FASHION Magazine

See all the photos from Frocktail Party 2013 »

Philanthropy and fashion came together once again at last week’s 5th annual Frocktail Party held at the upscale Arcadian Loft above Hudson’s Bay in Toronto. Fashion forward guests dressed in their best coupled with a fast paced auction of designer clothing and luxe services set precedence for a noteworthy night in support of The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Attendees zigzagged through mannequins in lavish frocks and baubles, spruced up menswear and displays of luxury experiences from award-winning designers and retailers who contributed to the cause. Standouts included a Marciano display of current and vintage wares, signature prints on Diane Von Furstenberg dresses and Canadian-designed pieces from Greta Constantine, Pink Tartan and Jeremy Laing. With drinks in hand and shopping buddies in tow, guests made their rounds placing and checking up on their bids and stocking up on goodies in the gifting suite. The long sign up lists to get manicures by OPI and lash extensions by Winks eyelash boutique were gladly endured by the ladies who could be heard gushing over each other’s looks while the city’s skyline offered an amazing backdrop to the loft’s open space.

See the Centre Stage gala photos »

Last Tuesday night, the Canadian Opera Company held its first annual Centre Stage gala at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. The event focused around the company’s Ensemble Studio, a training program for emerging opera talents. Part benefit, part performance audition, Centre Stage pit nine hopefuls against one another in the battle for entry into the ensemble as well as a few hella generous cash prizes. And because no singing competition can do without some showmanship, Rufus Wainwright lent his skills, playing the host role for the night in a sparkling Moschino suit. He even surprised the crowd by performing a few of this favourite songs including “Les feux d’artifice t’appellent” from his opera Prima Donna.

After each finalist performed a piece from the likes of Verdi, Bizet and Mozart, soprano Karine Boucher was crowned winner of the judges’ award as well as the night’s audience award. She won the fashion award too, in a floor-length gown covered in gold sequins and featuring a diva apropos plunging neckline. Tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure and bass-baritone Iain MacNeil place second and third respectively.

See the Canfar party images »

On a frigid late fall evening in Toronto, Bloor Street came alive with black ties and ball gowns for Canfar‘s AIDS-fundraising fête, Bloor Street Entertains. The annual event has a way of tempting the shimmery, well-heeled patrons onto the streets and into the street’s various shops which each serve an intimate dinner made by the city’s top chefs.

Before guests shuffled away to Mulberry, Holt Renfrew, Nespresso Café Bar or any of the various chic boutiques participating, they took to the Royal Ontario Museum for a pre-twilight party to get things started. The Gatsby-themed event kicked-off with a can-can dancing drag queen who wasn’t successful in getting the ladies to join in on the high leg-flying number. And with good reason: the dance is quite difficult long dresses. Design Exchange president Shauna Levy wore a slick, floor-length Greta Constantine, while grande dame Catherine Nugent was dressed in a vintage Bob Mackie deco style number.

The freezing temps did wreak havoc on some original wardrobe choices. With her shoulders covered, philanthropist Sylvia Mantella said, “I was going to go strapless, but it’s so cold.” Also overheard from a patron in sparkly Roksanda Ilincic: “I was going to go for Balenciaga—it’s Canfar!—But I went for something more conservative because of the weather.”

See all the photos from the Purple Party 2013 »

Remember that heart-swelling Buzzfeed post “21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity”? Well, last Thursday was officially the IRL version, as Childhood Cancer Canada hosted its second annual Purple Party. The sold-out event filled Toronto’s Drake Hotel, with purple-clad partygoers, notable guests and, most importantly, inspirational childhood cancer heroes.

At the centre of it all was the Purple Party’s duo co-chairs—who, coincidentally, represented two mainstays of Canadian culture. Murdoch Mysteries star Yannick Bisson and wife Shantelle and former NHL player Brad May and wife Brigette kept the party going strong all night long, as well as spurring on a very competitive live auction.

See the Dress for Success party photos »

Last week, Dress for Success Toronto held it’s 3rd annual Heel of a Good Time fashion fundraiser. The event brought a full house of the city’s do-gooders to raise money for the organization to continue to help disadvantaged women gain economic independence. The gala, held at ultra swanky The Fifth Social Club, was a mix of on-going auctions, a fashion show and a celebration of long time advocate Jeanne Beker for her contribution to the cause.

With never-ending cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a bubble machine adding to the ambiance, a crowd of mostly women meandered through displays of goodies for the silent auction. After a tribute video of Beker’s fashion career, presentation of an award and a few words from her, a fashion show followed. Wares from her own line Edit by Jeanne Beker were on models that zigzagged through the packed house giving the crowd a chance to have a closer look. The night ended with a live auction of high value packages ranging from a private Calvin Klein shopping event for 5 to custom diamond jewellery created by !Xam’s expert designers.

See all the Toronto Life Most Influential 2013 party pics »

At first glance, a party where every guest is nose-deep in a magazine may seem like the least social event ever. However, when it’s the launch party for Toronto Life’s annual Most Influential issue, a quick read-through is totally necessary: while everyone who made the list was invited, none of the Most Influential guests knew how they ranked. Hence the frantic-yet-totally-casual flipping of pages upon entry by guests like Robert Deluce and Charles Khabouth. Held in the ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton, deep red lighting and a swanky live band made the space feel like a Swing Era soiree.

