FASHION Magazine

The vibe at the Thompson Hotel party was decidedly laid back, once you made your way past the throngs of stargazers crowding outside. It was decidedly fragrant as well, being sponsored by Calvin Klein Euphoria, an addictive scent laced with pomegranate and black orchid. The hotel’s rooftop patio was littered with the perfume’s pink bottles, alongside more than a few orange ones from Veuve Cliquot contributing to the overall sense of… euphoria. Guests lounged on the patio’s cabana sofas, nibbling on sliders and taking in the Thompson’s view of the Toronto skyline. Hosted by Joana Vicente, executive director of the Independent Filmmaker Project, the fete’s raison d’etre was the celebration of the strong female contribution to this year’s festival. Guest of honour was the enchanting Selma Blair, here to promote her film Dark Horse but forever beloved for her performance in Cruel Intentions. Elisha Cuthbert was there with her hockey-captain sweetheart Dion Phaneuf (Go Leafs!) as was stylish songstress Fefe Dobson. Fourteen-year-old up-and-coming It girl Chloe Moretz attended and was up way past her bedtime, as were we. Time to unwind with the Coco avant Chanel DVD that was in one of our swag bags.

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Last night’s HELLO! Magazine party at the Ritz Carlton was a virtual who’s who of home-grown Canadian superstars. The stunning Gabrielle Miller of Corner Gas charmed reporters on the red carpet while members of the cast of Being Erica proved that those who work together, play together. Dolce Vita chef David Rocco was on hand […]

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Getting in and around Friday night’s George Stroumboulopoulos Hazelton Hotel Takeover was not an easy feat, to say the least. That, however, didn’t make it any less fun. Rolling up to the hotel in my for-one-night-only Cadillac Escalade—complete with suited-up driver and white TIFF logos emblazoned on the side—throngs of onlookers peered through the windows to see who we were and gave us panic attacks in the meantime. We were not Keira, as it turned out. Later, inside, friend, office mate and Toronto Life associate online editor Kevin Naulls has the misfortune of falling with a wine glass. We won’t share the bloody details. The patio was much easier to navigate, and we spotted the Strombo himself greeting Gerard Butler, Paul Giamatti, and a one Jon Hamm looking hotter than ever, if that’s even possible.

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Once again, the Grey Goose Soho House was home to just about every star you’d ever want to be home with last night, as the casts from Drive and A Dangerous Method celebrated their screenings. Who, pray tell, is all the hype about? Just Ryan Gosling, Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Emily Blunt, Bono, George Clooney, Jon Hamm, Evan Rachel Wood, Anna Faris, Dave Matthews, Sarah Sadon, David Cronenberg, Jimmy Kimmel, Kate Mara, Emile Hirsch, Albert Brooks, and Brian Cranston is all. Wish you were there? We’ll give you the next best thing…

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Amongst the many (many) velvet ropes of TIFF, the ones that you’ll most want to get past are the ones guarding the Grey Goose Soho House. Held at an undisclosed location (we would tell you, but that would probably mean that they wouldn’t let us back), the ultra-private bar, with its specialty cocktails (more on that later), its mishmash of expensive-looking antique furniture, and its teeny-tiny DJ booth, is going to be home to some of the most exclusive parties of the week. Last night, the megawatt cast from Ides of March—ahem, Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman—and We Need to Talk About Kevin—ahem, Tilda Swinton—held court. Plus, Mark Wahlberg made drinks! Later, it was reported that Alexander Skarsgård was there, though until we see him with our own eyes, attempt to kidnap him, and then get arrested, we won’t be satisfied.

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The biggest night of TIFF partying began with a small, graceful affair. Bryce Dallas Howard, the actress-come-producer of Restless, hosted a Harbord Room soiree in proper—very proper—Kate Spade style. Majorly pregnant, she floated cloud-like in a custom light blue chambray dress, while guests slurped oysters and pink champagne. She wasn’t the only star redhead, either: Jessica Chastain was there in a bronze Derek Lam dress. And I had the pleasure of talking about Raymond Carver and LA with Restless screenwriter Jason Lew while my Globe Style girls Maggie Wrobel and Tiyana Grulovic ate more beignets. At the end, we left with clever spade logo’d matchbooks and Kate Spade patent-croc satchels—literally, a swag bag.

