MENSWEAR DAY

Wednesday was the official day during LFW devoted to Menswear. It was a breath of fresh air after seeing bright and flouncy skirts all week.

CHRISTOPHER SHANNON started the morning off with a punch of dancehall beats and crisp sportswear. Layering white on white with hints of pastel. Shannon worked deconstructed layered pieces and used heavy accessories and face paint to complete the look. I loved the cropped layered tanks and the collaboration he did with EastPak ( very my little pony, sorry dudes!)





J.W ANDERSON followed Shannon's presentation sending London's psychedelic raved-out youth down the runway. Creating a tight silhouette with pieces ranging from patch work to extreme dip dye. Doilies are crocheted and applied to tulle tops dyed in neon colours creating a kaleidoscope grunge dream.





JAMES LONG kept the washed-out hippie theme going through the afternoon. A collection full of Pollack-esque, paint-splattered silk and chiffon and knitted patchwork a la Missoni but with a trippy twist. Long's inspiration of classic filmic pilgrimages like My Own Private Idaho was most evident through his addition of Tobacco-coloured leather pieces toward the end of the collection. If Long's man was hitchhiking in the desert heat, I'd definitely give him a lift.











LFW was a blast. Thanks again to VOLT MAGAZINE!!

MARK FAST- FRINGE MASTER!

Mark Fast gets his own post for a few reasons..1. he is Canadian 2. the show was an explosion of sexiness 3. I understand what all the hype is about when you get to see one of his shows in the flesh.
Maybe I'm just you know on a LFW high or it's the ridiculous amount of Canadian press that I read about Fast but I really enjoyed the knitwear designers collection for Spring Summer 2011. Of course, in true Fast fashion, someone with a banging body on a wild night out in Vegas aka Nomi Malone styles can rock the fringe looks he went down the runway.

DAVID KOMA X HOLLY FULTON

Good Afternoon Lovelies,

These two designers did not do a collaboration but they did show back to back yesterday morning. What a way to wake up! Who needs crappy filtered coffee from the press lounge when you can watch this!

David Koma being relatively new to the scene only graduating from Saint Martins last years put on a beautiful show with a alluring mix of inspirations. Taking from the Russian ballet 'Swan Lake' as shown in the tutu stiff layers over the pencil shape dresses. His use of python skin is deconstructed and positioned in vertical and linear positions which is inspired by the Cubist artist Fernand Legar.





Holly Fulton took us on a wild trip to Monaco, Egypt, Brazil and Hollywood, Joan Collins style!! Large graphic prints reminiscent of Aztec to 1920 art deco design. I absolutely loved the use of accessories in the collection. Holly's clutch bags with 'HOLLY SAYS RELAX' (also the tag line on the invite) was so cheeky. I just wish I could get one made with my own name on it!

Stop the Fashion Madness!!

Happy LONDON FASHION WEEK day.... whaaaa?? Just kidding we are on day four! OK, so let's get down to business. Yesterday, I attended the sexy debut show of designer Masha Ma. The collection focused on dimension in all different areas of body. Sculpted skirts, and structured jackets. The inspiration for the collection was the architectural buildings of Manhattan, a touch of industrial with a nod to the future. enjoy!





VOLT MAGAZINE ISSUE 8 HITs THE NEWSSTANDS SHORTLY. GET YOUR ADVANCE COPY AT MAGMABOOKS IN LONDON. IN TORONTO, YOU CAN P/U VOLT IN ALL THE USUAL PLACES YOU GET FABULOUS INT'L FASHION MAGS: INTERNATIONAL PRESS, CHAPTERS, INDIGO, MASION DE PRESSE ( IN YORKVILLE).

TOPSHOP UNIQUE SS'2011

I had the pleasure of attending the magical and cosmic spectacle that is the Topshop Unique show yesterday afternoon. The show took place in the old Eurostar terminal in Waterloo station. The collection was filled with top names on the runway as well as in the front row! The collection was pretty WILD...lots of glam rocky wide leg trousers, Stevie Nicks-eque flowy dresses and cotton candy coloured hair so teased it would take 4 weeks to recondition it back to health! I mock the hair but I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MY HAIR LIKE THAT FOR AT LEAST ONE NIGHT! The collection was inspired by the mysticism, fantasy and the cosmic...basically the 3 way love child of Mark Bolan, Betty Davis and Carl Sagan! Don't forget to check out my Twitter feeds during FW for VOLT MAGAZINE

London Fashion Week: Day 1

I am proud to say that this week I am covering some shows for London based magazine VOLT!
VOLT is a beautiful bi-annual magazine now coming into its 8Th issue. Hitting the stands this Monday- keep your eyes peeled for it. It's huge and printed on organic paper with no binding so you can separate the sheets easily and hang/frame/collage with etc.

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending two shows back to back: Felder Felder and Hannah Marshall. Front row attendees included Amber Rose sans Kayne, Paloma Faith, major points for the gypsy in her rocking a 1930s head piece with a subtle (cough) sequin full length coat. You gotta march to your down drum, right?

Felder Felder is comprised of twins Annette and Dani. The inspiration for the collection was a a rebellious downtown girl fascinated by the free spirit era of Easy Rider, The Trip and Jim Morrison. The soundtrack to the show was 'born to be wild.'
The collection was filled with bursts of psychedelic colour, cute girl flouncy skirts and some sexy sequin type dresses. Leather bras and laser cut details completed the looks. A few of the prints reminded me a bit too much of the Proenza SS/2010 fish prints but that might have just been my poor eyesight. Sorry ladies.... I didn't get a huge rock and roll easy rider vibe from the collection but in the end of the day I would totally throw on most of the pieces they sent down the runway.





photos courtesy of zimbio.com


Hannah Marshall followed directly after opening with a beautiful video made by Rankin. The collection was clean,super modern, strong but sweet. Everything you would expect from Hannah Marshall. Eighteen standout pieces almost half black and the other half off white. The standout for me was the amount of sheer used in the collection, nip slip without the slip!! The exaggerated pleats on the hips and details on some of the blouses and dresses were a very interesting touch. The black jumpsuit with the sheer top was an absolute knockout! My clothing rail is begging for it! There was a clean, modern approach to the pieces with a touch of androgyny in the styling. I think the pieces seemed almost as a clean palette depending on your style and you could take them in a few different directions based on your own personal style.








photos courtesy of style.com

AUTUMN WARDROBE- SORTED!

HERE ARE A FEW ITEMS I AM WORKING ON PURCHASING FOR FALL....

Harmony Korine x Proenza Schouler

I stumbled upon this Proenza AW'2010 video 'Act da' Fool' shot by Harmony Korine in his home town of Nashville. It's basically a gang of girls in designer clothes.. well, what else would a girl gang be wearing to drink 40s and tag words like COKE...obviously Proenza..duh.

I didn't really love the video and it kinda made me feel 'weird' after I watched it. In the end, its a way for Proenza to showcase there pieces for AW'10 and I thought the narrative and the 'story' of the girls kinda distracted from the clothes. I guess that was what the runway show was for and this is just an extension of that. Although, I did pick up on some bad ass styling and I love Vaseline smeared anything... whaaaaa?? In the end though, I will never wear thigh high socks the way I did in grade 7!!

Thoughts on the video? Everyone seems to have different reactions after they see it. Which I guess is a good thing...Happy NYFW!!!!