FASHION Magazine

View all films in the series » In today’s fashion film, director Claire Edmondson (she’s done videos for Broken Social Scene and Austra, no big deal) partners up with Toronto-based Tania Martins, the designing genius behind cult label Pink Cobra for a look into what a bored and slightly mad girl might do if she […]

The post Claire Edmondson + Tania Martins present: The Seams appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

By Randi Bergman and Jordan Porter

In the world of icons, it truly doesn’t get any better than Patti Smith. We’d confess our undying devotion to the singer’s lyrics, voice, style, heart, poems and just about anything else she is responsible for (and let us tell you, there’s a lot). The recently released book of never-before-seen images, Patti Smith 1969-1976 by Judy Linn, breathes new life into her everlasting stylistic impact by showing her just before she hit the big time. We channeled Smith’s impact in the best way we know how, shopping in the name of!

Shop the guide now! »

By Randi Bergman and Jordan Porter

The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! With Coachella officially kicking off summer music festival season in Indio, California this weekend, we’re finally ready to let the good times roll. Whether you’re off for this weekend, heading to Tennessee for Bonnaroo in June or jetting to Chicago for Lollapalooza in August, we’ve put together the ultimate guide of essential gear to get you through a season of waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care.

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Every year, we get a new “future of fashion.” Some fifty students—the hopeful designers of next year’s womenswear, menswear, swimwear, whatever-you-can-wear—graduate from Ryerson‘s School of Fashion. It’s the best in the country they say, and we believe.

Their annual show-off, Mass Exodus, is a bigger deal every year. From the fifty, twenty final collections are selected for runway staging. The theatre fills with fellow students and parents, yes, but also people who don’t have to be there: stylists, buyers, and media peeps like us. Plus, an eternal favourite sighting: beloved alum Jeremy Laing.

This year’s titular theme was Zenith & Nadir. Glossy show notes (plus, for the first time ever, a pretty impressive magazine—should we be watching our backs?) explained that Zenith and Nadir is up for exploration, for you to define. Sorry to be all English-y here, but that’s not quite true. Zenith and Nadir are opposite celestial poles, so zenith is used to mean “the highest point,” and nadir, the lowest.

So, we present the highest points of this year’s Mass Ex. But first, claps to all those who showed.

Tania Martins, the designer behind Toronto-based cult label Pink Cobra, is one of the city’s finest yet surprisingly underrated talents. Never one to hoard the spotlight, Martins just goes about her business⎯that business being the wildly popular Queen Street West boutique, Carte Blanche, which she co-owns with Dan Augustino and designing Cobra, the store’s in-house label that celebrates its 10^th collection for fall. At 5”2, the pint-sized designer packs more natural confidence, poise, beauty and style in her tiny body than most of us could ever hope to, and translates it effortlessly into her uncomplicated collections of sexy standout LBDs and biker jackets (editors note: last fall’s version is the best jacket I’ve ever owned…)

Martins gave us the first peek at her fall 2011 collection, featuring brilliantly tailored and slashed button downs, sexy backless dresses and pleated skirts. Naturally, we NEEDED to know more…