FASHION Magazine

Take a look back at Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga Top 10 »

As any entry-level fashion historian might know, clothing is as good a representation of what’s going on in the world as any. At a more micro level, its one of the best ways to chart changing aesthetics through time. What better proponent of so many of fashion’s most recent aesthetic shifts than Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of Balenciaga, who announced today that after 15 years with the brand, he’d be stepping down. As someone who was so effected by Ghesquière’s genius while wading through my own fashion discovery (namely the one-two punch of Spring 2007 and Spring 2008), this news is real sucky. On the bright side, it’s a great time to look back at just how unbelievably influential Ghesquière was in starting so many recurring trends.

The final night of Toronto’s L’Oréal Fashion Week may have been on-trend, but it definitely was not on time. After waiting a full 1 hour 15 minutes, the lights dimmed and the music started. I put down my prosecco and picked up my pen … on with the show.

Despite a few stiletto-wounded whimpers overheard in the show lineups last night, the energy was still electric aprés a full four days of the FDCC’s Canadian-cool Fashion Week. While the shows (thus far) have ranged from dazzling to disappointing, one thing is certain: All work and no play makes fashion a dull industry. Hence, the word on everyone’s collagen-plumped lips ce soir was: after-parties!

But before we can mix ‘n’ mingle in our Manolos, I hear the call of the styled…

Stuck in a ghastly gridlock, I barely arrived in time for the next round of shows. After a quick pit stop at the media lounge to grab (the fashion editor fix of a diet coke and buffet bite) and gab (five hours a day for five days a week, and there is still more to chat about?) with some of fashion’s finest ladies and gents, I was back in my seat, feeling refreshed and revitalized for some ready-to-wear…

The torrential rain on Tuesday didn’t wash away the fashion crowd, who arrived ready for round two. And while Burberry umbrellas bounced about outside the Muzik building, the fashion forecast inside was favourable.

In a flurry of cabs, canapés and Canadiana (love the gold maple-leaf pendants on the Fashion Design Council of Canada girls!), Toronto’s L’Oréal Fashion Week was off to a stiletto-strutting start.

Let the games begin! It’s Toronto’s L’Oreal Fashion Week! Check back dailyfor our front row coverage of the best shows, as Canadian designers showcasetheir Spring 2007 collections.

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