FASHION Magazine

See the JNBY Spring 2014 collection »

Last night, Chinese label JNBY made its Canadian runway debut at World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto for Spring 2014. The way cool contemporary brand is fondly described as China’s J.Crew, and proved itself to be just that with crinkly, wispy layers to spare. Less varsity sweater, more architectural inspiration, JNBY’s spring collection featured an earthy palette of muddy browns, sage green and beach-worthy whites in a multitude of layering pieces.

An array just ripe for the understated elegant types, we look forward to seeing a certain single-breasted crinkle coat on many a gallerina come spring. As for the sheer sexy layered dresses, we’ll take one in every colour. And there is likely one in every colour. What was shown on the runway was just a snapshot of what the label offers. Of the 374 Spring 2014 pieces, you’re seeing about 110. We saw another sample last week. Sheesh.

Holt Renfrew’s Toronto Fashion Week party photos »

Who said Monday wasn’t the time to party? Holt Renfrew’s now regular fashion week kick off started things with so many bangs last night, it was hard to keep track of the night’s best.

One of them would surely have been the Cary Tauben-led walk off that took to the store’s mezzanine a little shy of midnight. The Montreal-based stylist and part time go go dancer is known for his fierce moves (typically in six inch heels), and last night’s showcase of his talents was no exception. Ugh, fierce is too light a word.

Another might have been the wall-to-wall gab fest willed by many an eager partygoer, including Holts-stocked designers Jeremy Laing, Tanya Taylor and Smythe’s Christie Smythe and Andrea Lenczner.

Another ongoing highlight took place over the course of the night, as a New York-based phenomenon known as The Bumbys aka. a masked duo who sit at matching typewriters produced “fair and honest appraisals” of guests’ outfits. Fair, honest and quite honestly genius, case in point, mine:

See all the backstage beauty photos from Beaufille Spring 2014 »

For the Beaufille Spring 2014 show, Toronto designers Chloé and Parris Gordon wanted the models to look like “rich grunge girls” with a slight throwback to the ’90s. “I love these girls because they really stick to their branding and their image,” said Grace Lee, lead makeup artist for Maybelline New York. The chocolate shaded smoky eyes were the focus of the look: Lee lined models’ eyes on the top and bottom using Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smoky Longwearing Shadow-Pencil in “Scorching Brown” ($9, well.ca) and then smudged the colour to create a rough, undone look. For a glossy sheen on eyelids and the top of cheekbones, Lee lightly applied Maybelline Baby Lips ($4, well.ca). Meanwhile, models’ actual lips were covered with the shiny but non-sticky Maybelline Color Elixer gloss in “Caramel Infused” ($9, at drugstores November 2013)—which Lee proclaimed “the product of the season.”

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.

See the JNBY party pictures »

Amidst the homegrown talent, one very cool and far away brand will be making its Canadian runway debut next week during World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. JNBY (Just Naturally Be Yourself) is big in Japan…and Thailand and Singapore and France as well as China, where it hails from. A week before its reveal at fashion week (and we’ll save the oohs and aahs till then), JNBY previewed its Spring 2014 collection to an ultra trendy crowd at a pre-fashion week party hosted by The Collections. The stellar clothes were shown alongside a large photo print by Cory VanderPloeg of a model wearing Laura Siegel‘s spring collection..

Regular scenesters like Amina Said, Sarah Magwood, Parris Gordon, Jay Strut and The Collections threesome Dwayne Kennedy, Mel Ashcroft and Brian Richards lined the walls as well as fresh faced models in Miley buns and off duty sweaters. As with any cool kid party, there were plenty of new faces to creep in true Cinderella form. We’d like to crown a new style princess, but we don’t know her name. You! Got the other glass slipper?

Having traveled from Halifax to Toronto for the past three years to document up and coming fashion, beauty and street style trends for my site Lion Hunter, I’ve come to accept the madness of fashion week. This season, as an online editorial intern at FASHION, I get to experience fashion week differently, having already been in the city for a few months and working for the magazine. Each day will still bring worries of failing to squeeze in a quick bite between shows, publishing up to date content and finding a moment to rest before the next day rolls in. Thankfully, concern over my sartorial choices is the least of these.

My approach to figuring out outfits leads to a heap of gathered wares from my favourite thrift and vintage stores that I’ve slowly collected since the lights dimmed last season. Vintage trinkets and jewellery, a plethora of prints and dope heels that I will curse at the end of each day, are all under scrutiny. As a frugal shopper I’ve found ways to create street style worthy looks without making my bank account sweat. I put together possible looks out of that pile of goodness allowing myself to change them due to last minute thrift store finds or an inspired trade of pieces between outfits. The upside of taking in Toronto Fashion Week is a prior month worth of street style inspiration from New York, London, Paris and Milan to inspire a week’s worth of looks.

In the spirit of anything goes when dressing for fashion week, here are 3 inexpensive looks that are worthy of a little show and tell.