FASHION Magazine

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Elie Saab was a red carpet favourite this past weekend, with stars from coast to coast favouring colourful numbers from the Lebanese designer. It was hard to miss Anna Kendrick and Nina Dobrev and their stunning looks deserve a closer look—as well as a vote for who wore Elie Saab best.

On the east coast, Anna Kendrick attended the 36th Kennedy Center Honors Gala in Washington, D.C. She wore a lace-paneled Elie Saab dress from the pre-Fall 2013 collection in a vibrant shade of coral. A neutral lining kept the sheer panels from being too revealing—a good thing to consider when you’re attending an event with the Obamas. Kendrick accessorized with a shimmering brown Rauwolf clutch that matched her flowing curls, while a tangerine lip completed the complementary beauty look.

See the Holt Renfrew designer showcase photos »

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to see a entire fashion season’s most important moments capsulized, last night’s Holt Renfrew opening showcase at World Mastercard Fashion Week last night was your dream come true. Set to a soundtrack by real-life DJ couple Brendan Fallis and Hannah Bronfman (who both donned Holt Renfrew’s “Girls” sweater designed in collaboration with Justin Broadbent), models including Amanda Laine walked in 67 looks of Fall 2012’s best internationally and Canadian-made wears.

See all the dresses up close!»

After a whirlwind ten-plus days, the red carpet was rolled up and TIFF 2012 came to a close. While we’ll have to wait another year for that many A-list starts to return to Toronto, there were plenty of style hits worth reminiscing about. On the opening night of the festival everyone was anticipating Kristen Stewart’s appearance for her role in On the Road, and afterwards everyone was talking about her Zuhair Murad dress—and not her personal life (for once!). At The Perks of Being a Wallflower party, Emma Watson wore a flowery Erdem dress, and her co-star (and FASHION cover girl) Nina Dobrev was in Monique Lhuillier.

Speaking of young TIFF stars, Selena Gomez was all over town promoting Spring Breakers and wore a form-fitting leopard print Dolce & Gabbana dress for the premiere, while Jennifer Lawrence went for Dior Couture to promote The Silver Linings Playbook. And the always stylish Elle Fanning was right on trend in a Miu Miu pantsuit while walking the red carpet for her film Ginger & Rosa. Meanwhile, TIFF veterans continued to wow fans who patiently waited to spot them on the red carpet—with many opting for all-black attire. Gwyneth Paltrow wore Tom Ford at the premiere of Thanks for Sharing, Keira Knightley was in Elie Saab at Anna Karenina and Amy Adams celebrated her powerful role in The Master by wearing Marchesa.

Even though most eyes were on her boyfriend, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes held her own throughout TIFF in a beautiful Dolce & Gabbana gown at the party for their film The Place Beyond the Pines. Emily Blunt also had the support of her boyfriend on the red carpet, and looked chic in a white Tory Burch dress to celebrate the premiere of Arthur Newman. And without even knowing it, the two females stars of To the Wonder, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko, wore the same designer (and even same colour!) to their premiere—but each still looked completely different and not to mention flawless in their Elie Saab numbers.

See the celebs that stopped by NKPR’s IT Lounge during TIFF »

The NKPR IT Lounge is undoubtedly one of Toronto’s swankiest TIFF gifting suites. Stars like Catherine Deneuve, Olivia Wilde, Ryan Gosling and AnnaLynne McCord have all stopped by in years past and with NKPR amping up their megawattage with the addition of legendary fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier shooting celebs for a day during TIFF, it’s not hard to see why boldface names like Daniel Radcliffe, Nina Dobrev, Adrien Grenier and Agyness Deyn stopped by.

See Nina Dobrev’s TIFF outfits up close! »

Home-grown teen queen and FASHION cover girl Nina Dobrev was back in Toronto this weekend to promote her upcoming flick The Perks of Being a Wallflower at TIFF. As if to be taking the film’s title quite literally, Dobrev donned several stunning floral looks over the course of her TIFF appearances. So stunning in fact, that’s pretty much impossible to choose a favourite. But let’s try, shall we?

At Saturday’s TIFF red carpet premiere, Nina Dobrev wore an Oscar-worthy white Monique Lhuillier gown that featured intricate black floral embroidery. One of the frothy confections that has helped amp up this year’s TIFF celebrations from fairly casual to megawatt, the dress induced jealousy-gasps all around at the film’s after party later that night. (Co-star Emma Watson was also feeling the florals, btw, equally stunning in Erdem.)

