FASHION Magazine

For Matthew Gallagher, the pandemic has been a time of reflection — and rethinking the shirt dress. After falling in love with a Parisian and moving outside of Toronto, the Nova Scotia-born designer found himself re-evaluating his namesake brand. “I felt like my voice had altered from when I first started in fashion,” he shares […]

The post This Canadian Designer Reinvented the Shirt Dress appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Canadian designer Matthew Gallagher owes a great deal of his aesthetic to the time he spent training in Italy. There, even trips to the grocery store were occasion enough to dress your best and that impact spills over into his current collection. Gallagher’s designs are sophisticated and cater to the woman who wants to look […]

The post 5 Questions With Canadian Designer Matthew Gallagher appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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 […]

The post Inside Calgary’s Parkluxe 2014: 20 photos of the city celebrating the best of its design talent appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the photo shoot » Live from Toronto, it’s World MasterCard Fashion Week! The Spring 2015 shows take to the stage tonight, and in celebration, we present a special project. Beginning today, we’ll be featuring exclusive photo shoots done in collaboration with Toronto-based creative group The Collections. The photo shoots will feature the best in […]

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See the entire Fall fashion 2014 trend report »

From the food aisles to a galaxy far, far away, Fall 2014’s fashion narrative is just as varied as the many women who’ll likely fall for its manifold charms.

Call it the Lorde effect (or blame it fashion’s ever-growing obsession with Game of Thrones), but designers across all four major fashion cities seemed to fall under the dark spell of moody heroines. At Dolce & Gabbana, dresses were made to scrape that forest floor. At Valentino, capes shrouded the wicked and at Rodarte and Preen, Star Wars prints were made for the modern day Princess Leia.

View by trend: DARK ROMANCE | SWEATER DRESSING | STATEMENT OUTERWEAR | RED, ORANGE & PINK | OPTIC PRINTS | FUR | MIDI SKIRT | UTILITY | SURFACE DETAIL | ACCESSORIES

And while normcore may have mounted last season’s defence to street style’s increasing zaniness, Fall fashion 2014 is rife with ways to make statements. Flashbulbs will no doubt capture this season’s array of larger than life outerwear, from the utilitarian parkas on Alexander Wang’s robotic runway to Burberry’s painterly blanket coats. Meanwhile, fur was back with a brightly hued vengeance, ombréd at both Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, and in Crayola checks at Altuzarra. At Lanvin and Marni, fur was layered in wrap form over everything from short suits to sweatshirts.

This season’s accessories are especially light-hearted, with everything from a McDonalds Happy Meal to a carton of milk inspiring fall fashion 2014’s bags at Moschino and Chanel respectively. There were fur muffs at Tory Burch, crystal-incrusted snoods at Alexander McQueen and knee-highs á la Vivian Ward at Versace and sneakers once again staking their claim at Chanel.

If there ever were a time to pick your poison, it would be now.

Go backstage at Toronto Fashion Week Fall 2014»

In an era when runway show livestreams, tweets from the front row and instant backstage beauty coverage is considered all part of fashion week, anyone with a good internet connection can feel like they’re in the tents, experiencing it first hand. But there are still a few mysteries to be discovered in the before and after moments of a big show—and, thanks to Toronto-based photographer Nathan Cyprys, we’re sharing them with you! While the rest of us were split between street style posing and watching models come down the runway at World MasterCard Fashion Week, Cyprys was backstage, documenting the last-minute frenzy of show prep at Sid Neigum, Klaxon Howl and Matthew Gallagher. If you’ve ever wanted to be a show stylist, like seeing models in the moments before they turn up the fierceness or just enjoy beautiful fashion photography, this behinds the scenes gallery is for you.

