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When it comes to nine-to-five staples, working girls looking to hit refresh on their wardrobes this fall should turn to Lundström Collection. Strip away all of the unnecessary extras (bejeweled headbands, grosgrain ribbon belts, elbow-length gloves and a bounty of blinged things) and you’ll find office-appropriate pieces that will look sharp in the boardroom and beyond: boucle frocks, wool swing coats, nubby tweed jackets, jacquard skirt suits and twill riding trousers. As much as we adore Anzie jewellery (they provided the runway sparkle) we would have preferred to see these lovely baubles take the spotlight in a separate presentation. Ditto for the haute headbands. Whether you’re coveting the corner office or have your nameplate on the door, effortless chic triumphs over styled any day of the week.

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The post TFW Video: Behind-the-scenes at the Fall 2012 Joe Fresh show! appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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Joe Mimran opened his fall show—always among the most hyped and well-attended of Toronto Fashion Week—with a video of Veruschka seducing the camera in 1966’s Blowup, which set the scene for a colourful parade of swinging ’60s three-quarter-sleeve toppers, mini shift dresses, houndstooth prints large and small, and skinny capri pants on homegrown all star models such as Alana Zimmer, Heather Marks, Kate King, and our March issue cover girl, Anaïs Pouliot. Coats were tweedy or high-shine patent, often with faux fur additions so fuzzy, they might have been taken from a teddy. Oversized-cable knits looked cool with neon accents, prints, and patterns, and the finishing touches were jumbo tuques and pointy court pumps with neon orange soles. A flamboyant gent surprised Mimran with a huge bouquet of flowers as he was taking his bow—we concur, the brand deserves to celebrate.

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Amidst a young-guns-filled schedule yesterday afternoon, Laura Siegel proved she’s just as smoking as the rest. What makes Siegel’s work stand out are her partnerships with artisans around the world, including those who specialize in Ajrakh block printing, Indian embroidery, Keralan natural dying, and Bolivian knitting. Siegel’s approach is to develop textured pieces while enabling those in third world countries to display their uniquely creative skills on an international stage. The result is a collection that’s sleek and minimalist in structure with a tinge of “weathered global activist” aesthetic.

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Moody and dramatic, the inspiration for makeup at Chloé Comme Parris was a 1920s aesthetic mixed with an “if you had a lot of money to dress up in black grungy clothes” sentiment. Grace Lee, lead makeup artist for Maybelline New York Canada, started by slightly lightening the tone of each model’s face with Maybelline Fit Me Liquid Foundation for a fresh, porcelain effect. Then dark purple eyeshadow—Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24Hr Cream Gel Shadow in “Pomegranate Punk”—was applied to the eye, followed by Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in “Mauve-ulous.” Both were layered in an almost translucent manner to give the eyes a hollowed out (think Clara Bow) look. Brown mascara kept lashes soft, however the lips were fully saturated with a rich coat of the same plum shade Lee used on the eyes.

On Monday night, Toronto’s Juma took over the Edward Day Gallery to present their techno-meets-jungle scarves. More cocktail party than fashion show, sunglasses-donning Queen Westers mingled with suits and bloggers, all with a Beck’s in hand. The brother-sister duo, Jamil and Alia, gave their scarves the Picasso treatment, turning the walls of the gallery into […]

The post TFW Diary: Juma throws a scarf party in lieu of a fall runway show appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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After falling short of expectations with his debut collection at Toronto Fashion Week last season, Adrian Wu took to the stage once again to prove his critics wrong. Or maybe to fight for his right.

A balloon-strewn ceiling, grass-green runway, and V for Vendetta masks were the chosen stylings for the collection, which featured 13 looks—all dresses covered in white polka dots and made of the same flannel fabric, ruched to comparatively less-extreme proportions as last season. The liner notes referenced a want to modernize 18^th century French womenswear, but we’re not sure the styling choices made sense. What we do know, however, is that they served a cleaner pallette to showcase his wears. While he may want to be recognized as more of a clothing designer and less of a spectacle, we’re not quite sure he did it this time. Honourable try, though.

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The heavens certainly behaved themselves for the second day of Toronto Fashion Week, allowing attendees to show off their no doubt newly purchased (or borrowed) spring styles sans typically cumbersome March outerwear. There was Ainsley Kerr, in a mega-printed dress from the Chloé Comme Parris spring collection, Amanda Lew Kee in her printed T-shirt, and our very own Bernadette Morra, who debuted a look from Martin Lim‘s latest collection. And what about that dude in the neon? That’s our camera genius stepping out to play. Hi Lewis!

By Eliza Grossman

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With a white winter backdrop and the sound of wind blowing to set the mood, designer Ilan Elfassy (brother of the designing duo behind Mackage) presented a pitch-perfect crop of Soïa & Kyo coats ripe for the Canadian winter. Well, maybe not this winter, but you get the picture. The mainly neutral outerwear palette was accented with a few bolder choices in red or mustard, a particularly covetable one worn on the runway by one of our home-grown model loves, Herieth Paul. Casual on the whole, the selection did prove its sleek factor with versatile numbers that belted from inside.

Floral prints were in full bloom in our spring trend report and given that we seem to be experiencing the balmiest March weather on record, a floral manicure was a natural choice for this week’s Nail Corner. From Marni and Mary Katrantzou to Erdem and Prabal Gurung, flowers were bright and best done in matchy-matchy all-over arrangements. And, because we’re right in the middle of Toronto Fashion Week, it seemed appropriate to seek inspiration from one of our favourite TFW Spring 2012 shows: Denis Gagnon.

Read on and feel the flower power! »

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I’m a fan of any fashion show that starts off with the Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs.” Combo that tune-age with yet another stellar collection from one of the city’s most promising labels, and well, I think you’ve got a winner. Such was the case at Chloé Comme Parris’s fall showing yesterday, as the sister duo churned out a 1990s-meets-1890s outing of snakelike cigarette pants, elongated moto-cross jackets bedazzled with heavy silver nobs, and loosely tailored suiting. There was fur too, and it felt delicate alongside moody silk Liberty-esque prints on spaghetti dresses, pleated skirts and camisoles. Quite like a Venus in furs, wouldn’t you say?

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Bringing in a packed house for their 6 p.m. show, the husband-and-wife team behind Martin Lim is clearly onto something. Winners of last season’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition, they’ve already managed to carve a space in the crowded Canadian marketplace and construct garments that are instantly recognizable as their own.

The flyaway details across shoulders and down back seams were all there along with new tricks including sliced car wash swishes of silk, boxy leather tops, a metalicized chinoiserie print (best worn front row by our editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra) and piped mesh leggings under everything from tunics to dresses. As if that weren’t enough, their bold colour blocking and playful palette are sure to get the cash registers ringing.