FASHION Magazine

Time to fish out your Juicy tracksuit and Lipsmackers, people.

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In honour of the upcoming world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian (on the Canadian Opera Company stage in October), the COC dedicated the theme of this year’s #Operanation to the gods of ancient Rome. The 14th annual Operanation transformed the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts into a coliseum of wonder. The atrium filled […]

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See the Operanation 2014 party pics » As I mentioned earlier this month, this year was my first time co-chairing Operanation, the annual gala benefiting the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, amongst other things. As such, it’d be something along the lines of self-important to dub Operanation 2014 the best party of the season/year/century so […]

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See the behind the scenes shots and outfit selects » For those who watched episode upon episode of charity galas, masquerade balls and silent auctions on Gossip Girl, wondering “yeah, but actually?”—This one’s for you. This year, I ascended the ranks of Waldorf wannabes everywhere by becoming a co-chair of Operanation, the Canadian Opera Company’s […]

The post What it’s like to co-chair Operanation (+ what to wear to this year’s event) appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the 1990s trend on the runways »

For most of my 20s, I’ve been your archetypal hypochondriac (let’s just say a good old MRI really calms my nerves), but lately, my Woody Allen-like fear of the end has morphed into something even more frightful: the end of my youth. I’ll be 30 next April—a milestone I’ve been dreading since I turned 27 (which, let’s be honest, was traumatic enough). Most say the best is yet to come, but from where I’m sitting, my impending existential grapple with miniskirts has pushed me down a road of teenage wardrobe nostalgia where crushed velvet, neon and over-the-top everything reign supreme.

Fashion’s ’90s streak couldn’t have come at a better time. For me, the ’90s represent a period in my life when my biggest priorities were decorating my room with posters of Leonardo DiCaprio, sneaking into 14A movies like Cruel Intentions and The Craft and lining up outside MuchMusic to see The Backstreet Boys. Fast-forward to today and the ’90s couldn’t be more pervasive. Crop tops and Birkenstocks are street-style staples, witches are the new vampires and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is, well, fresh again. And while for many it may feel early for a ’90s redux, the evidence says otherwise: Cher Horowitz’s, like, totally important Alaïa moment happened 19 years ago. Aaliyah has been dead for 13 years. And Marc Jacobs’s infamous grunge collection for Perry Ellis? That was 21 years ago.

See the Massive Party 2014 party pics »

As we predicted, last night’s tenth annual Massive Party at the Art Gallery of Ontario was sexy, stylish and the perfect start to spring party season. Sprawling much of the gallery’s 480,000 square foot space, it was one big ole Warholian ode to modern day pop art complete with larger than life dice, donuts and ironic hashtag banners. Guests were encouraged to bring their sartorial best, and awarded as such by a troika of hipster Joan Rivers who flashed everyone 10s as they entered past the red carpet.

Further inside, we were treated to a performance by the permanently moto jacket-clad Joseph of Mercury, who swapped his signature white mid-performance for a gold version designed by stylist Sarah Jay. Also in gold was The Collections’ Mel Ashcroft, who wore a lamé vest designed by Toronto designer Sid Neigum. And while many went wedding apropos (go big or go home, we s’pose), others kept it streetwise in X-ray imprinted fingerless gloves that were given out by scantily clad cigarette boys. A surrealistic post script: Mayoral candidate John Tory was there.

See our RAFF opening night gallery »

Did you know that Toronto is home to the world’s only art on film festival? Or that it is in its 11^th year? Probably not. For the past few years, the Reel Artists Film Festival has blown us away with its A-list roster of films, talent and frankly, how underrated it is. This year, RAFF upped the ante yet again by premiering An Economy of Grace, a film about artist Kehinde Wiley and his unique brand of hood-meets-highbrow in pieces that portray African Americans in heroic poses.

At Wednesday night’s opening, the who’s who of Toronto’s art scene fêted the film, hobnobbing with the artist and taking in an onstage Q&A with him and Zoomer editor-in-chief Suzanne Boyd, which focused on the sociological impact his pieces have on his subjects as well as his work with Givenchy.

An Economy of Grace follows Wiley as he creates his first women-only painting series, casting them on the street in Harlem, dressing them in couture gowns and transforming them into large-scale re-imaginations of classic works of art. It also documents the artist’s collaboration with Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, who created the dresses exclusively for the paintings. “When I thought about the absolute favourite of favourites or what stood for the best of haute couture, it was Givenchy,” said Wiley of the partnership. As current fashion plays so comfortably in the arena of high low, Wiley’s work touches on how once impossible that kind of combination would have been. In the days of great master portraiture (Wiley’s work often draws directly from Titian, Ingres, John Singer Sargent and Napoleon painter Jacques Louis David), subjects would have been those with money, wealth and social stature. They certainly would never have been of colour, something Wiley’s work flips on its head.

Read our interview with Kehinde Wiley »

See the street style snaps »

It’s been almost a full week of New York Fashion Week Fall 2014 shows and we were beginning to wonder if the fashion elite had any tricks left up their sleeves when it came to cold weather dressing. There are only so many ways you can stay warm and stylish, right? Nope! Today’s batch of street style photos from photographer Stefania Yarhi take outwear to new heights with mixes of colourful fur, dashes of metallic sheen and noteworthy footwear.

