FASHION Magazine

See the photos from Luminato 2014 Opening Gala »

A festival is never complete without an impressive party to kick it off, and last night’s Luminato art festival opening party was nothing but. Toronto’s elite, bloggers and artsy attendees joined co-chairs Rupert Duchesne, Joseph Mimran and Kimberley Newport-Mimran to mark the launch of the 10-day art festival with creative director Jörn Weisbrodt and hubby Rufus Wainwright at the helm of the festivities. Besides drawing Canadian notables like Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow and celebrated stage director Atom Egoyan, Isabella Rossellini was there to promote her upcoming on-stage debut, Green Porno. In tune with the night’s theme, Berlin Underground, the opening party was held in the outskirts of downtown Toronto (Toronto Port Lands to be exact) at the Hearn Generating Station where the abandoned industrial space was transformed into a one-of-a-kind venue for a 450-deep dinner and party. Complete with leather-clad dancers/artists lounging in corners, 1930s German propaganda on projected screens and neon lights bouncing off the exposed industrial interior, the party could not have taken place in a more suitable location. Well-dressed guests (ranging from black-tie attire to jumpsuits and much-coveted crop tops) had the chance to not only get their makeup retouched by on-site YSL makeup artists in super glam vanity stations. From a hopping DJ and buzzy dance floor to a flipbook station and 3D printers, it’s safe to say that last night was nothing short of extraordinary.

See all the pictures from Jian Ghomeshi’s book launch! »

If you’ve ever been late for work because Jian Ghomeshi’s soothing voice lured you into an episode of CBC Radio’s Q, you would have been in good company at last night’s party to celebrate the launch of his debut non-fiction book 1982. Otherwise rowdy partygoers perked up when Jian Ghomeshi took to the stage at The Opera House to say a few words about 1982 and the room basically erupted in cheer when he started singing “Psycho Killer” with Arkells. And such was the overall mood of the event: various Canadian musicians—like Jason Collett, Shad and Lights—took turns on stage, turning an already high-energy book launch into an A-list karaoke dance party of New Wave ’80s hits. (And who other than Jian Ghomeshi could get Olivia Chow and Justin Trudeau out and dancing on a Tuesday night?)