FASHION Magazine

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By Leah Semple

Presented to an at-capacity studio and accompanied by none other than a string quartet, the LG debut show of 21-year-old designer Adrian Wu started promisingly. By the first look out, however, the collection had already failed to impress. (That look being entitled “Natural Beauty,” or, in simpler terms, a hairy-legged man in a short lace shift dress and Lady Gaga–style facial orbit.) In looks titled “orgasm” and “blue balls,” tulle-wrapped IKEA paper lanterns overpowered the designs, protruding off of models in shapes suggestive of breasts and other bodily lumps ‘n’ bumps. While the gowns themselves were quite striking in a palette of muted colours and constructed to Wu’s signature voluminous style, they were not the focus of the audience, and apparently not that of Wu’s either. On more than a few pieces, faulty zippers and rogue hem threads stuck out like sore sartorial thumbs.

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Keeping on trend with spring’s no-makeup natural aesthetic, the look at Denis Gagnon was intended to be as basic as possible. “He said to me, ‘I want [the models] to look like they just got out of bed,’” reported Eric Del Monaco, L’Oreal Paris’s official hair artist and colourist, about Gagnon’s direction for hair. “Because the clothes already have a lot of things going on, we didn’t want [the hair] to get mixed up.” The result was a so-simple-it-hurts style: Del Monaco applied a touch of Studio Line Architect Wax, roughed up the hair a little bit, and then pulled it all to one side in a loose folded half-bun with—quelle horreur!—the elastic showing.

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Having an end-of-week time slot on the LG Fashion Week calendar is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because by this point, we’ve all honed our lenses to focus on important trends and notable details, but bad too, because the week’s shiny lustre has mostly worn off, and having seen a week’s worth of summer wares, we’re looking for newness to keep our sensory-overload interest alive. Did David Dixon deliver? Sort of. Staying true to his design sensibility, he showed a black, white, and lemon-curd yellow collection that was heavy on the springtime imagery—fluttery flower appliques, silver paisley lamé, and butterfly prints. While the stiff ‘50s cocktail dresses didn’t look particularly new, it was the seamed jersey dresses (the floor-length ones in particular) that looked most modern, and gave a defined body shape without veering into tricky body-con territory.

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By Jessica Borchiver

I have to commend designer Baby Steinberg on her unique portrayal of Spring 2012. It’s not often we see clothes made out of remnants of old fabrics and reprocessed materials. Her vision to create “something from nothing” is creative, however, when boundaries are pushed too far, there often comes a downside. Rather than looking like a runway collection, Steinberg’s execution felt like an episode of Project Runway, in which contestants are challenged to create clothing from scraps. Looks such as an unzipped skirt with a cropped fringe black and white top came off too sloppy, and a long black woven one-shoulder dress proved to be too difficult for a model to walk in. I cringed at times, just hoping these pieces wouldn’t rip apart at the seams, especially a stencil-cut top made of tissue paper. More like art pieces than couture, this collection is hardly practical, except for, maybe, the skin-tight knitted red mini dress with pink and white roses.

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Following the ‘60s trend seen on runways this season and earlier last week at Pink Tartan, TFI 2011 winner Golnaz Ashtiani’s showed a Roman Holiday–inspired collection for Spring 2012. White, pastel yellow, purple, and mint green provided a sophisticated colour palette worthy of Audrey Hepburn’s princess in hiding, Anya Smith. Ashtiani kept things modern with colour-blocking blouses and dresses, flowing silk with ruffles, and exaggerated shoulders on dresses and blazers. Intricate pleating also came into play and was layered under a sheer mint dress. Taking my imagination to a far-away place and time, Ashtiani’s collection is certainly worthy of a runway princess.

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The future is here—and if this is what it looks like, sign me up. Calgary native Caitlin Power made everyone take notice with her first showing at LGFW. Boxy white leather tops and dresses, printed blue and black leather, and cutout dresses and pants kept simple silhouettes fresh and It-girl worthy. I made a mental note on a cropped sheer blouse with a longer back and an orange collar, also shown with blue detailing. The mixed fabrication, impeccable tailoring of the clothes, and spot-on styling confirmed that Power is a new designer that you should all keep tabs on.

As soon as LG Fashion Week started, it’s over! (We’d insert a little sad face here, but this is a reputable website and that’s just crazy.) With a tissue in hand (or perhaps, your lunch), check out this last slideshow of looks Lewis Mirrett caught outside the tents. Spot anyone you know?

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A 15-minute film that had us whispering qu’est ce que c’est? to our seatmates wasn’t an ideal way to close out LG Fashion Week (though the dramatic sponsor shots—champagne and Birks jewels—undoubtedly pleased certain peeps in the crowd) but all was forgiven when Montreal designer Denis Gagnon finally marched out his stellar Spring 2012 lineup. We saw flirty mini floral prints, avant-garde versions of the traditional tux, satin rompers, sharp capri pants, blouses with sheer backs (perfect for making dramatic exits), kicky checks, parachute dresses, and dominatrix-style leather straps and harnesses. Gagnon mixed up a garden variety of masculine and feminine looks, a nice departure from his signature dark and moody aesthetic. Models skipped and twirled down the runway, and even blew a few kisses. Optimism? Joy? Spirit? Now, that’s something we hope blooms year round.

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By Jessica Best

Mélissa Nepton’s signature layers were noticeably scaled back from previous collections, and replaced with transparency for Spring 2012. The distinctly feminine collection of draped silk, flowing chiffon blouses, and twist-wrap dresses seemed like several outings of the same look—however, that look can be figure flattering for many shapes, which of course is the plus we’re all going for.

Judging from the three traffic-stopping cocktail dresses at the Kellogg’s Special K Start Something Fabulous presentation, red just might be the new black. Hosted by Monika Schnarre, this event brought New York–based designer Cynthia Rowley to Toronto’s LG Fashion Week for the first time following a nation-wide search to find three everyday women who exude self-empowerment and a passion for life. “These women were chosen because their personal stories speak to so many [of us] and really demonstrate that living a healthy, balanced lifestyle is achievable,” said Rowley. Besides having their photos splashed across Special K boxes (coming to a breakfast table near you), this winning trio also modeled their custom-made little red dresses for a packed crowd in the tents. Veronic Bertrand (from Rockland, Ontario) rocked an asymmetrical hemline; Mika Fryling (from Burnaby B.C.) sported a one-shouldered look; and Melanie Boucher (from Ottawa) showed off flirty ruffles.

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Far from bug eyed, the direction for hair and makeup at Vawk focused in on specific parts of Sunny Fong’s “insects and architecture” inspiration. “For me, architecture is a lot of windows and reflection, so I went with a gold reflection, like the sun,” said Eddie Malter, official makeup artist of L’Oreal Paris, when describing the gold shadow (Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Quad “823”) he applied inside the eye and along the crease. Then, to capture the essence of insect antenna, Malter applied Lineur Intense eyeliner in “Carbon Black” to the lower lash line, extending the line out. However, the crowning moment was a pair of custom Maddox eyelashes made from paper—applied to just one model for the show.