FASHION Magazine

See all 25 party pictures from the CFC Gala! »

It’s a strange feeling to arrive at a party in Toronto in the middle of the winter and see a paparazzi scrum positioned outside the doors, but when you’re attending an event hosted by the Canadian Film Centre, such is the case. Last week the CFC celebrated its 25th anniversary with an extravagant gala and silent auction at the Carlu. It was likely the rumours of Ryan Reynolds showing up—perhaps with his new bride Blake Lively!—that caused the tabloid interest. (However, the pair was content to stay in Sudbury, sorry paps!) So who were the 500-plus guests celebrating 25 years of the CFC? Both talent and behind-the-scenes players from Canada’s film and television industry were in attendance, including stars from Murdoch Mysteries, The Listener and Republic of Doyle. While the dress code called for black tie, the majority of guests opted for a Justin Timberlake-approved suit and tie over a tuxedo.

See the party photos »

With today being the universal day of love, it was only fitting that Toronto’s most desirable gentlemen gathered Tuesday night to duke it out, bachelors-versus-husbands style, in a silent bouquet auction. The Pre-Valentine’s Day Soirée was presented by sisters Maryam and Nargues Mansouri in the showroom of The Perry, Mansouri Living’s elegant 11-storey condo building in the works at Avenue and Davenport. Hostess Ainsley Kerr was appropriately festive in a bright pink dress as she introduced the makeshift florists from the space’s kitchen while a strappy pair of Tom Ford sandals looked on from the walk-in closet.

View photos from the Interior Design Show kick-off party »

There is nothing like a blowout art party to get the who’s who of Toronto’s design scene out of the house despite frigid temps—last night’s kick-off for the Interior Design Show certainly was that. The city’s design-inclined denizens and partygoers flocked to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where they were wowed with this year’s offerings from the likes of Andrew Richard Design, international guest of honour Oki Sato and up and comers featured in the Designboom Mart, where items were up for grabs for as low as a dollar each. There was talk of an igloo too, which upon closer look, was actually the name of design duo Alain Courchesne and Anna Abbruzzo’s company: Igloodgn, who exhibited their work and play space as part of the How Do You Work? exhibit.

See our Design Exchange gala photos »

Toronto’s creative elite was treated to a veritable feast for the eyes at last Friday’s annual Design Exchange gala, this year revamped and restyled under the theme of “Intersection.” Surely meant to rival the glittering reputation held by the Power Plant’s annual Power Ball gala for being the art party of the year, the event succeeded in being everything it wanted to be—part art exhibit, part auction, party VIP hobnob and part knockout bash—complete with guest of honour Douglas Coupland posing for pictures, making speeches and even imitating a Canada goose.

Various phases of the night stretched across parts of the DX I didn’t even know existed. Case in point: a pop up mystery dinner put on by Matty Matheson of Parts + Labour catering, which took place in a dimly lit library overlooking King Street. There was trout roe, but where were the books?

See the Man Repeller party photos »

She may be The Man Repeller, but Leandra Medine draws a crowd of both ladies and gents. This time, it was a legion of Vancouver admirers that lined up for her Wednesday night appearance at Gastown boutique Secret Location.

A bounty of her kin, and by that we mean well-turned-out fashion bloggers, turned out including Little Fashionisto’s M’c kenneth Licon, A Fashion Love Affair’s (and Style Panel’s!) Cara McLeay, Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ Katharine Horsman, Alicia Fashionista’s Alicia Quan and Partly Sunny’s Sunny Shum.

View the Lunch with Margaret and George photos »

Designer Derek Lam was stuck in New York thanks to a Nor’easter that grounded many flights. But he was there in spirit at Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel for the Lunch with Margaret and George fundraiser for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Some of the city’s most stylish donned the designer’s sleek white leathers for the occasion and hostess Lisa Corbo sparkled in Lam’s sequined deco shift. Models in 20 looks from the Spring 2013 Derek Lam collection wove through the tables, making for a yummy feast of boxy T-shirts in geometric guipure lace, a gold leather skirt whose panels seemed to be held together with black macramé and a silvery sweatshirt over a skirt of  burgundy plastic curls. A cool $120,000 was raised for the cause, bolstered by another 15% of sales from the Derek Lam trunk show at George C later in the day. Adding more to the coffers? A gold-flecked lipgloss named “Believe,” conceived by Lisa Corbo.

