L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2008 - Final Day

Hello again! The evening opened with a sadly underattended banquet of beautiful creations from Paul Hardy. Ruffles reigned in this show of shiny, sparkly silver, tattered fabric and endless yards of sensational silk in white, grey, pink, black and gold. All who were present enjoyed confections like his gold, one-shoulder cocktail dress with big opulent gathered clouds at collar and hem (pictured, courtesy of Paul Hardy). Or his floaty flapper dress: tiers of horizontal apricot ruffles (with unfinished edges) to the knee, and a simple black bow at the left shoulder. Mmmmm...

Next up was the very young-looking Nada Yousif (not to be confused with "Nada"). Her youthful, cheerful and flirty dresses took the palette of Indian fabrics and '60s psychedelia: fuschia, orange, peacock blue, lemon, purple... and showed them off in fitted tops with bubble skirts in solids, prints and plaids (pictured, courtesy of Lotus Leaf Communications). This is fashion that your five-year-old niece would love; perhaps no coincidence that the models made their final parade carrying brightly multicoloured giant swirl lollipops!

Seven Eighty took us on a "nautical adventure" with a line inspired by classic boating themes: navy, white and black with anchor and ship motifs plus their "SE" monogram entwined with crossed anchors. Stripes and pinstripes were everywhere, both in traditional jackets and slacks (for men and women), and also in fun applications like the strapless pinstriped playsuit ending in cuffed shorts, or the shortie pinstripe hoodie paired with matching cuffed shorts. Later items introduced some other hues, but subtly, as in the plaid jacket-dress in muted Burberry colours.

The ever-popular GSUS Sindustries presented a typically vivacious line that ranged from utterly practical cargo shorts and hoodies to outrageous shiny lemon plastic pants and the surreal men's oversize T with the suspenders printed on them. Big blocky checks in colour combinations like mango/brown/gold/red/white and blue/grey/canary/black made for some really nice men's and women's jackets in a variety of fairly classic, sporty styles.

8:47: The penultimate show was Rudsak, whose eminently streetworthy outerwear is always appreciated by a full-house crowd. This time they've come upon an ingenious design detail: a dress with a stand-up trenchcoat-style collar that resolves to a cowlneck front (pictured here under a jacket, courtesy of Lotus Leaf Communications). The rest consists of short sleeves and a fairly full A-line skirt, with rows of parallel topstitching at the hem. It's available in black, grey, ivory, mustard and brown, and was generally shown with a wide contrasting belt. I expect it would be fairly flattering for most people, and could be dresssed up or down. The rest of the line consisted mainly of men's and women's coats and jackets, including trenches and variations on the bomber jacket, pea coat and motorcycle jacket, many of which were executed in a buttery leather in ivory, grey, brown, white or black. Faves for me were mildly distressed men's and women's dark brown leather jackets with multiple button-flap pockets, sort of a his-and-hers Indiana Jones look for this millennium.

10:11: Well, it's all over but the After-Party... except for those heading to Holt Renfrew on Bloor at 1 p.m. tomorrow for the desiger meet-and-greet (you should go!) The very last show was Thien Le's golfwear for women, under the label Le T Golf. It followed the general trend set by many designers this week of using brilliant colours: in this case vivid pastels like rose, fuschia, canary, pale violet, pale lime, baby blue and sky blue plus ivory, black and a few touches of scarlet. Accents included a tropical floral print as well as fine checks, stripes and pinstripes. The pieces were sporty classics: shorts, skirts and wrap skorts, jerseys, blazers, jackets and vests. He even has co-ordinated and monogrammed golf and flight bags in sky blue, ivory and red (pictured, courtesy of Kelly Drennan). My favourite item: a surprisingly feminine knit sweater-vest in baby blue with a plunging U of ivory ribbing at the front neckline. At the end, his models paraded to the buoyant strains of the '70s hit "Celebration"... a fitting end to another L'Oréal Toronto Fashion Week.

L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2008 - Day Four

2:46: An early day today, with all shows over by about 8:30 tonight. Are you curious as to whether it's worth waiting around the tents to see celebs? Well, so far, I've already mentioned the presence of Kalan Porter and an assortment of other Canadian Idol personalities, as well as Keshia Chante. Last night, K-OS was here. Then there are the TV faces, from top fashion maven Jeanne Bekker to OMNI's Pei (am I spelling her name right?) and a couple of the Designer Guys. Are you getting excited yet? Well, on to the shows.

