FASHION Magazine

For a few days every six months, Toronto’s brightest fashion talents and most enthusiastic onlookers descend upon David Pecault Square for World MasterCard Fashion Week. And then with one ceremonious poof, they’re gone. This season, we’re setting out to capture the one-week-only burst of energy by ambushing 5 of the people who help make it happen, from the gatekeepers aka. public relations mavens to the designers to the models to the backstage artists and more.

See the backstage beauty photos from Pink Tartan Spring 2014 »

The Pink Tartan Spring 2014 show was underscored by a single Andy Warhol quote: “I had a lot of dates but decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows.” It provided obvious beauty inspiration, which Maybelline New York lead makeup artist Grace Lee translated as vertically upswept, full brows filled in with Master Brow pencil ($10, well.ca), brushed upwards and set with clear Great Lash mascara ($8, well.ca)—a fresh interpretation of show muse Edie Sedgwick’s strongly defined arches. ”We want them to look very groomed and bushy,” said Lee. She defined the lashline with Master Precise Ink Pen Eyeliner ($10, well.ca) but skipped the obvious ‘60s wing, instead using the new Volum’Express Smoky Eyes mascara ($9, well.ca) to achieve fat ‘60s lashes with a matte finish. “Picture Edie Sedgwick before she goes out.”

See the Beaufille Spring 2014 collection »

Chloé and Parris Gordon may have swapped their collection’s name, but its cool chick message was just as strong as ever last night at the Beaufille Spring 2014 debut during World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. Using the word “renaissance” to describe their brand’s rebirth as well as a period of reference, the collection blended old-world richness (think teeny chain links and custom print silk patterns) with the slinky styling of a Scarface Michelle Pfeiffer alongside a live set by local psych garage rock band, Shakinghands.

See the street style from Toronto Fashion Week »

The Spring 2014 show season has made its stop in Toronto, and while the spotlights are shining on our designers for World MasterCard Fashion Week, we’re doing a little spotlighting of our own outside the shows.

Local bloggers were out in full force on the first day of shows, with StyleBlog’s Nelia Belkova embracing the popular black and white trend in a snowy Chanel monogram jacket with black trim, race stripped leather pants and jeweled satin pumps. Kastor and Pollux’s Bianca Venerayan opted for another of this season’s It trends, grunge, with black combat boots, a pearl printed V-neck dress and grey speckled overcoat. Her look was softened with cherry hued lips, side swept hair and and oh so Canadian toque.

See the Pink Tartan Spring 2014 collection »

Amid a buzzy scene of editors, notable guests (Elisha Cuthbert, Stacey Mackenzie in a giant fur cape) and the Mimran socialite circle, Kimberly Newport-Mimran sent out a Pink Tartan Spring 2014 collection at the World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto last night that was thinking ‘60s—”youthquaker” Edie Sedgwick, to be precise. The scene was set with a video of a melancholic girl, soundtracked with an Andy soundbite: “I had a lot of dates but decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows.” But in the clothes, the ‘60s flavour was kept subtle, in favour of checklisting some of the biggest trends of Spring 2014: long shorts, pleated skirts (the best was long, in supple blush faux-leather), knee-length fitted tunics worn over flared skirts, hits of highlighter-yellow, and plenty of plays on the white shirt.

In the age of pop culture fashion, we’ve all become hyper aware of the fashion competition. Whether on screen or IRL, Project Runway concepts promise a knockout throw down between up and coming designers vying for fame, fortune or just a little financial boost. The fashion competition is real exciting for those on the outside, but it can often be insurmountable pressure for all designers involved—especially those who don’t win anything. Thus became Threshold, a Toronto Fashion Week showcase of burgeoning designers who can launch their collections sans struggle.

“I have worked with many designers who have participated in competitions in the past and although I do think there are many benefits from being part of them, I also feel the disappointment of not winning can be very demotivating and hard on a new designer,” says Dwayne Kennedy, The Collections fashion director and one of the brains behind this showcase. “We want Threshold to be a positive experience from beginning to end and to equip designers with the tools to succeed season after season.”

This Wednesday at World MasterCard Fashion Week, Threshold will premiere with Paria Shirvani and Axel Kohler, two Toronto-based designers with skills to spare. Here’s a little preview of what’s expected for Spring 2014.

See the Mikhael Kale Spring 2014 collection »

Mikhael Kale debuted his ultra sleek Spring 2014 collection in a mid-renovation loft in Toronto’s east side on Friday night. Launching the Spring 2014 season of World Mastercard Fashion Week a few days early, the Toronto-based designer celebrated the female silhouette through cut outs, shadows and hues that demonstrated a great eye for detail.

