got the perfect background for Laura Siegel’s Spring 2013 collection. Instead of bring sand storms indoors; the first show of the inaugural year of The Collections featured models perched (some teetering) on wooden boxes with colourful cacti at their feet.

Adding to the pops of colour on the floor, the models had a case of pink eye—lids were lined in a bright verging on neon pink shadow and messy updos and braids were completed by streaks of fuchsia.