FASHION Magazine

We don’t have to tell you that Tom Ford has special powers in the world of fashion, and that everything he’s touched—since making his name at Gucci in the mid-nineties to starting his own eponymous line a few years back—has turned to literal and figurative gold. For the past four seasons he has done a semi-private runway show during fashion week, invitation going to select press only, making his adoring fans wait at least two months to see the coveted wears. His collections usually garner great reviews, but for Spring 2012, and the first time probably ever, his grand plan might not have gone as well as planned.

Today, Vogue.com released photos of the collection, but based on reviews from editors and critics back in September, it already had a tainted reputation to contend with. Criticisms of the line were that the clothes drew too much on what Ford, and other designers, had already shown, but Vogue argues that these criticisms can be quieted on seeing the collection up close: “most revealing in this exclusive, first close-up look at Tom Ford’s new collection is the detail lost to the original viewers who saw the clothes momentarily swish by in the runway presentation.”

Though she has yet to be styled in a fairytale ensemble for an episode of Once Upon A Time, Jennifer Morrison delivered a very medieval-come-modern look on her own at this weekend’s The Muppets movie premiere. The braided style is undoubtedly inspired by Valentino’s Spring 2012 runway, though Morrison’s version is not nearly as complicated. It’s actually unfair for us to position them side-by-side, because it’s hard for anyone, actress or not, to trump the perfect ethereal beauty of the Valentino braid.

See all the Le Mindu Minx designs »

Famous for creating wigged-out costumes for Lady Gaga, designer and hairstylist Charlie Le Mindu often makes headlines for extremely avant-garde runway shows. (Think: nude models painted with wisps of hair.) So it came as no surprise when Le Mindu partnered with Minx for Spring 2012, delivering a collection of outfits and hairpieces constructed exclusively from more than 25,000 nail decals—in custom patterns, of course.

View the photo gallery »

By Jessica Borchiver

For her Spring 2012 jewellery collection show, Micalla designer Camilla Jorgensen brought on the glitz and glamour. The larger-than-life pieces sparkled with Swarovski crystals, which had obvious undertones of: “Look at me!” The oversized, chunky, and bedazzling pieces may not be your everyday jewellery, yet the models could have easily persuaded us otherwise. However, there was one notable concern—I had to constantly remind myself that these pieces were designed for spring, not for winter. A heavy necklace embellished with frost-like crystals seemed fit for a snow queen, and the lack of bright colours left me confused. These winterized pieces seemed better suited for women accessorizing for the Christmas holidays or a New Year’s bash.

View the photo gallery »

In its current incarnation as Judith & Charles, well-known Canadian contemporary brand Teenflo is looking good. Shown in presentation form, the Spring 2012 collection certainly got the eye-to-eye lookover, though it would have been nice to see the outfits in motion. I overheard more than one “I’d like to see the clothes move.”

The mostly neutral-hued collection used classic shapes—blazers, shift dresses, cardigans, boat-neck tops, and even a jumpsuit thrown in for good measure—to fill the mannequin-lined runway, and the murmurs from the crowd were pleased. This collection will certainly sell very well—the black semi-military-inspired jumpsuit was calling to me—but, as we’ve come to expect from this line, the items won’t exactly turn heads.

View the photo gallery »

By Leah Semple

Presented to an at-capacity studio and accompanied by none other than a string quartet, the LG debut show of 21-year-old designer Adrian Wu started promisingly. By the first look out, however, the collection had already failed to impress. (That look being entitled “Natural Beauty,” or, in simpler terms, a hairy-legged man in a short lace shift dress and Lady Gaga–style facial orbit.) In looks titled “orgasm” and “blue balls,” tulle-wrapped IKEA paper lanterns overpowered the designs, protruding off of models in shapes suggestive of breasts and other bodily lumps ‘n’ bumps. While the gowns themselves were quite striking in a palette of muted colours and constructed to Wu’s signature voluminous style, they were not the focus of the audience, and apparently not that of Wu’s either. On more than a few pieces, faulty zippers and rogue hem threads stuck out like sore sartorial thumbs.