See the top Fall 2014 trend slideshow »

Your first time at any international fashion week will teach you a valuable lesson: You need a fur. And not just any Margot Tenenbaum style granny hand-me-down. A fur so intricately patterned, multi-layered and artificially coloured, that it has to be designer. Given its place at the apex of the top Fall 2014 trends, you’d think recessionary times were long gone—it’s virtually everywhere, from a hyper colour mink at Altuzarra to a fluffy red dress at Prada. Wear it with caution or as Dior prescribes, dangle it over your arm like it’s no big d. Let the fur fly, scruples or otherwise.

Jump to: FUR | SWEATER DRESSING | RED, PINK & ORANGE | STATEMENT OUTERWEAR | EMBELLISHMENT | OPTIC PRINTS | NOVELTY BAGS | DARK ROMANCE | ART | POINTY TOE HEELS

See the Matthew Gallagher Fall 2014 collection »

When designer Matthew Gallagher came out to give his mother a hug after his Fall 2014 collection, I wanted to jump up and give him a hug too. Closing out World MasterCard Fashion Week with a bang, Gallagher’s show was easily one of the highlights of the week.

Beginning with moody film of misty woods, the collection unfolded into the dark romance trend seen elsewhere on the runways this season with vampy makeup, wispy hair and elegantly tailored dresses. The Milan-trained designer lived up to his credentials—folds and drapes fell with precise placement and fluted skirting was done so finely that the seams were practically invisible.

Shoulders and necklines were of a particular focus for Gallagher, each piece presenting a new look that was conservative and yet still had plenty of allure. For example, a long-sleeved slate grey crepe dress had a safari-esque lace up neckline, plunging all the way down to the diaphragm, balanced out with a longer hem and a demure thigh slit. Even a deep red wool poncho dress was made evening-wear-appropriate thanks to the high rise of the asymmetrical hem, masterful neckline detailing, and a slim sleeve. The matching billowing camel coat had a similar glamour factor—it looked like something out of Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2014 collection.

See all of the Spring 2014 campaign looks »

Right now, as Canadians, it’s difficult to think of anything but winter. Thankfully there is at least one among us who has his sights firmly set on the warmer months ahead. Toronto-based designer Matthew Gallagher has just released a colourful look-book for his Spring 2014 collection, and the tropical vibes have us day dreaming the snow away.

The playful campaign and accompanying video, produced by The Collections, Toronto Fashion Week cool kid organizing body, features plenty of bold retro silhouettes done in an array of tropical prints and hues. Gallagher’s peekaboo pink lining, intricate tailoring and thoughtful detailing are just some of the reasons we’re placing the designer on our list of ones to watch. The entire collection is a throwback to glamorous heyday of Hollywood and Palm Springs—those sky-high beehives and headscarves would be perfectly at home speeding along the Pacific Coast Highway in a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, with a dashing beau in the seat next to us… but we digress.

See the Miami photo shoot » If the frigid temps in our neck of the woods weren’t reason enough for an ample dose of wanderlust, Miami Art Basel (on through Sunday December 8) has us fantasizing about hitting the beach. Last month, Toronto-based photographer Renata Kaveh and The Collections fashion director Dwayne Kennedy did just […]

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At long last the fashion-week train has pulled into Toronto. The 10-day (or so) extravaganza kicks off tomorrow night with The Shows before moving to King West on Monday for World MasterCard Fashion Week at David Pecaut Square. A truly Canadian affair, both of the Toronto Fashion Week enterprises bring a wealth of global experience and influences home, and for the Fall 2013 season there’s no shortage of world-class newcomers on the roster.

In addition to our tried-and-true favourites (Chloé Comme Parris, Jeremy Laing and Pink Tartan), we’ve got our eyes on four promising Toronto runway first-timers: Steven Tai (who presents his latest collection at The Shows fresh from its debut at Paris Fashion Week) and Lacerda, Maison Matthew Gallagher and Thomas Bálint, all to be featured in the tents. Put together, these labels have combined experience in São Paulo, New York, Milan, Berlin, London and Macau. For some, this season will be their international coming-out party, though one of them has already found a fan in influential Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

Here’s our insider intel on what these talented additions to Toronto Fashion Week are bringing to the runway »