First up today was a show that really got me excited, although it wasn't all that well attended. Fashion Takes Action was a repeat of a concept that showed earlier this year in a gala-priced soirée. The theme is ecologically sustainable fashion, and it unites ten top designers: Annie Thompson, Damzels in This Dress, Rosa Constanzo, Sarah Nichol, Farley Chatto, JUMA, Thieves, Thien LE, Ula Zukowska and veteran Pat McDonagh. The lines used SYKA's Tussah silk, bamboo, organic cotton, merino wool, soy and hemp to create a range of wear from easy, casual, everyday jersey pieces to Thien LE's stunning evening dresses – with trains (pictured. Pat McDonagh's big poufy penguin-ornamented evening skirt made another appearance (it was shown at her 40th anniversary show last spring).

I loved Annie Thompson's fashion-forward olive, deep rose and black skirts, vests and stoles (pictured, left); the Damzels' more sedate black, mustard, deep rose, dark blue, violet and taupe dresses (right), and Farley Chatto's exquisitely elegant men's summer suits. Actually, I loved it all; take that, Fast Fashion! (All images of Fashion Takes Action by Kat Szatmari, courtesy of Kelly Drennan.)

4:30: A dozen talented Fanshawe College students presented small collections: Dawn Marie Frowley, Tara Wilson, Cassie Blackman, Candice DiMarco, Messina Salter, Victoria Overlord, Erin Hawke, Vu Nguuyen, Margaret Banasik, Erin Coyle, Roya Poorsanan and Brandon R. Dwyer. Even though it was the work of students, it stood up well... although it seemed clear that this year's class assignments included a cuffed capri and a bubble miniskirt/shorts. Styles ran the gamut: Salter reminds you of Play Dead Cult, with her bondage elements, slashes, overpainting and textual prints. Dwyer, on the other hand, could be a junior Andy Thé-Anh, with his opulent, ruche-bedecked orange and lime raw-silk cocktail dresses, and his really lovely black strapless gown with fitted hip-long bodice and luscious lower layers of frothy ruffles. Also worthy of mention were Banasik's two meticulously constructed strapless cocktail dresses – one rose, one mocha.

Saniya Khan presented an elegant, laid-back line decoratively linked by a circle theme, and mostly riffing on the Pakistani shalwar kamees outfit of tunic (kurta), trousers (shalwar) and scarf (dupatta). Pale, rich earth colours and long, flowing lines, enhanced with hand-painting, occasional beading, appliqué and spray dyeing, characterized this subtly impressive collection.

5:39: Stephen Trigueros (Tanya Stephens and Maria Jose Trigueros) just showed a beachball-bright collection of dresses, shorts and tops, swim and loungewear suitable for Florida yachting or LA clubbing. Oranges, vibrant blues and brilliant whites opened eyes. They stayed open for numbers like the skin-fit silver spaghetti-strap one-piece bathing suit: clearly the garment of choice for Wonder Woman when she goes to the local pool. A unifying motif was a wide swathe of basket-weave in the same fabric and colours as the garment, often used as a wide waistband; occasionally set in to the side of a dress as a decorative oval between hip and ribcage.

Next day's additions: Ula Zukowska opened with her four Fashion Takes Action outfits, and the rest of the show carried on with the themes she established there of silkscreened images (trees, faces), creased, crunched and folded fabrics in black, grey, bitter mustard and golden tones. Her complicated geometric constructions made for extreme originality, but did anyone else notice the absolutely straightforward riff on men's doublets of 1625-40? It was obvious in the waist seams, wide wilting collars and sleeves with gathered puffs at the upper arm – the creases of the gathering standing in for the slashing of the period (pictured, courtesy of the designer).

A complete shift: Aqua di Lara ended the evening with an exuberant show of sexy, slinky high-end swimwear. Some of the nicest featured horizontal gathering inserted into a tall ova at each side.

