FASHION Magazine

See the looks from Toronto Fashion Week »

It’s official. Toronto has had enough of winter. For the kick-off of World Mastercard Fashion Week, the fashion crowd opted for lighter layers and vivid pops of colour. If we dress for spring, it’ll come quicker right?

Toronto socialite and fashion patron Sylvia Mantella went for a bold orange coat, accenting her ivory and bright pink Mikhael Kale dress underneath. Why go for one bright colour when you can rock two? Stylist Odessa Paloma Parker’s bubble gum pink furry coat looks even more chic when paired with an equally psychedelic clutch. Habitual street style stars Samantha and Caillianne Beckerman were out in full ‘90s kitsch in bright yellow with a ying-yang backpack and a homemade DIY Simpson’s appliqué denim jacket. They glammed up their look, switching out their usual relaxed tresses in favour of throwback ‘40s curls and victory rolls, while fellow blogger Mo Handahu added byzantine blue to her look matching the deep hue of her burgundy jacket. Model Stacey McKenzie braved the cold and went for full glamour in a thigh-high slit dress with embellished mock-epaulettes.

See photos from inside the CAFA Awards »

Toronto had its first-ever dose of fashion Oscars this past weekend, as the best in Canadian talent gathered for the inaugural Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards at the Fairmont Royal York. Aiming to shine a light on often politely under-appreciated homegrown talent, awards were given out to the best in design, styling, photography, modelling and to one person who stands in a category all by herself: Jeanne Beker. The television host/journo of 30+ years was awarded the CAFAs first Vanguard Award for well, everything.

Looking around the glittering ballroom, there was a real sense of “everyone who’s anyone is here,” which is quite the feat on a blustery night in the middle of winter. Topping that A-list was be model Coco Rocha, who stunned as no one else (in the room) could in a one-shouldered white gown by Dsquared while accepting the award for Model of the Year. Also in town, designing wonder boys Dean and Dan Caten, who scored the Best International Designer award. Taking a page out of the CFDA’s book, the CAFAs partnered with Swarovski to fund the Emerging Talent Award, which gave $10,000 and a mentorship by Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran to Sarah Stevenson, the floral-happy designer who also won TFI New Labels last spring. With so much pegged on her impending success, it seems sure that her name will rise to the rank of fellow winner Jeremy Laing, who picked up the much-deserved award for Womenswear Designer of the Year.

See the Canfar party images »

On a frigid late fall evening in Toronto, Bloor Street came alive with black ties and ball gowns for Canfar‘s AIDS-fundraising fête, Bloor Street Entertains. The annual event has a way of tempting the shimmery, well-heeled patrons onto the streets and into the street’s various shops which each serve an intimate dinner made by the city’s top chefs.

Before guests shuffled away to Mulberry, Holt Renfrew, Nespresso Café Bar or any of the various chic boutiques participating, they took to the Royal Ontario Museum for a pre-twilight party to get things started. The Gatsby-themed event kicked-off with a can-can dancing drag queen who wasn’t successful in getting the ladies to join in on the high leg-flying number. And with good reason: the dance is quite difficult long dresses. Design Exchange president Shauna Levy wore a slick, floor-length Greta Constantine, while grande dame Catherine Nugent was dressed in a vintage Bob Mackie deco style number.

The freezing temps did wreak havoc on some original wardrobe choices. With her shoulders covered, philanthropist Sylvia Mantella said, “I was going to go strapless, but it’s so cold.” Also overheard from a patron in sparkly Roksanda Ilincic: “I was going to go for Balenciaga—it’s Canfar!—But I went for something more conservative because of the weather.”

