FASHION Magazine

While Canadian designers and superstar models have been marching down the Toronto Fashion Week runways there has been a veritable style parade outside of the shows, too.

Click here to see a gallery of looks we liked.

Sisters and design partners Chloé and Parris Gordon brought their Chloé Comme Parris label to the LG Fashion Week runway for the first time yesterday afternoon. It was a promising start for the Toronto natives, who already sell their line at two Toronto boutiques. Chloé, who designs the clothing, is a graduate of NSCAD, where Parris, in charge of jewellery, is in her last year.

The clothes were both military- and athletic-inspired–though not too obviously either one. For example, polished brass buttons running up the legs of slouchy sweats.  The cutaway jackets and dresses offered a twist–an olive green utility jacket featured long panel at the back that zipped away–ditto the belts, which were found around the neck of a sleeveless blouse or hanging from the bottom of a cropped baseball jacket. All the cut-outs also offered some flashes of skin in unexpected places. A favourite came from a striped dress whose skirt was attached with metal buttons, partially undone for a peek of the hips.

See a gallery of the Chloé Comme Parris show»

Watch a runway video and an interview with the designers»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

Last night, Toronto Fashion Week’s biggest show (both in audience and number of looks–51), Joe Fresh Style, came down the runway, lead by two of the brand’s campaign stars, Tiiu Kuik and Arlenis Sosa. (The pair made an appearance in Vancouver this past Saturday to celebrate the opening of Joe’s first free-standing store.) In keeping with Joe Fresh’s grocery store roots, we’ve compiled a list of what we’ll be shopping for when the spring merch hits stores.

By Andrea Victory

The ’60s are back, and at Pink Tartan they are electric. Citing a 1969 edition of Harper’s Bazaar as her inspiration, Kimberley Newport-Mimran also handed it to official makeup artist for L’Oréal Paris, Eddie Malter, for beauty direction. He created a perfectly blended, modern, Twiggy-esque look applying an array of High Intensity Pigments in shades of green varying from chartreuse to soft forest, then blended black along the crease for a ’60s effect. Individual lashes on the lower lash line and a full strip on top kept the look “on trend for spring.”

By Sarah Casselman and Caitlan Moneta

The official Fashion Week wraps up on Friday, so we thought we’d take stock of our favourite things–including picks from last week’s pre-shows–so far. Read the round-up after the jump.

Collaborations are a dime a dozen these days, but in New York designer Alexander Berardi, Toronto handbag designer Jessica Jensen seems to have met her fashion soul mate. The pair met a year ago and “fell in love with each other’s product”–business speak to be sure, but respect is genuine and the results are lovely. Fabrics from Berardi’s “Breathless”-inspired, Hamptons-ready spring collection are threaded through Jensen’s woven leathers, tied in floppy bows around the handle of a box satchel or formed into rosettes and attached to a coin purse.

See a gallery of the Jessica Jensen + Alexander Berardi show»

Watch a video and interview from the show»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

Hot on the heels of their successful New York runway show, John Muscat and Jennifer Wells brought their Line collection back to Toronto to debut in front of a hometown crowd. The once knitwear-heavy label made a departure from seasons past, focusing instead on paper bag-waist walking shorts, macrame tank dresses with artsy fringed hemlines and Pepto-pink leather gauchos. The earthier, granola vibe will have us indie music festival ready come summertime.

See a gallery of the Line collection»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

When we’re not watching the catwalk, we’re keeping an eye out for the best off-the-runway looks at Toronto Fashion Week. Click here to see a gallery of looks we liked. (Check back for more tomorrow!)

Designer Angela Chen, who splits her time between New York and Vancouver, presented her OR collection (formerly Orange) in Toronto yesterday afternoon.

See a gallery of the OR by Angela Chen collection»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

Despite the grey fall skies, it seems things are looking bright for Pink Tartan. With a flagship store (their first!) set to open this November and a Spring 2011 collection filled with electric hues (hot pink! acid yellow! royal blue!), PT is living the life in Technicolor. Known for her ladylike looks, designer Kimberley Newport-Mimran chose to take a different direction this season–one leading back to the ’70s with a Bianca Jagger–inspired lineup of wide-leg trousers, tux-bf jacket hybrids, metallic sheen blazers and sexy sheer billowy blouses. While the horse bit accents felt a little been-there-bought-that-at-Gucci, the diaphanous tiered prairie skirts felt as fresh as a summer’s day. The item to update your spring wardrobe: the sleeveless military trench coat.

See a gallery of the Pink Tartan show»

Read our full coverage of Toronto Fashion Week»

While sisters Chloé and Parris Gordon will be showing at Toronto Fashion Week for the first time the Toronto natives aren’t new to the runway–they’ve shown at Atlantic Fashion Week three times. The pair took time to answer our fashion week first-timers questionnaire. See what they had to say after the jump.

By Andrea Victory

When M.A.C senior artist Melissa Gibson was given the description “Princess Voodoo Doll” for the Spring 2011 Greta Constantine collection, she looked to her copy of Haute Doll Magazine for inspiration.

Keeping the theme in mind, but also making sure the look was “not too literal, more spring, fresh and soft,” Gibson rounded out the eyes by contouring the crease and dragging the taupe-y grey tones underneath and downward, then highlighting the ball of the eyelid to attract light and reinforce the roundness.