FASHION Magazine

Montreal Fashion Week wrapped up on Thursday with Denis Gagnon’s double show (the highlight of the week). You can check out our review of his collection, plus our coverage of Andy Thê-Anh and Philippe Dubuc in our Montreal Fashion Week coverage. Other collections worth checking out: Marie Saint Pierre’s body conscious pieces, Helmer’s rainbow couture […]

The post More of our favourite shows at Montreal Fashion Week appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

At Denis Gagnon’s fall show, I chatted with Dana Drori, 21, one of the models who helped bring the Montreal fashion designer’s vision down the catwalk. (When not working the runway, Drori is an English Literature major at McGill University). Here is her unique perspective on what was undoubtedly the show of the season. [See our review of the show]

What was the atmosphere like backstage before the show?
“I think the hype was mostly perfectionist stress, getting the hair perfect and stable, and making sure all the girls had nude lips. But it was a pretty positive atmosphere, which was good for me because I get nervous before shows. During the first show one dress got completely tangled and Denis had to come and try to untangle it under time pressure. Ryan (the model) was just standing there naked ready to dash to her place in line as soon as she was ready, but the dress was too knotted and she missed her place, which wasn’t a big deal in the end. By the second show (the one open to the public) Ryan’s dresser had the whole fringe thing figured out and everything went smoothly.”

My first fashion intake at Le Marché Bonsecours – the main stage venue for Montreal Fashion Week – was local lady Marie Saint Pierre’s futuristic collection of body conscious jersey dresses. Other highlights that ensued included Helmer’s rainbow couture patchwork, Barilà’s rock band divas, and J.U.D.E.’s modern take on the 1960s—a show designer Judith Desjardins dedicated to the late Alexander McQueen.

By fashion week’s finale, it was back to the future with Denis Gagnon. After his impromptu second show last season (added last minute due to overwhelming attendance), it was a surprise to no one that the city’s fetish designer had two consecutive slots planned this time around: one at 8 p.m. for media and friends and a second at 9 p.m. that was open to the public.

With all the shows running behind schedule, come 9 p.m. on Denis Day, show number one was still waiting in the wings as Gagnon groupies lined up outside in a fidgety, albeit stylish, tizzy. Eventually, the Fashion Week police opened the floodgates and the masses poured in to take their places by the runway.

Montreal’s artsy Plateau district is never at a loss for things to do, see and eat. If you’re looking for a break from Fashion Week, there are two hot spots currently lighting up the nocturnal scene on the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare.

There was an unusual gathering yesterday on a massive ship docked at the Alexandra Quay in Montreal’s getting-hipper-by-the-second Old Port. Menswear designer Philippe Dubuc shot his fall campaign here and guests were invited to “jump aboard.”

Some journalists (I wasn’t the only one, was I?) didn’t read the invite carefully, and so gasped (read: freaked out) upon viewing the ladder (steep and tall) that was the only entry point of the unorthodox venue. Not such a big deal in flats, but for me in heels, another story. My friend Georgia, wearing a mini-skirt, was even more taken aback. Sorry G.! Besides the regular Montreal Mode crew, guests included National Post fashion writer Nathalie Atkinson, and local TV celebs, including Virginie Coosa.

Andy Thê-Anh’s “cocktail” show last summer at the Marché Bonsecours was a crowded, on-tip toes affair (thank goodness for platform boots). So his recent presentation for Fall 2010 in the airy atrium space of Excentris was a breath of fresh air. An intimate gathering of thirty or so of Montreal’s fashion editors and bloggers loaded up on appies from next door’s Café Méliès and giggled like little girls after a round (or two) of white wine spritzers.

A hometown prelude to the big production in Toronto at the very end of March, the Montreal-born Vietnamese designer greeted guests as they arrived and then proceeded to emcee his own show while slick-haired models strut out one by one.