Peek inside these closets »

Photography by Jake Rosenberg/The Coveteur

Photography by Jake Rosenberg/The Coveteur

Photography by Matthew Williams

Photography by Matthew Williams

Photography by l.A. Closet Design

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Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

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Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

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Veronica Swanson Beard’s Closet

Veronica Swanson Beard’s Closet

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Veronica Miele Beard’s Closet

Veronica Miele Beard’s Closet

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Guliana Rancic’s Closet

Guliana Rancic’s Closet

By Shawna Cohen

What do Rachel Zoe, Tory Burch, Kim Kardashian and Mariah Carey have in common? They’re all household names, sure, but they happen to share something far more intimate: walk-in closets that could easily rival some of the world’s chicest high-end boutiques. Forget slick chef’s kitchens or luxurious, spa-like bathrooms—these days, it’s all about the closet. Once reserved as out-of-sight spaces for storing clothes, closets are quickly becoming the main attraction of multi-million-dollar homes. And they’re boasting everything from custom-designed couches and crystal chandeliers to wine bars, massage tables, oceanfront views and, in at least one instance, an escalator (how else to move around a two-storey walk-in?). Some closet connoisseurs are even incorporating “virtual styling tools” into the space, where they can be outfitted remotely by stylist via iPad or computer screen.

“It’s the last frontier of the home,” says Melanie Charlton, CEO and creative director of Clos-ette, a New York-based company that builds luxury closets for clients such as Kate Hudson and Jay Z. “Why would you put your All-Clad in a $250,000 kitchen but not outfit your closet that way? Let’s face it: Your Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermès [clothing] and your jewellery are often more expensive than the art and furniture in an entire home.”

That helps explain why people are dishing out hundreds of thousands of dollars—sometimes millions—to create spectacular closets that double as offices, dens or just quiet spaces in which to read a book, take a call or enjoy a glass of bubbly. “It’s becoming a sanctuary,” says Charlton. Consider it the female equivalent of the man cave.

Thanks to the popularity of websites like The Coveteur and reality shows such as Million Dollar Closets, we’re now more obsessed with peeking inside the closets of the rich, famous and fashionable than ever before. “We’re living in an age of fashion voyeurism,” says Erin Kleinberg, president and creative director of The Coveteur. “Because of social media—Twitter and Instagram, not to mention all those street-style fashion blogs—we’re used to it. In fact, we’ve come to expect it.” Since it launched in 2011, the site has featured more than 350 closets, showcasing the stylish wares of everyone from Anna Dello Russo to Margherita Missoni, but for Kleinberg the one that sticks out most belongs to Toronto philanthropist Sylvia Mantella. “She has this glass cabinet where she houses her Birkins—it almost acts as art,” Kleinberg says. “She also has a rotating closet, just like Cher Horowitz in Clueless!”

See The Outnet party pictures »

For those of us who sideline in online sale stalking, The Outnet is a mainstay. Launched in 2009 as the post-sale outlet for designer den Net-a-Porter, the site has morphed into a full fledged Mecca for designer discounts boasting insane slashes on over 200 brands including Valentino, Stella McCartney, Alexander Wang and its own in-house label, Iris & Ink, which serves as a head-to-toe top off collection for the all the rest of the site’s covetable wares.

View the Lunch with Margaret and George photos »

Designer Derek Lam was stuck in New York thanks to a Nor’easter that grounded many flights. But he was there in spirit at Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel for the Lunch with Margaret and George fundraiser for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Some of the city’s most stylish donned the designer’s sleek white leathers for the occasion and hostess Lisa Corbo sparkled in Lam’s sequined deco shift. Models in 20 looks from the Spring 2013 Derek Lam collection wove through the tables, making for a yummy feast of boxy T-shirts in geometric guipure lace, a gold leather skirt whose panels seemed to be held together with black macramé and a silvery sweatshirt over a skirt of  burgundy plastic curls. A cool $120,000 was raised for the cause, bolstered by another 15% of sales from the Derek Lam trunk show at George C later in the day. Adding more to the coffers? A gold-flecked lipgloss named “Believe,” conceived by Lisa Corbo.

View the style snaps »
See all Toronto Fashion Week coverage »

We’re back to the style-spotting game with Lewis Mirrett’s first batch of shots from outside Toronto Fashion Week. Taken outside of two of last night’s biggest shows, Lucian Matis and Holt Renfrew’s Canadian showcase. As luck would have it, the skies opened for the night, leaving attendees to shield themselves from the elements in various ways. From headscarves to uncomfortable glances, see the best cover-ups (and outfits) here.

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 »