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In what must be the most meta event of the festival (and, yes, we are aware that TIFF’s only just begun), Adrian Grenier braved the paparazzi last night as he hit Toronto with his documentary, Teenage Paparazzo. Part of the lofty-sounding “Teenage Paparazzo Experience’s North American Tour,” Grenier hosted a screening of the film and Q&A session before emerging with his entourage (sorry!) at King West hotspot Brant House for a bash befitting Vince Chase. Clad in a nubby gray wool cardi against the chill and a pair of slate-blue jeans (plus what we assumed were a pair of leather kicks from event sponsor Converse, natch), his movie-star-level hair was as perfect as it appears on HBO. Coifed, slightly poofed—we notice these things. “The paparazzi’s out tonight!” he crowed, as the flashbulbs lit up those famous baby blues. “Didn’t you get it right the first time?” Grenier joked when one shooter missed his shot. Don’t blame it on our timid photogs, however—as comedian-of-the-moment Russell Peters joked on the red carpet, “These are Canadian paparazzi—they don’t count.” (Their more aggressive American counterparts run targets down in their cars, he says.) It was all apropos for a doc that details Grenier’s relationship with a pint-sized pap he met in L.A., as well as the greater implications of fame and our celeb-hungry culture.

Last night, Holt Renfrew fêted Erin Kleinberg, Stephanie Mark, and Jake Rosenberg, the home-grown trio behind voyeuristic style site The Coveteur. Held in the the shoe department of the Bloor Street flagship store, the soiree debuted a new photo exhibit previewing the store’s fall footwear collections, as well as the closets of Canadian taste-makers Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, Gabor Jurina (whose closet was guest-edited by our very own Susie Sheffman), Sylvia Mantella, and Lynda Latner. The three Coveteurs (get it?) looked as chic as the venue, with Kleinberg in a flowing DVF and Céline choker, Mark in Alaïa, and Rosenberg in Hugo Boss. Natch.

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Last Thursday night the Mimran-kissed womenswear line Moon celebrated its first birthday as well as its foray into menswear at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Surrounded by big yellowy globes (ahem, moons) and more than a few yellowy cocktails, DJ duo Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol of the Misshapes spun Rihanna, Robyn, and the like for the crowd of fashion eds, fashion plates, and fashion models who interrupted the soiree for a makeshift showcase of the latest collection. Lezark took her headphones on and off enough times to make believe she was, indeed, there to spin… But her sheer black wrap shirt, leopard skirt (both from Moon’s fall collection), and black leather fold-over heels suggested she was there to be ogled as well. Consider us ogling.

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Last night, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine held court (along with many stylish subjects) in the lush backyard of a beautiful Rosedale home in Toronto to reveal the second collection in their new accessibly priced womenswear line, Primer. As could be expected, all of Greta’s signature fingerprints appeared in the line of richly hued draped-cotton and jersey dresses that were displayed on prettily posed mannequins positioned poolside. While the collection won’t be available for a few months, one thing you can look forward to are totally manageable price points, starting at less than $100 and ranging no higher than $500.

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Last night, high priestess of mass retail style Jenna Lyons (with CEO, a.k.a. high priest, Millard “Mickey” Drexler in tow) descended on Toronto for the opening of J.Crew‘s first Canadian outpost at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Amidst the sunny pre-fall offerings—think bubble gum–hued cashmere cable knits, corduroys, and Lulu Frost–designed Deco bangles—a full house of summered stylistas sipped spiked lemonade in mason-jar mugs while peering at statuesque Lyons (who was wearing the MOST amazing vibrant-green sequin skirt from the Spring 2012 collection, we might add.) Many in head-to-toe J.Crew and all a little more than excited to be sharing the designer’s airspace, last night’s party-goers were the first but by no means last group of loyal cross-border subjects.

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Wonderland was unleashed upon the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (and its surrounding area) last night for The National Ballet of Canada’s annual Mad Hot fundraising gala. This year, the Ballet took its theme from the wildly popular premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. After a gala performance—including selections from the work as well as Passacaglia, No. 24 and The Dying Swan, danced by principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson, who is celebrating her 20th year with the company—guests including Karen Kain, Galen Weston Jr., Alexandra Weston and actress Lisa Ray wined, hors d’œuvre’d and wandered the transformed building, which housed an extra-long mirrored dining table filled to the brim with traditional tea fare, a hookah-smoking caterpillar, and multiple bars serving “White Rabbit” cocktails in teacups. Across the street on the Osgoode lawn, six Alices played croquet with flamingos.