FASHION Magazine

Hailed as one of Canada’s e-queens, Joanna Track is the founder of one of the country’s first fashion e-tailers, eLUXE.ca (formerly Dealuxe.ca), which carries the covetable likes of Smythe, Pink Tartan and J Brand. Track was first the genius behind the much beloved Sweetspot.ca, and clearly has a killer taste for talent (our once–fashion director now fashion editor-at-large Susie Sheffman now works over at eLUXE) and a sense of what the ladies want. So without further ado, let’s see what she wants!

Let’s explore! »

He said he was leaving Milan forever, but he never said anything about Paris. Yes, the longest-running game of Guess Who? the fashion world has ever seen is finally over. And cue the welcome party, because we couldn’t be happier.

Cathy Horyn broke the news today that Raf Simons will be taking over (effective immediately) as artistic director at Dior. His first collection with the house will be for the haute couture shows in July—somewhat fitting considering the colour-loving minimalist took a decidedly haute hand to his recent Jil Sander “Couture Trilogy” (before getting the boot, that is).

The news comes after over a year of headhunting on Dior’s part. The house famously went after Marc Jacobs last year (the two parties couldn’t agree on salary) and reportedly later Lanvin honcho Alber Elbaz (he turned down the offer). Simons’ name started popping up in late December and the rumour mill began churning like nobody’s business.

The juiciest part in all this? Yves Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane has been a longtime menswear rival of Simons’. And now the two get to face off in the womenswear arena. Does this mean Dior versus YSL walk-offs are in our future?

Whether he was their first choice or not, he was most definitely ours. We’re still having dreams about his last Jil Sander collection. Those reds! Those pinks! This really couldn’t have turned out better.

Immerse yourself in maritime hues, oceanic prints and aquatic details.

View the photo shoot »
Go behind the scenes »
The story of the shoot »
Trend report: Water World »

From the complete look book to our fashion director’s tips on just how to wear the clashing prints, we present your complete primer to the Marni at H&M collection in advance of its launch on March 8.

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

THE JEWELLERY & ACCESSORIES

THE SOFIA COPPOLA-DIRECTED CAMPAIGN VIDEOS

THE COMPLETE LOOK BOOK

THE 3-STEP HOW TO WEAR IT GUIDE

When it comes to pairing prints and patterns, our fashion director, Susie Sheffman, is the resident mixologist. She’s also Marni-obsessed: “When I discovered the outlet in Milan, it was game over,” she says. “Cardigans, sexless sandals and printed sweet nothings have been making their way into my suitcase on my twice-yearly pilgrimages to Milan fashion week ever since.” Two weeks ahead of the Marni at H&M collection (launching on March 8), she shares her tips on mastering this spring trend.

3 tips on how to wear prints »

Last night, the 3rd Annual P&G Beauty & Grooming Awards, which recognizes fashion and beauty editorial work in Canada, was held at the Carlu in Toronto. Kim Cattrall played the role of graceful emcee, and we were pleased to be called to stage not once but twice. Our fashion director Susie Sheffman won for best fashion editor, and this very site took the award for best beauty or fashion website!

However, that’s not all we went home with. Before the show, we sat down with Cattrall and uncovered a few of her favourite beauty tips and tricks:

Today, we’ve got a special treat by way of our beloved fashion director Susie Sheffman’s little Roots bag of curiosities. Inside? Three identical pairs of glasses, love notes from her children, styling clamps, and a plastic fork. All things that will make you go hmmm…

Lets explore! »

You’ve already heard about the kafuffle caused by fashion week scheduling next fall, that timing for MFW is going to overlap with both LFW and PFW. Quelle horror! To make matters much worse, a press release surfaced this morning from the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana in which Milan responds to New York, London, and Paris’ unwillingness to alter their fashion week schedules, and claiming that a written agreement from 2010 had MFW scheduled to take place between the 19^th and 25^th of September—as per usual—and which they’ve decided they’ll stick to. Dun dun dun…

But here comes the real drama: today’s statement from the Italian board of directors reads: “Such an accuse, in addition to representing an aggressive and arrogant attitude towards CNMI, used unfair argumentation in order to impose—in a unilateral way—not shared decisions. In conclusion, the Board of Directors and the Designers’ Roundtable have unanimously decided to confirm the schedule as it was previously announced on March 17th 2010: [MFW] will be held from Wednesday 19th to Tuesday 25th of September 2012.”

Fashion week schedules are about to get tighter: Milan is bumping up the dates of next year’s fashion week so that it overlaps with both New York’s and London’s. Attendees barely had enough time to make it from place to place this year (our own Susie Sheffman was rushing the gates at Pearson to make it to Gucci on time).

What’s to blame for this headache? New York fashion week always kicks off on the second Thursday of September, which will fall late in the month next year. NFW won’t move their dates up for fear of working on the Labour Day weekend. Milan suggested Paris move their RTW shows to July, which Paris politely declined. Condé Nast is particularly un-jazzed about Milan’s change and announced that their editors will not skip out on New York and London. No Anna in the Prada front row?

If the schedule stays as is, editors will have to choose between cities and just like gym class, no one wants to be picked last.

Rumours have been circulating for months that Dolce & Gabbana’s D&G line would soon be folding, and the announcement came this morning that now is the time, making today’s Spring 2012 runway show the last.

D&G was created as a sort of younger, fresher, and cheaper alternative to the traditional line, but lately retailers have noticed that while the pieces are popular, the prices were getting too high. Having a roughly similar price point was hurting both brands, so while this decision isn’t a surprise, neither is it a huge disappointment. While some European retailers are confused by the decision, claiming that the D&G line was far more commercial and popular for shoppers, the designers said in a press statement that the decision will bring “even more strength and energy to [their] collections.”

Sandwiched in between New York’s and Milan’s fashion weeks, the organizers behind London Fashion Week have often complained about time constraints in the past but this season has added stress with Gucci deciding to move their Spring 2012 show up to Wednesday, the last day of LFW.

To make matters worse, Gucci had scheduled castings and fittings this past weekend, meaning models had to abandon London in hopes of walking in the high-profile show. A number of shows have been affected including those of Canadian boys Erdem and Todd Lynn, the latter of who lost 10 out of 19 girls who were cast for his show. This hasn’t been the only scheduling conflict this season, either. Many models and editors were late arriving to LFW because Marc Jacobs pushed his show back to Thursday night due to delays caused by Hurricane Irene.

Many designers and casting agents are frustrated and threatening to boycott future LFWs if the British Fashion Council doesn’t intervene, which would be a shame since London is known for showing exciting new designers.

Last night, Holt Renfrew fêted Erin Kleinberg, Stephanie Mark, and Jake Rosenberg, the home-grown trio behind voyeuristic style site The Coveteur. Held in the the shoe department of the Bloor Street flagship store, the soiree debuted a new photo exhibit previewing the store’s fall footwear collections, as well as the closets of Canadian taste-makers Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, Gabor Jurina (whose closet was guest-edited by our very own Susie Sheffman), Sylvia Mantella, and Lynda Latner. The three Coveteurs (get it?) looked as chic as the venue, with Kleinberg in a flowing DVF and Céline choker, Mark in Alaïa, and Rosenberg in Hugo Boss. Natch.

View the photo gallery »