FASHION Magazine

Ever since Prabal Gurung threw his colour-block party last spring, he has been on every ed/buyer/blogger’s mind, lips and twitter account.  He’s no longer an up-and-comer. He has arrived. Exhibit A: In demand cat walker Karlie Kloss appearing in Gurung’s fall 2011 show for the first time ever, opening in a crimson hand-draped off-the-shoulder dress. Three words: Be My Valentine. Other heart-hitting looks included his black fox shrug, laser cut leather dress, goat hair and mink coat, fuchsia chiffon dress and black techno wool cutaway jacket.  Gurung’s lace details, leather accents and cinched waists (oh, how Wuthering Heights!) created a distinctively innovative take on modern-day romance.  Could this be love? Je pense que oui.

My day starts on a good note (clear blue skies and I’m able to hail a cab without looking desperate/like a tourist) and it just keeps getting better. First stop? Jack Studios for an extra-large cup of Canadian cool at Jeremy Laing.  There are twenty-eight looks in total and each one is stunning in its own right. The highlights? The moonscape silk jersey gown (love this print, it’s so fresh!), the dolman coat in pebbled cotton and the starry night box sweater.  The gallery-like space is filled with buzz about Laing’s new collection (yes, he has done it again, congrats to Jeremy and Frank!) but I do miss the pomp and circumstance of an actual show.  Call me old-fashioned.

Model Lindsey Wixson is memorable for many reasons: her gap-toothed smile, her full pouty lips, her age (she’s only 16-years-old!) but we especially love her amazing off-duty sense of style (hello fur granny hat!)  Despite her young age, Wixson works the runway like a seasoned pro. Today, at Jason Wu, she hit the Baroque-inspired runway wearing a black dégradé pink tipped ostrich feather coat, carrying a Swarovski crystal-embellished clutch.  I spotted this adorable rising star on her way out from Wu, where she was, ahem, wu’ing the photogs on West 22^nd.

Jewellery designer Kara Ross’ New York-based showroom is the kind of place a girl would like to take off her coat and stay a while. Which is exactly what I did in between today’s line-up of shows. Ross’s fall collection is her strongest to date⎯her showroom’s shelves are stocked with costume pieces (a diamond-shaped jet pendant necklace, countless art deco-inspired bejewelled bangles and chalcedony pyramid rings) and fine jewellery (think diamonds mixed with organic materials like the wood heart pendants).

It’s only the first day of New York fashion week but they are everywhere.  At the front doors. Beside the washrooms. On the plastic covered runway before the lights dim. They are the men in black (and not because it’s fashionable). They are the Lincoln Center’s fashion week security squad. I spotted a cluster of these fine gents patrolling the runway pre-BCBG Max Azria this morning. I don’t envy them. Day in and day out they deal with pre-and post-show stampedes, Super Bowl-worthy pushing, seat stealers and the industry’s best (and worst) liars (“I have to get backstage to see the designer, I’m his cousin/sister/former babysitter”). If you ever have the opportunity to meet one, do so. Bet you a pair of front row seats at the show of your choice you can’t make one smile.

After one airport snafu, one OMG-this-isn’t-actually-happening Blackberry glitch and one heroic Olympic lift of my beyond-packed suitcase off the baggage claim conveyor belt, it’s official folks: New York fashion week, fall 2011 can begin.

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.