See all the pictures from the Toronto Life Most Influential party »

Last night Toronto Life celebrated the reveal of their Most Influential list by toasting Toronto’s 50 most influential people at The Ritz-Carlton. The lucky heavyweights—ranging from politicians to bankers to TV personalities—were profiled in the magazine’s December issue and, as the evening’s emcee Amanda Lang was eager to point out, also given a definitive rank. (Her 41st place spot obviously not affecting said eagerness.) Upon our arrival it was clear how those on the list have become so successful: they’re certainly not the familiar faces of Toronto’s late-night party circuit. The mood was much more about networking than clamouring for a cocktail, despite the impressive array of Ketel One and Tanqueray creations. Tailored suits and black dresses dominated—though oxblood items and fur accessories proved to be just as popular, including many a lush stole and a pair of furry booties on Leesa Butler.

View the Mugler party photos »

A good-looking crowd of Vancouverites elected to put on their Tuesday Best (lipstick, heels, an exaggerated shoulder) last night and head to The Room at the Bay rather than sit at home in sweatpants glued to the Obama-Romney battle royal. What lured them away from CNN? Two other men, Mugler creative director Nicola Formichetti and women’s designer Sébastien Peigné, plus an exhibition of out-of-this-world dresses from the archives.

See all the party pictures from the 2012 LG Innovators’ Ball »

Last Thursday night Toronto’s most passionate science lovers descended into the ravine at Don Mills and Lawrence for the Ontario Science Centre’s annual LG Innovators’ Ball. This year’s theme was Fly Me to the Moon, a celebration of the museum’s newest exhibition Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration on loan from the American Museum of Natural History until January 1. The space-age décor was like travelling to another solar system, with planets hanging from the ceiling and walls covered in glittering stars. After a retro-glam cocktail reception, guests were treated to a performance by singer Matt Dusk who opened with a rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon.” Matt Galloway of CBC Radio’s Metro Morning stayed up way past his bedtime to provide hosting duties for the ball, even getting chided by Innovator Award recipient and former premier of Ontario the Honourable William G. Davis, who joked that his wife’s listening to the early morning radio show “delayed his breakfast.” The futuristic dinner, with a flashing salad course followed by deconstructed soup, was followed by a tour of the exhibition. Houston, we have a party.

See the Paul Hardy 10th anniversary party photos »

Party Hardy! Finally—I’ve been waiting to say that ever since FASHION received an invite to Canadian design star Paul Hardy’s 10^th anniversary bash in Calgary on Saturday. It was an exclusive guest list, after all, (including Dragon’s Den billionaire W. Brett Wilson and his date, the Real Housewives of Vancouver’s Mary Zilba as well as Vancouver’s blonde and bubbly country singing sisters, Carly and Britt McKillip of One More Girl), and might have been the biggest, brightest, boldest birthday party to ever hit the Alberta fashion scene.

Mr. Hardy, Tourism Calgary and Travel Alberta flew in fashion’s top editors, bloggers and VIP’s from Vancouver to Toronto, including the Globe & Mail’s Tiyana Grulovic, Hello! Canada’s Tara Henley, FASHION’s resident street style photographer Stefania Yarhi, and Style Panel’s Gracie Carroll. After waking up in the swanky Hyatt Regency Calgary and chic-boutique Hotel Arts, the first snowfall of the season made our trek to the island River Café feel like some kind of wonderland—or as Hardy perfectly positioned it, “Narnia”.

See the Maison Martin Margiela for H&M launch party photos »
See the Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collection photos»

Leave it to Maison Martin Margiela to choose a dilapidated 9-storey building hidden within New York’s financial district to house the launch event for its upcoming collaboration with H&M. To say “event” is to put it simply—performance art installation/dance party/pop-up shop would explain last night a little better. Each floor of 5 Beekman Street was reimagined as some sort of exhibit, with dancers choreographed by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker making art pieces from the aftermath of dancing around on a floor covered in white sand. Elsewhere, installations by Daniel Arsham, Frederique Chauveaux and Noemie Goudal brought the Margiela collaboration pieces to life, by projecting tableaus and hand gestures right on the pieces themselves. Atop the building, a pop-up shop stocked with the Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collection was swarmed by the 1,500 guests trying to snag a purchase in advance of the re-edition collection launching in stores on November 15.

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).