View the photo gallery »

Keeping on trend with spring’s no-makeup natural aesthetic, the look at Denis Gagnon was intended to be as basic as possible. “He said to me, ‘I want [the models] to look like they just got out of bed,’” reported Eric Del Monaco, L’Oreal Paris’s official hair artist and colourist, about Gagnon’s direction for hair. “Because the clothes already have a lot of things going on, we didn’t want [the hair] to get mixed up.” The result was a so-simple-it-hurts style: Del Monaco applied a touch of Studio Line Architect Wax, roughed up the hair a little bit, and then pulled it all to one side in a loose folded half-bun with—quelle horreur!—the elastic showing.

View the photo gallery »

Having an end-of-week time slot on the LG Fashion Week calendar is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because by this point, we’ve all honed our lenses to focus on important trends and notable details, but bad too, because the week’s shiny lustre has mostly worn off, and having seen a week’s worth of summer wares, we’re looking for newness to keep our sensory-overload interest alive. Did David Dixon deliver? Sort of. Staying true to his design sensibility, he showed a black, white, and lemon-curd yellow collection that was heavy on the springtime imagery—fluttery flower appliques, silver paisley lamé, and butterfly prints. While the stiff ‘50s cocktail dresses didn’t look particularly new, it was the seamed jersey dresses (the floor-length ones in particular) that looked most modern, and gave a defined body shape without veering into tricky body-con territory.

View the photo gallery »

By Jessica Borchiver

I have to commend designer Baby Steinberg on her unique portrayal of Spring 2012. It’s not often we see clothes made out of remnants of old fabrics and reprocessed materials. Her vision to create “something from nothing” is creative, however, when boundaries are pushed too far, there often comes a downside. Rather than looking like a runway collection, Steinberg’s execution felt like an episode of Project Runway, in which contestants are challenged to create clothing from scraps. Looks such as an unzipped skirt with a cropped fringe black and white top came off too sloppy, and a long black woven one-shoulder dress proved to be too difficult for a model to walk in. I cringed at times, just hoping these pieces wouldn’t rip apart at the seams, especially a stencil-cut top made of tissue paper. More like art pieces than couture, this collection is hardly practical, except for, maybe, the skin-tight knitted red mini dress with pink and white roses.

View the photo gallery »

Following the ‘60s trend seen on runways this season and earlier last week at Pink Tartan, TFI 2011 winner Golnaz Ashtiani’s showed a Roman Holiday–inspired collection for Spring 2012. White, pastel yellow, purple, and mint green provided a sophisticated colour palette worthy of Audrey Hepburn’s princess in hiding, Anya Smith. Ashtiani kept things modern with colour-blocking blouses and dresses, flowing silk with ruffles, and exaggerated shoulders on dresses and blazers. Intricate pleating also came into play and was layered under a sheer mint dress. Taking my imagination to a far-away place and time, Ashtiani’s collection is certainly worthy of a runway princess.

View the photo gallery »

The future is here—and if this is what it looks like, sign me up. Calgary native Caitlin Power made everyone take notice with her first showing at LGFW. Boxy white leather tops and dresses, printed blue and black leather, and cutout dresses and pants kept simple silhouettes fresh and It-girl worthy. I made a mental note on a cropped sheer blouse with a longer back and an orange collar, also shown with blue detailing. The mixed fabrication, impeccable tailoring of the clothes, and spot-on styling confirmed that Power is a new designer that you should all keep tabs on.

As soon as LG Fashion Week started, it’s over! (We’d insert a little sad face here, but this is a reputable website and that’s just crazy.) With a tissue in hand (or perhaps, your lunch), check out this last slideshow of looks Lewis Mirrett caught outside the tents. Spot anyone you know?

View the photo gallery »