FASHION Magazine

See the Thom Browne party shots » The fall season has its fair share of stylish events, but when The Room at Hudson’s Bay rolls out its carpet, you generally know that it’s not one to miss. The latest of the retailer’s epic Toronto fêtes was in honour of Thom Browne, the New York-based designer […]

The post Thom Browne hits The Room: Inside the Toronto party celebrating fashion’s kookiest designer appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby dinner party photos »

Jessica Chastain wiped away tears of joy following the premiere of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, explaining to the TIFF audience how happy she was to finally make a film with her friend of 10 years, director Ned Benson.

The 3-hour+ epic is actually two films back to back, and unspools the same story twice: first from a husband’s point of view, then from his wife’s. Demanding? Yes. Emotionally draining? Perhaps.

Still, the mood at the after-dinner for the cast, hosted by the Hudson’s Bay Co. at The Chase, was buoyant. And how could it not be? Stars James McAvoy, Jess Weixler, Ciaran Hinds and the luminous Chastain, in a chiffony aqua Versace, chatted up the crowd which included designer Wayne Clark, The Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy and Suzanne Timmins and Barbara Amiel, pretty in pink and white Erdem from The Room.

See the TFI New Labels runway photos »
See the TFI New Labels party photos »

Toronto Fashion Incubator crowned its annual New Labels prizewinner on Tuesday night at a glittering gala stacked with the city’s society and fashion hall of famers. For the second year in a row, Target added a red sheen to the event, promising an exclusive capsule collection to be sold nationwide next year in addition to the existing prize of $25,000 from high society’s grand dame philanthropist Suzanne Rogers.

As notables including Stacey Mackenzie, Arthur Mendonca, Nicholas Mellamphy and David Dixon (he currently moonlights as TFI president) indulged in post-dinner chocolate cake, the tables were transformed into a runway, on which the competition began. With a mix of aesthetics ranging from Secret Garden-esque to hard edged to femme to frankly, sloppy, four designers—Sarah Stevenson, Paria Shirvani, Christopher Paunil and 7/31—paraded their wears. In a decision that surprised no one, Stevenson’s pretty floral capsule was crowned the winner. With an existing reputation as Toronto’s resident floral print mistress, we look forward to seeing Stevenson’s career blossom (pun intended) following this major boost.

See The Room’s Viktor & Rolf party photos »

Viktor & Rolf’s love affair with Toronto began last night with a fittingly springy fête at Toronto’s Hudson’s Bay Queen Street flagship. In town to celebrate their recent collections as well as to do press spots for their upcoming Dolls retrospective exhibit with Luminato this summer, designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren sported matching embroidered jeans (Horsting’s featured sunglasses while Snoeren’s featured moustaches) and matching thick rimmed frames, making them the ideal models for Toronto’s new eyewear-specific blog, The Spectacled.

In keeping with the Dutch duo’s eccentricities, The Room was transformed with newly papered walls featuring the Fall 2013 runway room’s eerie black and white floral print, a string quartet playing instrumental takes on pop music and strapping waiters, who passed many a prettily-decorated Perrier-Jouët champagne flute while wearing V&R-esque (and maybe even a little Denis Gagnon) glasses.

See the Versailles ’73 party photos »

Though it marked a monumental shift in fashion history, November 28, 1973 has passed through history with none of the mythological treatment as 1962’s Black and White ball or even a single Met ball. Until now that is. Brought to life by director Deborah Riley Draper, Versailles ’73 tells the story of a fashion show of French and American designs which was originally meant to simply fund the palace’s much needed repairs but became the moment that brought American fashion into the forefront. With legendary fresh-makers Liza Minelli, Kay Thompson and Pat Cleveland at the forefront of the American presentation, the show of designs by Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein rocked a guestlist of Princess Grace of Monaco, CZ Guest, Andy Warhol, Lee Radziwell and Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild and more to its feet with simplistic and impactful presentation and lively African American models (spearheaded by Pat Cleveland, who literally spun from one end of the stage to the next).

See the Arthur Newman TIFF premiere photos »

It’s not often that we are stumped by what a star is wearing on the red carpet. Even the great fashion minds of the Bay were baffled by the make of Emily Blunt’s ruched tulle dress, worn to yesterday’s TIFF premiere of Arthur Newman, the film in which she stars alongside Colin Firth as a lost soul in ripped tights, black work-boots and kohl-rimmed eyes who helps concoct a new identity for a man (Colin Firth) who runs away from his family.

“Marchesa maybe?” mused The Room creative director Nicholas Mellamphy, who between Paris, London, Milan and New York, has seen pretty much every frock there is to see for Fall 2012. It turns out the pretty off-white number was made from scraps of tulle reclaimed from Tory Burch’s cutting room floor.

