FASHION Magazine

Whoever said that punk is dead was clearly not at Toronto Fashion Week’s Fall 2016 shows. “Courtney Love on a long, long bender. A hot mess but like, pretty” was makeup artist Grace Lee‘s interpretation of the look at Helder Diego, while ultra-glossy black lips and white-out brows at Mackage took centre stage. UNTTLD and […]

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The closing show on Day Two of Toronto Fashion Week made one thing clear: Canada has two new kings of high glam. Designers Jose Manuel St.-Jacques and Simon Belanger of Unttld won their show as a prize in last fall’s Mercedes Benz Start-up competition. And they didn’t disappoint. Their Fall 2016 collection is a perfect […]

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The Mercedes-Benz Start Up alum has been moving onwards and upwards ever since her win in 2013. And since showing last season, Malorie Urbanovitch has landed in stores at La Maison Simons in Edmonton, a major account to sit atop her list of retailers along with cross-Canada retailer Gravity Pope. This season’s collection saw Urbanovitch […]

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A good soundtrack is enough to convince me to like anything, not that Malorie Urbanovitch’s Fall 2015 collection needed any help. To the heady tunes of Only Lovers Left Alive, the Edmonton-based designer let out a quiet, cozy ode to Morocco, where she recently drew inspiration. The collection, a tasseled trip through the artisanal booths […]

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On Saturday night, the second annual Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) will fête the best in homegrown talent, handing glittering trophies to designers, models, and stylists integral to the local fashion industry. As evidenced by last year’s kick off, the event is a glamorous red carpet throwdown attended by the who’s who of Canadian […]

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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 Matière Noire collection »
See the Malerie Urbanovitch collection »

The tie that led to Edmonton’s Malorie Urbanovitch and Montreal’s Cecile Raizonville sharing the runway at World Mastercard Fashion Week last night could have felt like a showdown. Instead, both designers held her ground, a testament to the growing strength of the Mercedes-Benz Startup competition that brought them there. After a Canada-wide search for talent, Urbanovitch and Raizonville, who designs under the label Matière Noire, were declared winners at a Toronto fashion week event in October. Last night’s show, along with industry mentorship along the way, was their prize.

Matière Noire opened the presentation with boxy tops and tulip skirts accented with lunar photo prints and geometric patterns inspired by Inuit tattoos. Some were knit into pullovers or embroidered on belts in collaboration with Quebec weaver Marie-Anne Adams. Most intriguing was the way Adams had trapped strips of leather under net for jacket sleeves.

Now in its third year, the Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition celebrates some of the most exciting newcomers to hit Canada’s fashion scene. This year, two winners share the prize and applause: Montreal’s Matière Noire and Edmonton’s Malorie Urbanovitch. We go behind the seams of their award-winning spring collections:

See the Mercedes-Benz Start Up Spring 2014 collections »

It was a tough decision.

So tough, in fact, that choosing a winner of the Mercedes Benz Start Up competition at World MasterCard Fashion Week proved impossible.

So last night, the judges, including myself, did the only possible thing we could think of: we declared two winners.

Edmonton’s Malorie Urbanovitch and Montreal’s Matiere Noire share the prize: mentoring from industry experts, editorial coverage in FASHION Magazine, and a runway show at the Fall 2014 collections in Toronto. Judge and Holt Renfrew’s vice president Ruth Ann Lockart lauded Urbanovitch’s strategic decision to focus her business on washed silks, a market niche. Her pale, loose-cut dresses were topped with chunky Italian-made knits that have a whiff of modern grunge.

See all the best looks from Western Canada Fashion Week Fall 2013 »

View by collection: Angélique Chmielewski |Bano eeMee |Kaadiki Femme | Luxx by Derek Jagodzinsky | Malorie Urbanovitch | Nicole Campre | Stanley Carroll

Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW) wrapped its 16^th season for Fall 2013 last week at Edmonton’s TransAlta Arts Barns and we can’t help but feel it’s the dawning of a new era. Since 2011, when the Mercedes Benz Start Up (MBSU) program began sweeping the country for the next promising design star, the fashion scene out west has taken a turn for the torrid, competitive even, inspiring looks worthy of national spotlight and quality clothing to write home about.

Top picks this season include Malorie Urbanovitch, a MBSU finalist at World MasterCard Fashion Week last October, who hosted the very first off-site show in the history of WCFW, at the StartUp Edmonton Headquarters in the Mercer Building in Edmonton’s trendy Warehouse District.

Urbanovitch treated the who’s who of the local fashion industry to a transcendental experience: before a dimly lit room, an ethereal fashion film shot at dawn in frostbitten Edmonton lay the groundwork for her Fall 2013 presentation (and made us so very proud to be living here). Full knitwear ensembles in creamy whites, charcoal greys, rusts and teals came floating down the runway alongside drop waists, soft pleats, classic silk slip dresses and lightly quilted jackets. The newest additions to her ready-to-wear label—a collection of accessories—include knee-high socks and a rumoured collection of handbags (are you paying attention yet?).

Back at the TransAlta Arts Barns, Nicole Campre, also a former MBSU finalist, blossomed from fashion underdog to full-on contender as she presented her Fall 2013 collection with a finely tuned grace well beyond her years. The 23-year old chose regal gold, rich maroon, and an array of neutral monochromatic fabrics in long dresses, coats, and skirts. The almost Asian-inspired collection felt fresh and modern with seamlessly integrated faux leather paneling, subtle slits, sheer blouses and pointed collars, while a few chunky knits wrapped around the waist were fit for the cool working girl.

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 looks from Western Canada Fashion Week»

Running seasonally for eight straight nights since its inception in 2005, Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW) offers a platform for both emerging and veteran designers alike to showcase their work in a province that is relatively new to the fashion scene. Alongside expert-affirmation from the Mercedes-Benz Start Up judges last week, we can certainly say that there is some sparkle out west.

From Edmonton darling Nicole Campre, this season’s WCFW Emerging Designer contest winner, to long-time mens and womenswear designer Stanley Carroll, WCFW is nurturing some exciting talent each season at the TransAlta Arts Barns—and here are a few to check out: