FASHION Magazine

Sentaler
“They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” Belgrade-born, Toronto-based designer Bojana Sentaler Nikolic could be referring to her own line of luxury coats, which are individually made and hand-finished, but in this case she’s talking about the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld. She crossed the Kaiser’s path five years ago while working in media in Dubai. During a meeting with him about the villas he was designing, she snuck in a few career questions of her own. “I said, ‘Listen, Karl, I went to business school, but my passion is fashion, can I do it?’” she recalls. “He said, ‘What do you mean? I didn’t go to fashion school, look at me.’ He was so blunt and nonchalant. That was 2008, and I launched Sentaler in 2009.”

Karl’s predictably eloquent advice aside, another driver in Sentaler’s decision to pursue a life of design was the dearth of winter outerwear that satisfied both her function and fashion requirements. “Wool coats weren’t warm enough, and puffy down jackets weren’t as elegant,” she says. “I remember not liking winters because of those jackets.” It took a six-month stint researching fabrics in South America to solve her conundrum. While in Peru, she zeroed in on alpaca fibres, which she praises for being warmer, lighter and more durable than wool.

See all the looks from the Mercedes Benz Start Up finals! »

And the winner is: DUY! Last night, the search for the Spring 2013 winner of the Mercedes Benz Start Up competition came to a close and Montreal designer Duy Nguyen was crowned the victor.

Pitted against seven other designers from across Canada, Nguyen’s dreamy pieces impressed the judges (including our editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra) and secured his spot at the top of the podium. The DUY Spring 2013 collection was California girl meets New York, pairing structured suits with flowing chiffons and short-shorts with strong, collarless blazers. Nguyen was inspired by the French who are “very easy going” yet the collection was not necessarily reflective of Canadians—but worry not, as he told us that “fashion is about dreaming.” There was also a tinge of nostalgia, as silhouettes were very ’80s with crocheted knit tops and a modern version of the mom jean. The palette was simple and airy with seafoam greens, crèmes and baby blues but was punched up with a bright red-orange dress and short suit that featured cutouts. These pieces were winners in their own right.

See the PARKLUXE fashion show and party photos »

A large metal door retracted into the ceiling at the end of a long runway, and a Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG Convertible (we checked) roared into view, casting a dark silhouette, the high beams momentarily blinding the audience. Another sleek silhouette, tall and lean, stepped from the machine and took a powerful stance before 400 guests.

By now, Calgary’s non-profit organization PARK (Promoting Artists | Redefining Kulture) has secured a reputation for hosting premier fashion events in Alberta (see our spring coverage from their emerging designer event, PARKSHOW). On Saturday night, the second annual PARKLUXE, which features four stand out Canadian designers who share a high-end market, pushed the envelope with a conceptual show at the Hyatt Auto Gallery Mercedes Benz in central Calgary.

Toronto-based designer Caitlin Power (a Calgary native) drew from the audience a collective gasp of admiration, as her bold, structured line kicked off the Fall 2012 collections from Anne B. Accessories (Calgary), Nicole Campre (Edmonton), and Lauren Bagliore (Calgary/New York). The latter designer gave us something to dream about, closing the show with a grand total of 34 looks, all luxury leather, draping, wool, and Bagliore’s signature Italian black matte jersey.

Traditionally this weekend has always been about the turkey dinner and the turkey drop (may you not be on the receiving end). Beware the tryptophan-induced food coma because this long weekend there are plenty of fashionable, non-turkey related things to get up to: shopping sprees at the mall, runway shows in the prairies and the birthday of a beer baron.

View the winning collection »

Edmonton had never seen anything like it before. Over the course of two short days, fashion industry experts from New York and Toronto bulldozed into a city of over a million people and changed its fashion beat.

The Mercedes-Benz Start Up program, now in its second year, has again begun its search for the next big Canadian designer, and last night, asked five of the top designers (after a grueling day of interviews with the top 10), to show their collections at the semi-final runway show at David Morris Fine Cars, an Edmonton Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Consider it the people’s choice awards for online fashion: Polyvore has partnered with Cover Girl to bring four alumni designers from the Fashion Institute of Technology to the runway during New York Fashion Week. The shows will take place today, February 13, at La.venue in New York but, naturally, Polyvore will also be streaming the shows live.

Last week at the Calgary International Film Festival (calgaryfilm.com) opening night gala, FASHION and a stylish crowd celebrated the beginning of a 10-day Alberta film frenzy with a red carpet walk, the world-premiere of Jim Cliffe’s déjà vu flick, Donovan’s Echo, and a champagne reception with food truck fare at Eighth Avenue Place.

Veteran actor Bruce Greenwood arrived by limo to help present the film, in which he plays a police officer and friend to another movie-vet, Danny Glover.

View the photo gallery »