FASHION Magazine

Just when you thought you’d take some recovery time from Black Friday, we have news of some of our favourite homegrown designers gearing up for end-of-year sample sales and noteworthy pop up shops and holiday promos. You watched their designs sashayed on the Fall 2013 runways and made notes of your favourite pieces: now’s your chance to get that wishlist into your closet at discounted prices.

Not to alarm you, but this is the second-last weekend before Santa rolls into town. For those of us who’ve yet to finish or even start the gift shopping ritual (Oh, hi!), we’ve got studio sales, sample sales, flash sales and holiday sales, some coming with the a much-needed glass of champers. See our list […]

The post The Weekend To-Do: We’re shopping till we drop with special sales by Calla, Jeremy Laing, Bridge + Bardot and more! appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

In what’s sure to be one of the biggest shopping events of the season, Rac Boutique is curating a one-stop pop-up shop (say that 10 times fast), The Bazaar at 580 King St. W. The four-day shopping collaboration will feature men’s and women’s items—everything from vintage to designer consignment to sample sales—from some of our favourite Toronto retailers including Dalston Grey, Robber, Jacflash and Rita Liefhebber. It all kicks off with a (totally free) launch party on April 5. With DJ Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene fame) and enough cocktails to keep Carrie Bradshaw happy, we’re definitely marking this one on our calendar.

A sublime comedown from the construction zone over at the Trump tower, Rita Liefhebber also showed her fall collection last night. Opting to show at Jonathan + Olivia rather than Exhibition grounds as she did last season, the ease that breathed through her fall collection matched the equally laid back crowd. A loose grey wool overcoat with black leather trimming, a tie-dye splatter shirt dress, a black button down vest and several collared offerings were shown on delightfully understyled models who stood against a wall while everyone made up shopping lists. Liefhebber’s pieces always seem to resemble something I have in my closet… just fresher, lovelier, must-havier. Case in point: the ombre velvet tees in purpley-pink and blue degradé which look just like my favourite⎯and similarly ombred⎯peter pan collar Opening Ceremony dress: so similar that I can already picture myself in them, but different enough to make me really want to buy in for seconds. And thirds. And fourths…

View the Rita Liefhebber photo gallery »

Last October, a breath of fresh air breezed through the grounds at Heritage Court⎯the home to “official” Toronto fashion week⎯in the form of an über hip group of young fashionites called The Fashion Collective. A sort of mélange of hype-making and style setting, PR maven Kate Mullin, stylist Dwayne Kennedy and producer Brian A. Richards brought the likes of Rita Liefhebber, Thomas, Amanda Lew Kee and Chloé Comme Parris to the official schedule. Whereas the edgy designers such as these would have previously stayed as far away from the official schedule as possible, the group bridged the gap between the established and the upstarts making the official week a hub for all. For the fall 2011 season starting on March 28^th, the Collective’s got a whole new bag of tricks up their sleeve, introducing LABEL, Heather Lawton, Sid Neigum, and diepo into the Toronto fashion week womenswear stratosphere. Here’s our sneak peek of what these hot young things have got in store:

Last season, Rita Liefhebber presented her fall line in the back of a truck. For spring, she brought a 10-look collection to the darkened runway room at Toronto Fashion Week. Liefhebber says she was inspired by “an overcast, kind of melancholy summer,” a feeling underscored by Eva Michon’s moody film, which featured Liefhebber’s clothes moving over a background of crashing waves. The watery theme came out in the scuba-ish leggings, washed out shades and even an open knit vest that reminds one of a fisherman’s net. But this isn’t beach wear. There were hand-dyed silk dresses, tanks and tees, and relaxed jackets, all of which will slide into a city wardrobe.

See a gallery of looks from the Rita Liefhebber show»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»