Preetma Singh, Eva Chen and several other fashion go-ers showed off panelled fur vests and jackets, all picking up on the colour-blocking trend while staying warm in the process. Warming our hearts, on the other hand, was the abundance of Hudson’s Bay Team Canada mittens spotted on the streets of New York—Olympic spirit is always in style! Alexa Chung looked positively Bowie-esque in a futuristic iridescent coat—while simultaneously keeping it ladylike with a prim purse. Ece Sükan went for an ’80s throwback vibe, mixing a cinched mod leather jacket with a bold gold skirt peeking out from underneath.

See the street style snaps »

Despite the still-cold, still-snowy conditions in New York City, yesterday the fashion set threw caution to the chilly wind and made like it was spring. Breezy layers, exposed legs and bright colours continued to be popular street style choices outside Monday’s Fall 2014 shows, which included Carolina Herrera, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Theory. There were obviously some people who heeded their mother’s advice from years gone by and bundled up—but even then a colourful, strappy shoe or sheer layer helped liven the look up.

In today’s batch of photos, our photographer Stefani Yarhi did a little stripe spotting, capturing two colourful Hudson’s Bay blanket coats in Monday’s street style mix. Also wearing a rainbow of colour was Helena Bordon, in head-to-toe Spring 2014 Prada including the coveted pop art-inspired jacket, athletic shin socks and an embellished skirt. Leandra Medine wore a gorgeous tangerine duster, done in ’90s minimalism with high-waisted denim and an off-white turtleneck and sweater.

See photos from inside the CAFA Awards »

Toronto had its first-ever dose of fashion Oscars this past weekend, as the best in Canadian talent gathered for the inaugural Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards at the Fairmont Royal York. Aiming to shine a light on often politely under-appreciated homegrown talent, awards were given out to the best in design, styling, photography, modelling and to one person who stands in a category all by herself: Jeanne Beker. The television host/journo of 30+ years was awarded the CAFAs first Vanguard Award for well, everything.

Looking around the glittering ballroom, there was a real sense of “everyone who’s anyone is here,” which is quite the feat on a blustery night in the middle of winter. Topping that A-list was be model Coco Rocha, who stunned as no one else (in the room) could in a one-shouldered white gown by Dsquared while accepting the award for Model of the Year. Also in town, designing wonder boys Dean and Dan Caten, who scored the Best International Designer award. Taking a page out of the CFDA’s book, the CAFAs partnered with Swarovski to fund the Emerging Talent Award, which gave $10,000 and a mentorship by Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran to Sarah Stevenson, the floral-happy designer who also won TFI New Labels last spring. With so much pegged on her impending success, it seems sure that her name will rise to the rank of fellow winner Jeremy Laing, who picked up the much-deserved award for Womenswear Designer of the Year.

See the party photos »

Rob Ford mingling with the arts set? Must be election season! This past Saturday, west-enders were treated to a troupe of Fords (make that brother Doug, wife Renata and kidlets Doug and Stephanie) at the pre-opening celebration of The Theatre Centre’s new home on Queen Street. Formerly the defunct Carnegie Library turned public health office, the restored Edwardian will act as a live hub for the arts incubator as well as a café, gallery and event space and a community garden. Saturday’s gala helped raise a final $130,000 for the $6.2 million renovation.

Theatrics were out in full force at the Baroque-themed gala, which featured pop up choral flash mob, a midnight blindfold dance and a custom-made poem to go with your coat check retrieval. Guests including host and actor Don McKellar, nightlife impresario Richard Lambert, counselor Ana Bailo and The Theatre Centre artistic director Franco Boni took in some seriously amazing appetizers and crazy cloud drinks that flowed out of glass contraptions, the mayor posed for photos with more than a few partygoers. We were about to throw shade at their eagerness, but then we saw this and figured it could have been worse.

See the Greta Constantine Spring 2014 collection »

In the off-season manner that has become their signature, Greta Constantine designers Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill put the social spin on the Spring 2014 collection, which they revealed at Malaparte above TIFF Bell Lightbox last night in Toronto. For an intimate crowd of editors and socialites, the 23 looks first took to a makeshift runway in-between two outstretched dinner tables set with inspirational artworks at each place (“Give your undivided attention to the feeling of your creations, not the creations themselves,” said mine). Then later, in presentation style groupings for after-partygoers.

The collection itself was an exercise in what Greta Constantine does best, but renewed for the season in cool microfiber knits (my favourite: an off-shoulder magenta knee length cocktail number) and silk faille. A dripping copper-covered group of smouldering floor-length gowns had red carpet written all over it. Meanwhile, the duo pushed retakes of their well-known classics such as cobalt and tangerine ruffled power dresses and the one-shouldered cocktail. With a healthy dose of Rogers, Florida, Kimmel and Koo in the crowd, all 23 are sure to be snapped up faster than you can say fierce.