FASHION Magazine

Smythe, makers of fine Canadian coats and blazers, has a new celebrity to add to their already impressive clientele (Jeanne Beker, Kate Hudson and nearly the entire cast of Gossip Girl). Madonna, the woman who needs no introduction, recently ordered a lace blouse (pictured, $250, at Holt Renfrew and TNT starting in September, smythelesvestes.com) from their fall collection. Add that and a feature in the July Vogue and you’ve got yourself one big week. We caught up with designers Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe, on Madonna as a client, their fall collection and the perks of being part of a duo.

Rebecca Minkoff‘s bags are often seen swinging from the arms of Hollywood’s twenty-something set. Bijou Phillips, Rachel Bilson, Hayden Panettiere and pretty much everyone on Gossip Girl has carried one of the New York-based designer’s creations. (Samantha Jones also brought one of Minkoff’s Market Totes along to Mexico in the first Sex & the City movie.) But Minkoff’s most rabid fans are the denizen’s of web forums who show off their latest acquisitions, discuss what’s their bags and dish about the latest celeb sighting. The designer was in Toronto recently to launch her spring line at Holt Renfrew (holtrenfrew.com) and we caught up with her to talk favourite bags, motorcycle jackets and the benefits of internet fandom.

So you started out in clothing and expanded into bags. What inspired the move?

“It was unexpected; I was at a dinner with Jenna Elfman who was on the TV show Dharma & Greg. She said ‘I’m doing a movie coming up and this bag is an important part of my character’s experience. Will you design a bag for me?’ And I was like ‘Sure, I’d love to!’ I was like ‘I have no idea how I’m gonna do this right now!’ The first bag was canvas and leather and I still have it. FedEx mis-delivered so it did not get into the movie. Then the movie went straight to DVD so it didn’t matter anyways.”

Yigal Azrouël has been a darling of the fashion scene since he launched his womenswear line in 1998. (He branched out into menswear for Fall 2007.) Caitlan Moneta sat down with the Israeli–born, New York–based designer at Toronto’s George C. (21 Hazelton Ave., 416-962-1991), which carries both his lines, to talk men in shorts, artistic collaborations and soapy scents.

You started in womenswear before branching out into men’s. What prompted the move?
“For me, you know, it was kind of a natural evolution. Because I started, like I design for myself, like I do it, I create my own closet. I’m making my own collection for myself so I think what am I going to wear.”

You showed all kinds of shorts for summer for men. What are some of your rules for dressing in shorts?
“You know, it’s summer time. Who said that jackets or suits have to be worn with the pants. You can wear it with a short with cool shoes or sandals. Definitely it’s a modern way of approaching menswear, you know. You can take a risk.

Vancouver-based designer Angela Chen first launched her line, Orange, in New York City, where she attended Parsons The New School for Design. She’s dressed Coco Rocha and Chloë Sevigny and next week, she’s bringing her cool-girl minimalism to Toronto Fashion Week for the first time. Chen took our Fashion Week questionnaire. Read all about it, after the jump.

Theodora Richards—the 25-year-old model progeny of Patti Hansen and Keith Richards—is, you imagine, a high-rolling rock heiress. Mustn’t her trust fund be just heaped with Rolling Stones royalties? And modelling still pays, right? In the past few years, she’s fronted for Burberry, Erin Kleinberg and—alongside big sis Alexandra—French Connection. This spring, she joins fellow rock […]

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At Denis Gagnon’s fall show, I chatted with Dana Drori, 21, one of the models who helped bring the Montreal fashion designer’s vision down the catwalk. (When not working the runway, Drori is an English Literature major at McGill University). Here is her unique perspective on what was undoubtedly the show of the season. [See our review of the show]

What was the atmosphere like backstage before the show?
“I think the hype was mostly perfectionist stress, getting the hair perfect and stable, and making sure all the girls had nude lips. But it was a pretty positive atmosphere, which was good for me because I get nervous before shows. During the first show one dress got completely tangled and Denis had to come and try to untangle it under time pressure. Ryan (the model) was just standing there naked ready to dash to her place in line as soon as she was ready, but the dress was too knotted and she missed her place, which wasn’t a big deal in the end. By the second show (the one open to the public) Ryan’s dresser had the whole fringe thing figured out and everything went smoothly.”

The Besnard Lakes’ music is as vast and dramatic as the remote region of Northern Saskatchewan for which the band is named. Listen to the wall of sound captured on this Pitchfork-approved outfit’s third release, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night (Jagjaguwar Records), and you’ll understand why Jace Lasek and wife Olga Goreas were tapped to score actor Mark Ruffalo’s directorial film debut Sympathy for Delicious. We spoke with Goreas, the voice behind lead-off single “Albatross,” from her home in Montreal.

It’s the kind of success story that’s made in Manhattan—only it all began in Brooklyn. Over the past 20 years, jewellery designer Alexis Bittar (alexisbittar.com) has gone from being a street vendor in SoHo to a fixture on Michael Kors’ speed-dial. Bittar’s signature bright, bold Lucite designs have made him the candy man of the […]

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In her last post, Dolly introduced you to makeup artist James Kershaw. The interview continues below.

He’s Edmonton’s makeup and style guru…just don’t call him a writer.

In Edmonton, you’re well known as a makeup artist, stylist, writer…
“Makeup is my main career.  People think I’m a writer because of my work in The [Edmonton] Journal; it makes me cringe.  I’m not a writer.  I don’t aspire to be a writer and will never be a writer.  I was doing a TV thing and someone said, ‘When did he start doing makeup,’ at which point I had been doing makeup for 27 years.  After that, I started putting a makeup credit on my page.”

I should really have titled my blog: Proof that good things come out of Winnipeg.

My recent interview with former Winnipegger, Lara Vincent can attest to that. While she didn’t end up staying in the city, she did move on to explore the world and spread the gifts of her creativity.