L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2008, Day Three

4:40: We've already seen one show so far: Slavka Plavsic. She presented a line of mainly dresses, skirts and tops made from uncut lengths of metallic silk in pale rose-gold, steel-grey, very soft green, black and occasionally brilliant red. The fabric was molded to the body with draping and gathering, but very little tailoring. Some pieces featured lengths of thread woven into the fabric and trailing loose; some were utterly transparent. Most garments were more imaginatively stimulating than practical; however, a few would make delightful cocktail outfits in the real world.

5:40: Damzels in This Dress (Kelly Freeman and Rory Lindo) are back after taking some time off to launch their Queen Street East retail outlet, Doll Factory by Damzels. Teamed up in a double-bill with Play Dead Cult, they led off with a collection of dresses suitable for Marilyn Monroe's beach-picnic date with Tim Burton. Ribbon sashes, '50s styling, romantic floral prints and tulle ruffles at hem and neck were executed in black and blood-red for a flavour of shock chic.

More gory, less girly, Play Dead Cult offered up studded belts, blood-spattered jean jackets and a fine array of "propaganda" Ts lavishly embellished with PDC's distinctive lettermarks and logos. Most fun item: a nerdish pinstripe jacket that zips to the neck. Top marks for skully glam.

7:48: Jayn Simpson presented a collection of extremely pretty gowns ands separates in metallic textures and beach colours like pale gold, pale peach and off-white. The sleeveless knee-length white balloon dress with wide black bow at the waist epitomized this line's essential femininty. Corset-lace back closures and see-through black lace panels played up the sexiness; the grand finale full-length wedding gown – complete with virginal white bouquet – was all ladylike elegance.

Tilley Endurables won cheers from a crowd that had been primed to be a little snooty towards a rather conservative line of travel clothes whose signature item is a hat that can pass through an elephant's bowels without losing its character. (True.) But everybody seemed to like the bright, simple and stylish sleeveless women's turtleneck pullovers, evening trousers and jackets, and the men's practical shirts and pants – all evidently designed to be crushed into a bag and emerge looking fresh and crisp. And who could resist a troupe of models (including older men and a plus-size woman) in sensible undershirts, Ts, boxers and briefs? (Especially when they toss pouches of lightweight outerwear into the audience.) Points for panache.

10:35: Two extremely popular designers just went back to back; first, Andy Thé-Anh of Montreal, who showed his trademark opulent gowns, cocktail dresses, blouses and trousers. Like many other collections on this season's runway, Thé-Anh opted for a pale and shimmering palette of soft metallic blues, peaches, golds, steels and silvers. As always, his garments are meticulously constructed of numerous panels that outline each contour of the body. In this case, the female form is also overlaid and embellished with rosettes and ruffles that draw attention to curves.

Then David Dixon took his turn with one of my very favourite lines so far. Last year he staged an outdoor show with fire and Hudson's Bay blankets. Now, inspired by Newport, Rhode Island, his collection reflects the brilliance of sunlight on white sand and blue water. The first few cocktail and evening-length dresses were pure white cotton, and entirely overlaid with softly trembling laser-cutout cotton flowers (pictured, photo by John Ortner, courtesy of David Dixon). Meticulously cut and fitted, Dixon's lovely parade continued with garments in black glazed linen, robin's-egg blue organza and even – he does seem to have a sense of humour as well as style – a blue-and-white all-over seagull print.

11:40: All hands are rapidly jumping ship; the last show is over and people are leaving in droves. That show was the work of Common Cloth (Melanie Talbot and Kristina Bozzo). They showed a casual, very summery line in shades of grey, black and white – including solids and a big tropical floral print – as well as light mustard. Many pieces were saucy (see-through or cutaway). Some were solidly functional-looking lightweight jackets. Overall, the line seemed to be inspired by the tropical beach, with caftans, muumuus and sarongs highly in evidence, as well as lots of pieces fastened with a knot tie (the one pictured here, courtesy of Lotus Leaf Communications, actually has a sundress-style back with halter top and knot tie). Good for lazing by the seaside (or at least on the patio) sometime next June.

L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2008 Day Two

4:45. Live again. Ginch Gonch has taken every cliché of bad taste (African and Native "tribal" tropes, animal skins – heads included – and bad banana jokes) and made them their own... in a good way. A huge crew of hard-bodied and hard-working models danced, leapt and flirted their way through a surprisingly long presentation of cheeky (in every sense) underwear, including white briefs, panties and camisoles with lion, monkey or eagle patterns in magenta, cyan and yellow (the printer's primary colours) plus shades of pink. A standout: the cropped, sleeveless, zip-front girls' hoodies with brick-red, turquoise and black west-coast Indian motifs (pictured, courtesy Lotus Leaf Communications).

