FASHION Magazine

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A black carpet, sprinkled with male models in white tuxes, beckoned guests to the second floor of the Bay Downtown Vancouver for the Thursday night grand opening of The Room, the department store’s second den of high fashion. Erdem Moralioglu and Brian Atwood—both on their first visit to Vancouver—Jason Matlo, Monika Deol, and Jessica Stam (to name a few) were among the crowd of well-dressed revellers air kissing, clinking glasses, and noshing on Hawksworth Restaurant–made canapés.

Follow our ongoing coverage of the Royal visit! »

We guessed it! We guessed it! Kate chose Erdem for her official Canadian debut, so that makes us 1/1 so far in our royal predictions. Kate chose this navy and white lace knee-length dress from the designer’s Resort 2012 collection, and though you won’t be able to purchase the stunner quite yet, we have official word from creative director Nicholas Mellamphy himself that the dress will be included in The Room at the Bay’s Resort selection (estimated arrival is TBD, but late Fall is to be expected). Ladies, place those orders now!

In the meantime, let’s play a little dress-up with these Erdem Spring picks: »

Holt Renfrew is publicizing the renovation of its long-standing Yorkdale location. This news comes right after two big moves at the Bay: two days ago the Bay announced the opening of The Room Vancouver, and a week ago it announced renovations at 80 of its stores across Canada. A press release issued this morning announced the expansion of Holt Renfrew’s Yorkdale store for the Holiday 2012 season. The department store will be increasing its space by 40 per cent—which means even more Marc by Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and Balenciaga, as well as some hot new labels (to be announced in the coming months).

Last week we found out about the nationwide renovations that are to take place at 80 of The Bay stores. Today, the company’s move towards a more luxurious market was further confirmed with a press release stating the expansion of The Bay’s luxury boutique, The Room, into Vancouver. The 23,000 square foot Yabu Pushelberg-designed space will be housed in the Granville Bay Store and will stock ready-to-wear and runway pieces, as well as footwear from thirty-five coveted designers.

We’re barely halfway into 2011 and the fashion world has already seen our fair share of industry shake-ups: the Galliano scandal, Carine Roitfeld’s exit at Vogue Paris, Christophe Decarnin’s mysterious mental illness/ousting at Balmain, and now Patrick Robinson has been booted from the Gap.

While most of the recent switch ups seem to make sense⎯Galliano’s anti-Semitic outburst couldn’t very well go un-reprehended and Decarnin’s health issues were clearly in need of medical attention⎯we found ourselves puzzled upon hearing the news that Robinson had been presented with a pink slip due to lackluster sales in the first quarter of this year. We’ve seen many a powerhouse figure reinstate retail dinosaurs (Bonnie Brooks at The Bay , Jenna Lyons at J.Crew), so why not Robinson at the Gap?

Fan girls (and boys), take note: the Bay has sweetened the Anna Dello Russo and Tommy Ton in Toronto deal by adding a meet and greet at The Room from 12-1PM on April 21^st to celebrate the When Tommy Met Anna photo exhibit. Word to the wise? This is one event you might want to go all out (and come early) for.

Hot off the heels of announcing Anna Dello Russo’s upcoming appearance at The Room on April 20^th, Nicholas Mellamphy, creative director of the space, had tongues wagging when he tweeted, “So excited- confirmed yesterday a visit to The Room with a super cool duo from NY! Details to follow.”

Grab your passports! This fall, VAWK designer Sunny Fong is taking us on a trip to Tibet. What’s on his itinerary? Chic n’ shaggy Mongolian coats, wool and knit shawl collars, glam wide-leg trousers and wine-soaked capes with coyote fur trim. Overall, Fong’s collection was strong, polished and directional. Oh, and did I forget to mention wearable? (A smart move for this young designer given that several of his spring 2011 pieces were snapped up by The Room). City sophisticates will love his double-breasted teal jackets and trenches, It girls will swoon over his maxi cable dresses (it’s all about that oversized cowl neck) and femme fatales will covet his sheer tuxedo shirt with fierce leather bib. Despite the show’s late start time, the collection proved to be well worth the wait (and the under-eye concealer the following morning).

View the VAWK photo gallery »

See the VAWK backstage beauty »

The Bay’s full-tilt foray into high fashion continues apace. This Thursday and Friday, the Toronto Queen Street store is hosting a two-day extravaganza of British fashion, dubbed God Save the Queen. The Room will be transformed with installations and the opening night soiree will let the guest list-only crowd mingle with the cool kids of London fashion–Mark Fast, Marios Schwab, Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Charlotte Olympia Dellal, Nicholas Kirkwood and Giles Deacon, who will be demonstrating his DJ prowess.

Writer and gent-about-town, Derek Blasberg, gives a tongue-in-cheek etiquette lesson (no sexting please!) in his book Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady. We caught up with Blasberg recently as he swung through Toronto for his book launch, thrown at The Room at the Bay’s Queen Street store.

What’s the rule regarding BlackBerry etiquette these days? Is it considered rude to e-chat at a dinner party?

“I don’t think we live in a world where it’s unacceptable to keep in touch with someone who is not present at an event. The point that I try to make in the book is that there’s nothing as important as speaking to someone in person. I think sometimes we forget that when we’re at dinner with a friend and you’re on your phone the whole time. Why don’t you just either have dinner with the person on the phone that you’re obviously more interested in or go home and hang out by yourself and keep in touch on the phone.”

Sports fans might frown on fashionistas for the time and money we spend on our appearance. But guess who has joined the party?  The stadiums here in Vancouver are packed with fans – from infants to grannies – who are wearing their hearts on their sleeves, sometimes literally.

A limited edition scarf by Alexander McQueen has been selling quickly at Holt Renfrew. The $450 scarf featured McQueen’s signature skulls adorned in red maple leaves—a tribute to the 2010 Olympics. In a ghoulish bit of profiteering, someone is selling one of the scarves–purchased just yesterday–for $2,000 on Kijiji. [The Globe and Mail]

Sarah Jessica Parker is heading to Toronto in her official capacity as Halston president and chief creative officer, here for a party at The Room, the high-end section of the Bay’s Queen Street location. [Toronto Life]

Alexander Wang will be live streaming his Fall 2010 show to a billboard in Times Square. If you’re not in New York or don’t want to stand in the cold, you can also watch the stream on SHOWstudio.com tomorrow at 5 p.m. [WWD]