Powder blue leather commingled with a textured and distressed orange knit set the tone for 21 pieces inspired by geometrical renderings. From colour-saturated suedes and a seafoam green moto jacket, the collection moved on to a pale lavender leather mini dress with a plunging neckline. Layered fabrics subtly printed with varying forest greens, greys and gold, showed a softer feminine character from the strong-featured leathers. The jaw dropper of the show came in the form of a gold leather midi-skirt and jacket combo. The metallic look styled with six inch heels and slicked back hair made for one badass femme. A futuristic black leather two-piece was the perfect finale to the show.

Gender differentiation was of no importance at the Jeremy Laing Spring 2014 show. Which model—male or female—wore what was only a matter of sizing, according to Laing. The same went for the “not so pretty looking” beauty: Male and female models alike were given matte skin, courtesy Cover Girl Clean Whipped Creme Foundation ($9, well.ca). In order to ensure an on-trend velvet texture, Cover Girl makeup pro, Amélie Ducharme, applied the foundation with a heavy hand. (The more product, the more matte the finish!) Aside from skin, models’ eyebrows were the focus of the face. Ducharme filled them in with a dark shade of Cover Girl Brow and EyeMakers ($5, well.ca) and then brushed brows upwards to look “more manly.”

See the Jeremy Laing Spring 2014 »

Damn, girl. Jeremy Laing’s got it going on for Spring 2014, and in more ways than one. The Toronto-based designer ventured into so many fresh territories last night that it took all 42 looks to digest all that superb newness.

First, colour: With one intentionally wonky dye job, Laing re-invented his own personal colour wheel, embracing tone on tone neon jumpsuits, ponchos and Bermuda shorts for spring. Bright pink, blue and a Tiger Tail-inspired orange and black combo were all viable options for the typically neutral-happy designer. Must be the unmistakable nostalgia that’s swallowed us ‘90s kids whole as of late, cause I never thought I’d be associating Jeremy Laing with Donna Martin. Woven in to the colour portion of the collection, was a squeegee-effect multi-hued print created in partnership with painter Julia Dault, which appeared on a flow-y dress, a button down and on short shorts.

The clean, crisp look of Steven Tai’s future sport Spring 2014 collection was consistent with the hair and makeup for the show. Covergirl makeup pro, Amélie Ducharme, aimed to make girls appear “natural but still done”. First, skin was primed using Covergirl Clean Makeup Sensitive Skin ($8, well.ca) and blush was applied wider and lower than it normally would be to make models “look like they were shy,” explained Ducharme. Skin was then given a dewy finish using a rather unconventional skin product: lipgloss. Ducharme applied a pea-sized amount of Covergirl Wetslicks Lip Gloss in “Clear Radiance” ($7, well.ca) to the back of her hand and, using a sponge, dabbed it onto cheekbones and well as a little on the temple, nose, and top of the lip. A light sweep of mascara, and this fresh, spring look was complete.

See the Steven Tai Spring 2014 collection »

What Steven Tai does in his fabric lab is probably above all of our heads, but that’s just as well; the instant attraction to his clothes is easy enough to understand. The London-based and Vancouver-bred designer brought his latest masterpieces to Toronto last night on the second day of The Shows, and if we had a loonie for every gasp in the room, we’d be rich. (Or at least have like, a few hundred bucks lining our wallet.)

On the surface, what Tai showed was an airy touch on this season’s arts-infused sportswear trend. Perforations, painterly prints and ombre effect pastels, check. It’s all part of the Spring 2014 book. But upon closer inspection (and Tai’s explanation), the inner workings reveal themselves as something much cooler. Those perforations? Actually, a grid style laser cut silkscreen that is a self-contained pattern on its own. That painterly print? Actually, a pixelated collage of England’s Eden Project by Spanish artist Lola Dupre that’s been messed with on a home printer and adhered to embroidery. Even his accessories have a geeky backstory, with helmet style baseball hats molded to reflect Eden’s dome structures.

Behind the scenes at last night’s Calla Spring 2014 fashion show in Toronto, tables were littered with brightly hued strands of fabric (which were later weaved into models’ hair), as Cover Girl makeup pro Amélie Ducharme and Pantene Pro-V consulting stylist Justin German created a youthful, fun look to match the collection’s easy breezy California vibe. Taupe eyeshadow was applied lightly into the crease and along the bottom of the lashes, just enough to frame the eye and give it shape and depth, explained Ducharme, who used Covergirl Eye Enhancers 3-Kit Shadow in “Café au Lait” ($7, well.ca). The inner corners of eyes were highlighted with Covergirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in “Ginger Flame” ($8, well.ca). Velvety skin was achieved using Covergirl Clean Whipped Creme Foundation ($9, well.ca) and cheeks were pink with a hint of shimmer. Brows were filled in slightly darker than their natural colour and brushed upward to convey a young, wild and fresh look.