See all the Grey Goose Soho House TIFF party pics! »

Sunday night continued to prove that no matter what TIFF happenings are going on, it all comes back to the Grey Goose Soho House. At the onset of the evening, cast from both The Sessions and Byzantium stopped by before hitting the red carpet. Irish ingenue Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton had dinner prior to the world premiere of their dark vampire flick Byzantium, while Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, John Hawkes and The Sessions director Ben Lewin mingled with friends.

A private party was held on the third floor for At Any Price, with Dennis Quaid, Clancy Brown and Maika Monroe in attendance. Considering that Maika Monroe’s The Bling Ring cast-mate Emma Watson was at Soho House the night before we had hoped for a repeat appearance, but alas, no luck. (Perhaps Emma Watson was off somewhere else, catching up with Daniel Radcliffe who’s also currently in Toronto filming The F Word? We can only dream!)

See our full gallery from The Perks of Being a Wallflower party! »

If TIFF parties were award shows, most would be like the Golden Globes—totally fun, but you’ll never really get to sit with the A-listers. However, for a film like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the night is more like the MTV VMAs: from up-and-coming stars to fully-certified teen heartthrobs, everyone’s in on the party. (Which, when you think about it, is actually what The Perks of Being a Wallflower is all about.) Despite all eyes being on Nina Dobrev and Emma Watson, they both circled the room throughout the night, stopping to mingle with guests (or Degrassi-era Toronto friends, in Nina Dobrev’s case) and pose for pictures with fans. Both were also dressed in white, frothy florals: a peplum’d Erdem dress for Emma Watson and a intricately beaded Monique Lhuillier gown for Nina Dobrev.

See the TIFF party photos »

It was another doozy of a night at the Grey Goose Soho House last night, with TIFF celebs upon TIFF celebs upon TIFF celebs showing up en masse to toast their various premieres, presentations and pals. As the official after party spot for Anna Karenina, Soho House’s first megawatt guest was Keira Knightley. Flawless in a black sheer lace-y floor-length Elie Saab gown, it was said that her every move was swanlike, and we believe it. Co-stars Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (alongside his May-December love, director and photographer Sam Taylor-Wood) channelled their period costumes, both wearing three-piece suits. Though there isn’t photo evidence of Matthew MacFayden’s wears, we’ll have an imaginary vision of him in period-inspired attire as well. We’ll also imagine his Mr. Darcy coif intact.

With two feature films and a top-rated TV series, Nina Dobrev is taking a bite out of Hollywood. Check out our interview and go behind-the-scenes with our homegrown September cover star.

Read an excerpt from our interview with Nina Dobrev »
Watch the behind-the-scenes video »
See the behind-the-scenes photos »

Sometimes, a new fashion season can seem overwhelming, with trends, images and must-have pronouncements slamming us from all sides.

But then along comes a shoe or a bag—something—that stops you in your tracks. For me, it happened when I laid eyes on a pair of Prada pants with bejewelled hems (shown on page 46). Our senior editor, Sarah Casselman, attended the Fall 2012 runway show in Milan where the elegant embellished trousers were unveiled. I was watching from afar. But still, when I saw those pant legs trimmed in giant cabochons, my first thought was: “I want them.” My second thought was: “How on earth can they be hemmed if they’re too long?” My third thought was: “Who cares?! If they don’t fit, they’ll make a superb wall-hanging.”

The fact that designers can make us fall in love with clothes all over again is a testament to their artistic brilliance. While I was waiting (for two hours!) to meet Victoria Beckham in Vancouver (“Victoria Day,” page 86), Holt Renfrew client Pamela Richardson was telling me how she became smitten with Beckham’s designs.

We’ve been spotting collars everywhere lately, and our favourite recent iterations are Hilary Rhoda‘s adorable collared and pleated sun dress worn at last week’s Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic and Nina Dobrev‘s frothy white collared Max Mara dress worn to the brand’s Women In Film cocktail event last night. We love the mix of textures, patterns and colours we’ve seen, and we think an embellished collar is an easy way to make a statement while staying on trend for the season (just check out all the collar options that paraded down the Carven runway this spring). With so many cute collar options available, we’re sure you’ll be able to find one that suits your style personality.

Shop the looks»

Couldn’t you just hear Chris DeBurgh’s “Lady in red” watching the red carpet arrivals at last night’s Emmy Awards? From Lea Michele‘s embellish-sleeved Marchesa to Nina Dobrev‘s mermaid Donna Karan, the Emmy trend seemed pretty clear. So, who did it best? Vote after the jump!

View the photo gallery »