FASHION Magazine

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Last night, pre-fashion week continued with the unlikely pairing of Mikhael Kale and London-based Mark Fast taking over an even unlikelier spot: the new and un-finished Trump International. And we mean unfinished… we were even given hardhats upon entry! Opting to collaborate after meeting in Toronto last summer, the two designers showed their fall collections after a short panel discussion lead by Jeanne Beker. Similar only in their penchants for sex appeal, Kale opted for heavily slit skin-baring silk dresses adorned (and adorned) with floral appliques while Fast was busy leaving his signature webby dresses in the dust. A selection from the pieces he showed in London last month, Fast’s experiments with leather⎯in collaboration with Danier⎯and merino wool were truly sights for sore eyes.

View the Mikhael Kale and Mark Fast photo gallery »

Watch the Mikhael Kale and Mark Fast video »

Check out our London fall 2011 fashion week photo gallery »

The morning begins with heart shaped doughnuts and an officer’s club feeling at Moschino. There are heaps of gold trimmed masculine naval uniforms, black and white tux inspired trouser suits and a dash of sweet flouncy dresses thrown in as a feminine counterpoint by way of ruffles, bustles, floral prints and peplums.
 Why Coco Rocha walks the runway with a chicken atop her head, I’ll never know, but one things for sure: she certainly knows how to put the chic into chicken!

I knew the David Koma show would be black and white and dotty all over when Daphne Guinness ⎯beer heiress, patron saint of designers and stranger to colour ⎯arrived. Sure enough, the first look was a super-minimal cream sheath with black leather dots, in rows of varying size, appliqued on sleeves and skirt. Then came a black wool capelet and a swingy leather midi-skirt, both perforated with great big polka dots. The circle motif spiralled into delightful madness: swirling patterns; leather and wool mashups; screenprinted, polka-dotted faces. I hated only the blog-rave soundtrack and, in that spirit, the balls of fun fur Koma tacked onto otherwise great pieces. He’d have been better off leaving black and white alone. Would Daphne wear a kool-aid blue fur peplum or a sun-yellow stole? I don’t think so.

We asked some of Canada’s finest fashion week exports, Jeremy Laing, Mark Fast and Calla Haynes, to give us the scoop on what they’ve got planned for the upcoming season in New York, London and Paris.

Everyone loves a Canadian designer in London. From Erdem to Mark Fast to Thomas Tait, it’s a whole new boys’ club over there. But they better make room for one serious creative force of a girl: Kat Marks.

The Calgary native graduated from the Ryerson School of Fashion in 2008. I’ve never forgotten her work at the grad show. While most of her peers were fussily reinventing the cocktail dress, Marks was making balloon-shouldered bodysuits and plastic torsos with jutting hips. Think Margiela, but at a sex shop. Soon after leaving Ryerson, off Marks went to the London College of Fashion, where she got her Masters in Fashion Artefact and all the right kinds of attention.

Today, Marks’ fashion film, The Karass, premieres at SHOWStudio.com. No big deal: it’s just the major-est, most respected avant-garde fashion force in the whole UK. And yes, the short is shot by the site’s mastermind and genius image-maker, Nick Knight himself!

Experience the video for yourself, but be sure to keep in mind that every interchangeable piece of these hyper real tuxedo-like breastplates was made by Marks’ own hands: the vegetable-dyed, heat-moulded leathers, the manipulated bits of brass and the Perspex, which was hand-etched (“tattooed,” she says) with ink.

How did Marks and this bizarre, wearable-but-just-barely work get such a spectacular break? She didn’t. She sent an email. Alexander Fury, fashion director of SHOWStudio, “got it” right away. “It is rare to see pieces as distinctive and strong as Kat Marks’ work,” he says in a press release for the film. “Rare on the catwalks, and certainly rare in a designer so young.”

And so here’s the mega-talented Ms. Marks in her own words, typed over Skype and delivered straight to you.

J. Crew is almost here. The American retailer announced that it will open its first Canadian store in Toronto 2011. [J. Crew Aficionada, via @Derick Chetty ]

“I never understand why God give the possibility to have children just to woman,” Roberto Cavalli told Harper’s Bazaar. “Oh, my God, my dream would be to have a baby!” [Huffington Post]

“Now I’m shooting another [movie]. I’m writing the script–a comedy. I’m in the mood to have fun and smile,” says Tom Ford about his second directorial effort. [Fashionologie]

Mark Fast‘s body con dresses and Swarovski‘s sparkling crystals are a match made in collaboration heaven. The Canadian knitwear designer, who first teamed up with Swarovski for his Spring 2010 collection, has joined forces with the sparkly faux-gems behemoth to create a line for Atelier Swarovski.

London-based Fast is one of five talents–including fellow fashion designers Prabal Gurung and Joseph Altuzarra, jewellery designer Jenny Manik Mercian and costume designer Michael Kaplan–tapped by the brand for their Spring 2011 collaborations.

Donatella Versace visited The View on Friday and spoke with the hosts about how Maya Rudolph can improve her Donatella impersonation. [The Cut]

Doutzen Kroes has tied the knot! The Dutch model, who is about seven months pregnant, wed DJ Sunnery James last weekend in the Netherlands. [Huffinton Post]

Michael Jackson‘s iconic red leather jacket will be coming to Urban Outfitters and Kitson. The remaining members of the Jackson 5 will launch a collection of T-shirts and leather jackets called J5 in early February. [Fashionista]

The Bay’s full-tilt foray into high fashion continues apace. This Thursday and Friday, the Toronto Queen Street store is hosting a two-day extravaganza of British fashion, dubbed God Save the Queen. The Room will be transformed with installations and the opening night soiree will let the guest list-only crowd mingle with the cool kids of London fashion–Mark Fast, Marios Schwab, Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Charlotte Olympia Dellal, Nicholas Kirkwood and Giles Deacon, who will be demonstrating his DJ prowess.

Between two of my favorite Milan experiences (the Prada show and my beloved bowl of spaghetti rosa), I hobbled over to the hopping Brera District to congratulate fellow Canuck Mark Fast on his brand spanking new collaboration with Italian retailer Pinko (sort of like an Italian Bebe) that will be in stores for spring.