While Toronto Life’s editor-in-chief Sarah Fulford was quick to make a few drunken stupor jokes, neither of the issue’s cover subjects—that is, Bill Blair and Rob Ford—joined in for the festivities. Sure, it would have been good for gossip, but they wouldn’t have added to the impressive style that permeated the event.

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 photos from the Cronenberg: Evolution opening party »

Spooksville made its way into TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday night for the opening party of Cronenberg: Evolution (November 1-January 19), the exhibit celebrating the city’s most lauded director. The retrospective of David Cronenberg’s 40 years in film opens up a cabinet of curiosities with trippy artifacts, set designs and rare footage from various Cronenberg films including Crash, The Fly, Videodrome and Cosmopolis. My personal favourites: the original “bio-ports” used on Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ (remember theeeeese?!) and a menacing Mugwump situated at a Naked Lunch bar setting for guests to pose for photos with. One such guest to take the photo opportunity: David Cronenberg himself, who posed alongside TIFF CEO Piers Handling and creative director Noah Cowan, earlier that day.

See all the Operanation 2013 party pics »

On Thursday night the Four Seasons Centre was decidedly catering to just one season, with the expansive performance hall transformed into a luscious garden of evil. Filled with party goers and potted plants alike, the green-tinged space was all for the Candian Opera Company’s Operanation fundraising gala, themed as “A Night of Temptation” for its tenth iteration.

While all-black ensembles were by far the most popular fashion statement, texture allowed for individuality. From mesh cut-outs and ruffled pleats to velvet and sequin add-ons, the little black dress (or gown, for that matter) certainly stood out at Operanation. Darker colours, such as navy-blue and deep jade-green—as seen on soprano Leigh Anne-Allen and The Hudson Bay Company’s Megan Loach—provided a different take the all-black trend and should make inky gowns a gala must. And on the opposite end of the colour spectrum, bright primary colours stood out in the sea of dark shades, including Tatiana Read in red, FASHION’s editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra in blue Viktor and Rolf, and a hit of yellow, courtesy Odessa Paloma Parker’s Jeremy Laing number.

See the Isabel Marant for H&M party photos »
Enter to win a spot at the front of the line on launch day! »

If Universal Studios had a fashionable Parisian sister, it would be last night’s blowout launch party for the upcoming Isabel Marant for H&M collection. Inspired by the city’s boho ‘90s scene, Tennis Club de Paris was transformed into a bustling city scene, complete with a roller derby, a shoppable bodega, photo booths, endless late night take out options and a souvenir shop, where the collection made its pre-shop debut. Guests including Audrey Tautou, January Jones, Freida Pinto and Olga Kurylenko (all in Isabel Marant for H&M, of course) took in the fantasy fair scene, while others broke a very literal sweat in the pre-shop line up. Around 11pm, a group of Marant-outfitted models launched into a glitter-inducing dance party, followed by a performance by none other than Grandmaster Melle Mel and Rappers Delight. God love Parisians and their appreciation of good old American fun.

See the party pictures from the Joe Fresh after party »

When it comes to toasting a spring collection filled with inky, porcelain-blue items and chinoiserie prints, what better an after party venue than Susur Lee’s namesake restaurant? Just minutes after the Joe Fresh Spring 2014 show ended, friends and fans of the brand dashed down the street for the official celebration. The mid-week party has become one of the most anticipated events of World MasterCard Fashion Week and this season’s iteration kept the hype going.

At the centre of the fashion frenzy was Marjorie Gubelmann, an heiress from New York who’s made her name (and things like Vanity Fair best dressed lists, nbd) as DJ Mad Marj. “Wait, what? She’s the DJ!” many a guest remarked as they wandered past the DJ booth—though the well-populated dance floor, including swinging staples Suzanne Boyd, Andrea Bolley and Stacey McKenzie, spoke for itself.

If the almost-all-blue Spring 2014 collection was a nod to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team certainly wanted to show their support. The second side of the restaurant—coincidentally where Alana Zimmer, Heather Marks and the other Joe Fresh models were gathered—quickly became “the hockey room” when Joffrey Lupul, Jonathan Bernier and Dion Phaneuf showed up. Of course, the Leafs representation was courtesy front-row fixture Elisha Cuthbert, looking extra slick in liquid leather pants and a bushy fur collar.

Holt Renfrew’s Toronto Fashion Week party photos »

Who said Monday wasn’t the time to party? Holt Renfrew’s now regular fashion week kick off started things with so many bangs last night, it was hard to keep track of the night’s best.

One of them would surely have been the Cary Tauben-led walk off that took to the store’s mezzanine a little shy of midnight. The Montreal-based stylist and part time go go dancer is known for his fierce moves (typically in six inch heels), and last night’s showcase of his talents was no exception. Ugh, fierce is too light a word.

Another might have been the wall-to-wall gab fest willed by many an eager partygoer, including Holts-stocked designers Jeremy Laing, Tanya Taylor and Smythe’s Christie Smythe and Andrea Lenczner.

Another ongoing highlight took place over the course of the night, as a New York-based phenomenon known as The Bumbys aka. a masked duo who sit at matching typewriters produced “fair and honest appraisals” of guests’ outfits. Fair, honest and quite honestly genius, case in point, mine: