FASHION Magazine

See this week’s best dressed celebrities on the red carpet » Let me just start this off by saying: I flew a plane! Last month, a few Toronto editors and journos were taken on what can only be deemed the most epic day trip of the summer to celebrate the launch of Grey Goose VX, […]

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See the J.Crew Collection store party pics »

Toronto Fashion Week may be more than a month away, but street style trends were top of mind for the city’s fashion lovers last week. And with good reason: J. Crew held a sleek party to celebrate the opening of its first Collection store on Bloor Street, making it the brand’s fifth Toronto location and first standalone store. Unlike other locations, the J.Crew Collection store features a curated selection of limited edition women’s and menswear pieces, including accessories (hello, statement jewellery!) cashmere and more.

Despite its 6,000+ square foot size, the store was tightly packed with eager party guests, many of whom were likely hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who makes print mixing look as natural as wearing neutrals. Alas, it was not to be: a blizzard in New York meant Jenna Lyons was stranded and we had to settle for an Instagram stand-in—which did indeed complemented the party’s Canadian-ified photo booth. (Complete with stuffed moose and a Pharrell-meets-Mountie hat.)

See our boudoir trend guide »

When I was growing up, I used to visit my grandmother in Palm Beach, where she wintered in a conch-pink pseudo Spanish-style condo called (accurately) La Bonne Vie. My favourite activity was grocery shopping at Palm Beach’s Publix—a glamorized supermarket washed a bunny-nose pink with valet parking and bougainvillea-swathed archways. Here, tycoons with Hermès-orange suntans and manses on Billionaire’s Row shuffled through the aisles dressed in silken Persian pyjamas and monogrammed velvet bedroom slippers, carts full of crab salad, their long-suffering chauffeurs waiting outside in purring Bentleys. Wearing pyjamas outside of the bedroom has historically been the habit of the egregiously wealthy, the eccentric, the hyper-medicated on day passes—and the freelance writer.

See the party photos »

The Room at Hudson’s Bay went full Anglo on Tuesday night with its celebration of two Brit shoe designers, Nicholas Kirkwood and Sophia Webster. Held in the store’s palatial new shoe department (seriously, it’s 20,000 square feet), the soiree served as a shoe shopping kick off as well as, well, just another excuse to party. Toronto’s style setters were in fine pre-fashion week form, pulling out all the outfit stops and the Nicholas Kirkwood chevrons to boot.

Kim Tanenbaum modelled her mother-in-law Carole Tanenbaum’s jewels just perfectly overtop an all-black outfit and Kirkwood’s wholesale director Josephine Papasavvas brought the party’s requisite Peter Pilotto factor alongside a stomach-bearing crop top. West end cred was sufficiently represented by Prince Innocence’s Talvi Faustmann and Josh McIntyre, who matched in long black trench coats. Hair statementing was a thing too, especially for a certain top-knotted shoe associate who delighted us with his kabuki-like appearance and definitive newness on the scene. You go girl.

See the Drake One Fifty party photos »

The Drake Hotel can easily be credited with introducing Bay Street types to Queen West, and now, with the launch of Drake One Fifty, they’re reversing the flow. Nested between Toronto’s tallest skyscrapers and expense account-funded bars, the Drake has transplanted its signature sense of (dare we say hipster?) style into a standalone restaurant that will change the scene of the downtown core.

While the space has been on the radar of Toronto’s style set for months, doors officially opened earlier this week with a jam-packed party. From Holt Renfrew’s Moira Wright and Jennifer Daubney to artists Tommy Matejka and Niall McLelland, the guest list was a perfectly curated uptown/downtown mix. In typical Drake Hotel fashion, Drake One Fifty is as much about art and interior design as it is the food. Most of the dining room sits under a huge wooden pergola, designed by Brothers Dressler, book-ended with artwork by Douglas Coupland and Micah Lexier. (You’ll also be sure to see the extremely photogenic emerald-green leather bar stools and banquettes in the background of Instagrams for years to come.)

See all the photos from the Upgrade book launch party »

Is there anything more enticing than a promise to make your regular old life extraordinary? It was this premise that inspired Rana Florida to write her latest book, and the reason why a very swishy crowd gathered to celebrate the launch of Upgrade on Tuesday night. Held at the home of Suzanne and Mark Cohon, the party attracted a mix of Toronto’s most stylish and most social. It was certainly a who’s who of the city’s creative set—a group more likely to be featured as an Upgrade case study than those in need of the book’s advice.

Holt Renfrew’s Moira Wright (in a sleek black pantsuit and tuxedo jacket) mingled with Greta Constantine’s Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, who were just days away from jetting off to Paris. The guest of honour was decked out in a stunning Clover Canyon dress—purchased just for the occasion—and Rana wasn’t the only one in digital prints and vibrant colours. Alexandra Weston toned down her purple, blue and grey Peter Pilotto skirt with a leather moto jacket, while Jane Apor’s fluro-orange clutch and heels added a pop of colour to her ensemble. Twitter Canada’s Kirstine Stewart was also rocking some orange, with a pair of bright pants that should probably be on everyone’s fall must-have list.

See the Can A Song Save Your Life party pictures »

Hudson’s Bay went all out once again for the first of two annual TIFF bashes, this year in conjunction with Can A Song Save Your Life, the star-studded flick lead by Keira Knightley and singer-turned-actor Adam Levine. Splashing its signature stripes all over King Street West resto Patria, the retailer’s stylish presence was felt from Knightley’s The Room-worthy Mary Katrantzou dress to the Bay blanket pillows that dressed bottle service banquettes. As with most every post-film party, the A-list holds court in a corner on the patio, with all eyes on them all night. Lucky for us, that corner just so happened to be where we settled with our Grey Goose Le Fizz cocktails in hand.

See the Hateship/Loveship party photos »

All eyes were on Kristen Wiig at the C Lounge Goodnight Gansevoort pop up last night, where the post-premiere party for her new film Hateship/Loveship was held. The comedian celebrated her dramatic acting debut in a Fritz Bernaise Vena Cava black silk blouse complete with crochet detailing and matching black and white printed shorts (very on trend).

Wiig posed for a few photos with fans—and as you can see from our gallery, you can take the girl out of SNL but you can’t take the SNL skit-worthy facial expressions out of the girl— before hiding away in her security-protected, back-corner tent. She was later overheard saying, “I just want to hang out tonight,” which was totally fair but mostly sad since most of the party had hoped for a chance to become her BFF.

See all 25 party pictures from the CFC Gala! »

It’s a strange feeling to arrive at a party in Toronto in the middle of the winter and see a paparazzi scrum positioned outside the doors, but when you’re attending an event hosted by the Canadian Film Centre, such is the case. Last week the CFC celebrated its 25th anniversary with an extravagant gala and silent auction at the Carlu. It was likely the rumours of Ryan Reynolds showing up—perhaps with his new bride Blake Lively!—that caused the tabloid interest. (However, the pair was content to stay in Sudbury, sorry paps!) So who were the 500-plus guests celebrating 25 years of the CFC? Both talent and behind-the-scenes players from Canada’s film and television industry were in attendance, including stars from Murdoch Mysteries, The Listener and Republic of Doyle. While the dress code called for black tie, the majority of guests opted for a Justin Timberlake-approved suit and tie over a tuxedo.

See the Versailles ’73 party photos »

Though it marked a monumental shift in fashion history, November 28, 1973 has passed through history with none of the mythological treatment as 1962’s Black and White ball or even a single Met ball. Until now that is. Brought to life by director Deborah Riley Draper, Versailles ’73 tells the story of a fashion show of French and American designs which was originally meant to simply fund the palace’s much needed repairs but became the moment that brought American fashion into the forefront. With legendary fresh-makers Liza Minelli, Kay Thompson and Pat Cleveland at the forefront of the American presentation, the show of designs by Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein rocked a guestlist of Princess Grace of Monaco, CZ Guest, Andy Warhol, Lee Radziwell and Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild and more to its feet with simplistic and impactful presentation and lively African American models (spearheaded by Pat Cleveland, who literally spun from one end of the stage to the next).

View FASHION’s 35th anniversary party photos »
Check out our archive of every FASHION cover since 1977 »

What’s better than a birthday party? Your own birthday party! On Wednesday night, the FASHION team (well, that’d be us) celebrated the magazine’s 35^th anniversary, and as you might expect, Toronto’s most stylish guys and gals were out in full force. 700 of our closest friends packed into the Distillery’s Fermenting Cellar to toast us with Skyy Vodka cocktails, mini burgers and musical performances by Divine Brown and The Parallels.

Last Saturday night, Toronto’s historic Fort York was transformed into an enchanted spot fit for a diva. A diva and 500 of the city’s most well heeled (and well dressed) donors that is. Grammy and Oscar winning singer, actress and belter Jennifer Hudson headlined the first ever Bliss Ball marking 10 years of philanthropic work by the SickKids Foundation and the Dilawri Foundation. Also featuring Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, who acted as host, Emmy award winning actor Martin Sheen who acted as auctioneer and supermodel and ex-Victoria’s Secret Angel Selita Ebanks who did her best Vanna White alongside Sheen, the night was star-studded, to say the least.