5:45: I've already mentioned on this site how much I like Zoran Dobric. Tonight he's channeling Edith Piaf through his own brand of sobre, moody creativity. His presentation featured enormously wide, elegant flared trousers; highly constructed draped skirts, and New-Look-inspired jackets in metallic textures and shades of grey, black, cream and, occasionally, dark sky blue. Some were embellished with patterns that looked like Rorschach tests; many were working on diagonal lines and triangular shaoes. All were fearlessly original.

8:55: Three more shows under our belts... Indiva is a Bloor-Street store featuring contemporary western-style fashion by various South Asian designers. They showed a collection of strongly ‘60s-inspired micro-minidresses in bright colours with lots of extra surface detailing (beads, embroidery) and many Egyptian collars.

Nada was inspiring: very wearable, feminine and flattering looks with wide, smocked belts, floaty skirts and vivid bright colours. Everyone gasped with delight as the final few numbers, covered with glittering paillettes (see image, by Barbara Cole Photography), came down the runway. The last, a silver full-length gown with a train like a cascade of mermaid scales, was literally and figuratively a showstopper.

Bustle, always tongue-in-cheek, started their show like a horserace with a live bugler and models bursting out of the starting gate. It’s mostly a men’s clothing line, but there were a few chic ladies in the lineup. Last spring’s theme was skeet shooting; now it’s the horsey set, and the garments evoke everything from jockey jacket to naval looks to waiters in the finest of restaurants. A recurring item was a single-button jacket with a yoke and two side pleats behind, and piped slit pockets in front. Pinstripes and pale bright beach colours abounded, and the crowd loved it all.

10:10: We're getting pretty tired; luckily a new collection of fashionista-clubbers is taking the reins for the rest of the night. We've just seen the final show... for Day Two. Joeffer Caoc showed us a summery line of floating off-the-shoulder dresses, slit-front evening gowns and generous trousers. They were off-white and vibrant in jewel colours like shocking fuschia and bright yellow. (Jeanne's just calling Caoc "one of the true bright lights"...) And he also used big silver paillettes... is this an emerging theme for Spring 2008?

More tomorrow if the internet connection from the big white tents holds out... Meanwhile, kudos to the caterers, Catering With Style (I think?), who turned out one of the few truly delicious catered meals I've ever eaten. Yum, those gorgeous seasonal root veggies! And thanks to my media room angel – name unknown – who's been giving me encouraging words on the blog.

L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2008 - It Begins

So we're live at the media room under the Big Top at Nathan Phillips Square. Jeanne Bekker is interviewing Joe Mimran over an intercom system (live we think, but it's hard to tell) and ladies in long pink skirts are passing around silver trays of cosmetics. Kalan Porter and his big blonde curls are lurking about somewhere just outside, and people are remarking that Iman is way shorter than they thought. It must be another Toronto Fashion Week.

"I've never seen a time when everyone – all across the board – is more interested in fashion," says Mimran. He's sort of banking on that, really; his Joe Fresh Style show has just shown a collection of youthful bright white, pink and yellow clothes that will be retailing out of select Loblaws outlets next spring. They're short dresses and long shorts with a spirit that seems to be channeling the vibrant populism of Mary Quant in the '60s.

"It's not just about price; it's gotta be more than price," he continues. "We have so many customers who are It girls and who are also buying Joe Fresh." No kidding; I'm sure everybody's going to be wanting a pair of those shiny citrine stilettos next April (for $24!)

The Project Runway Canada show is next... more soon.

Later the same night...
So what are we allowed to say about the final collections for Project Runway Canada? Not much, because the show won't be broadcast until December. We can say that Iman did in fact introduce the show, and that a bunch of designs by some very talented designers chosen from across Canada were paraded to enthusiastic response from the crowd. When the embargo expires in about eight weeks, I can tell all.

Jeanne's now interviewing Keshia Chante (spelling?), a frequent FW attender. Boy, we must really be living, eh? Note the "eh". That's Canadian Fashion for ya.