FASHION Magazine

See the photos from Holt Renfrew’s Uncrate India party »

We gave you a behind-the-scenes peek at how Alexandra Weston and Waris Ahluwalia curated the Holt Renfrew H Project Uncrate India collection. We shared 50+ artisanal items from the collection. And now it’s time to take a look at the incredible bash that Holt Renfrew threw last night in celebration of it all. The Bloor Street store was transformed into a vibrant Indian market, welcoming hundreds of guests adorned in sari-inspired attire. Rooms were tented with pink and orange fabric for an intimate feel, gilded bird cages stuffed with flowers hung from the ceilings and guests were greeted upon arrival with a shower of rose petals. But the lavish extravaganza didn’t stop there.

See the photos from the 2013 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival »

Air Canada, inventors of the flight godsend that is personal seat-back TV, celebrated the annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival this past Thursday with a jam-packed screening and party in Toronto. Now in its seventh year, the festival serves as somewhat of a rite of passage for emerging filmmakers: not only do their works gain national recognition, they’re also streamed on Air Canada flights. (Talk about gaining a captive audience!)

Of course, at Thursday’s event the films were broadcast on a much bigger screen, courtesy a sold-out screening at Varsity Cinemas. Once the house lights turned back up, guests were whisked 51 stories up, for an after-party and awards ceremony at Panorama. Lainey Lui hosted the awards, while excited friends and family cheered on the winners from a very packed dance floor—which, thanks to a mid-’00s dance song playlist—stayed that way well into the night.

See the Drake One Fifty party photos »

The Drake Hotel can easily be credited with introducing Bay Street types to Queen West, and now, with the launch of Drake One Fifty, they’re reversing the flow. Nested between Toronto’s tallest skyscrapers and expense account-funded bars, the Drake has transplanted its signature sense of (dare we say hipster?) style into a standalone restaurant that will change the scene of the downtown core.

While the space has been on the radar of Toronto’s style set for months, doors officially opened earlier this week with a jam-packed party. From Holt Renfrew’s Moira Wright and Jennifer Daubney to artists Tommy Matejka and Niall McLelland, the guest list was a perfectly curated uptown/downtown mix. In typical Drake Hotel fashion, Drake One Fifty is as much about art and interior design as it is the food. Most of the dining room sits under a huge wooden pergola, designed by Brothers Dressler, book-ended with artwork by Douglas Coupland and Micah Lexier. (You’ll also be sure to see the extremely photogenic emerald-green leather bar stools and banquettes in the background of Instagrams for years to come.)