“Colin Firth’s wife Livia has the Project Green Runway challenge which encourages designers to use their leftover materials,” Blunt proudly declared, showing me her recycled brass necklace, and beaded FEED bag clutch. “I am very proud to be supporting her.”

View the photo gallery »

Last night, the sister duo behind one of fashion’s darling labels, Rodarte, descended upon Toronto for a fête in their honour at the Bay’s glittering designer den, The Room. As the finest champagne flowed, the city’s finest, freshly sunned partygoers crowded around Laura and Kate Mulleavy to get a look—albeit a look-but-don’t-touch. “You can’t just sidle up beside them and say, ‘I love you,’” one guest lamented. And isn’t it strange but true? The moment one of your idols is presented on a platter, the nerves tend to overcome. Such wasn’t the case, however, for Toronto’s version of the sister power duo, Chloé and Parris Gordon of Chloé Comme Parris, who got in there to articulate their crush. (I was afforded a private one-on-two with the designers earlier in the day, the gush-laden results of which are forthcoming).

View the photo gallery »

Pattern princess Mary Katrantzou’s first-ever visit to Vancouver (“We’ve got fantastic weather, and I was expecting gloomy rain!” she enthused in an earlier interview) turned out a colourful crowd at The Room at the Bay last night. A noticeable number of party people sported kaleidoscopic looks from the designer’s new collection, which has gained equal notoriety for its elevation of everyday objects such as spoons and typewriters, as well as its trippy, engrossing patterns reminiscent of Magic Eye images from the ‘90s (a comparison Mary acknowledges with, “Yes, I heard that recently! I wasn’t sure what those magical eye drawings were.”)

The race is on to find this season’s most sleek, athletic-inspired pieces. “Sport was touched on in almost every collection,” says Nicholas Mellamphy, creative director of The Room at the Bay. He points to Anthony Vaccarello’s use of tech fabrics and utility details, Antonio Berardi’s strong colour and stripe detailing, Yves Saint Laurent’s “sporty but elegant” eveningwear jumpsuits and J. Mendel’s play on the old-school sports jersey. The question is: Can sporty wear be made office-appropriate? Mellamphy laces up to give us a pep talk.

4 tips on how to wear sport utility »
See our editor’s picks »

Say it isn’t so! As we reported yesterday, the fashion world was hit with a major disappointment with the announcement that after 27 fabulous years on air, Fashion Television has stopped production. This end of an era certainly had us thinking “what happened?!” While FT had always been known for bringing insider access to the masses, it seems that the industry invasion of bloggers and runway live streaming has resulted in poor ratings as of late.

While Fashion Television certainly blazed the trail for leading fashion news and introduced many of us to the industry while giving us rare insights into the surreal worlds of Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld and the like, the show has suffered a viewership plunge in its last years. Scarce one-on-one interviews are a things of the past with greater access to designers (most fashion houses produce their own branded media content).

What does this all mean? The Globe and Mail writes “spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel is no longer considered a smart investment when access to designers and tastemakers […]”

The world may have changed since FT first aired in 1985, and the show’s end may seem inevitable, but we’re certainly going to miss seeing Beker’s trademark quirky charm and can’t wait to see what she what future endeavor she has up her stylish sleeve. And according to Bell Media, we do not have too long to wait: “Bell Media remains committed to the fashion genre & will continue to grow FTC to deliver a broader appeal for viewers & advertisers. Jeanne Beker remains with Bell Media & we look forward to new projects with her.

Well, aren’t you in for a treat! Today, we’re exploring the Pierre Hardy bag belonging to bow-tied boy about town and The Room’s creative director, Nicholas Mellamphy. A long-time purveyor of chicness, Mellamphy was the genius behind Yorkville boutique Hazel, and more recently has become one of the key members of the Bay’s new transformation team. You can thank him later for putting the likes of Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, Erdem, Christopher Kane, and Carven together in one room, but in the meantime, let’s snoop!

Let’s explore! »

Follow our ongoing coverage of the Royal visit! »

We guessed it! We guessed it! Kate chose Erdem for her official Canadian debut, so that makes us 1/1 so far in our royal predictions. Kate chose this navy and white lace knee-length dress from the designer’s Resort 2012 collection, and though you won’t be able to purchase the stunner quite yet, we have official word from creative director Nicholas Mellamphy himself that the dress will be included in The Room at the Bay’s Resort selection (estimated arrival is TBD, but late Fall is to be expected). Ladies, place those orders now!

In the meantime, let’s play a little dress-up with these Erdem Spring picks: »