Archive for Caitlan Moneta


Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: Did David Dixon deliver for Spring 2012?

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David Dixon Spring 2012

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

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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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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: A cavalcade of Canadian models and covetable ’60s-inspired styles at Joe Fresh

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Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

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When it comes to fashion, I have two minds. I oscillate between editor mode (carefully scrutinizing trends, fabrics, cuts, and colour) and shopping autopilot (dreaming up outfits, making must-have lists, and slowly building my dream closet). Last night’s Joe Fresh show threw me for a loop. While I was technically there for work, I couldn’t pry myself away from my material side. Not only did the presentation of the show blow me away—Joe flew in the who’s who of Canadian models as well as used some of the beauties who’ve been in town for the week including Alana Zimmer, Kate King, Heather Marks, Herieth Paul, Kristin Owen, Liisa Winkler, Tara Gill, Yasmin Warsame, Kori Richardson, and Amanda Laine—but the clothes have never looked so… expensive (a coup for a mass-retail brand). Perfectly fitting tight jersey tees, pointed loafer pumps, and a printed ankle pant all got the green light in my mental notes. The clever combination of clean ‘60s minimalism (the show opened with a Mondrian-esque shift dress) with sportwear-detailed separates (neoprene, parachute fabrics, and drawstring details were everywhere) ensured the show didn’t feel one-noted. While they certainly won’t alienate their core grocery-store customer, Joe certainly upped the ante for the fashion followers who will be anxiously awaiting the runway styles come spring.

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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: All the action from last night’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition

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Photography by Jenna Marie Makani

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If there’s one main takeaway message from fashion week, it’s that we must recognize, foster, and promote our home-grown talent so that it can grow both here and abroad. With this in mind, the inaugural Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition was held last night, and up for grabs was a year of mentorship from industry leaders (including us at FASHION!) to kick-start a fledgling collection. After a rigorous selection process (preliminary competitions, meetings, tense deliberations) the short list was whittled down to Cassie Dee, Martin Lim, Travis Taddeo, Triarchy, and UNTTLD, and united in Toronto for a runway showdown. Short video montages introduced each designer, their vision, and their inspiration for the coming season. We saw a dark, leather-laced collection (UNTTLD), a western-inspired line (Cassie Dee), a denim parade (Triarchy), some disheveled streetwear (Travis Taddeo), and bright billowy silks (Martin Lim). After a brief designer bow, a surprisingly flustered Jessica Stam took to the podium to announce the winner. Drumroll please… Husband and wife team Pao Lim and Danielle Martin of Martin Lim! Now comes the real hard work—keeping our promises and making sure they get the attention they deserve! Stay tuned for the duo’s wears in an upcoming issue of FASHION.
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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: Todd Lynn classics die hard, but this time with a girlier edge

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Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

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Todd Lynn’s leather clad rocker is showing a softer side for spring. Pearlescent swishes of silk draped at the hip or cut into long, fluid pants gave a girlier appeal to a traditionally hard-edge collection. The pale palette also seemed fresh and new, with the only hit of true colour coming from a washed-out indigo blue that appeared on dresses, suits, and skirts. Other details came in the form of slashes of exposed skin at the hips and shoulders, some with fabric held together by neat rows of polished silver safety pins. Despite all the novelty, I can’t help but fall for the quintessential leather-sleeved jackets and neat knife-pleated skirts. Lynn classics die hard.
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A Turkish tale: Behind the scenes at FASHION’s photo shoot in and around the sun-splashed Mediterranean city of Antalya

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A Turkish Tale

Photography by Peter Tamlin

We’d been dreaming since December of ’70s supermodels roaming through ruins with big hair, big jewels and even bigger attitudes. We couldn’t stop thinking about Diana Ross in the 1975 film Mahogany, or the sophisticated world travellers who strode down the Saint Laurent, Pucci and Ferragamo spring runways. It all led to a transatlantic travel itch, and Turkey proved to be our fashion fantasy come true.

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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: A new look for Amanda Lew Kee

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Amanda Lew Kee Fall 2011

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

Designer about town Amanda Lew Kee, often spotted sporting frosty blue lipstick interestingly took her runway bow without her signature pigmented pout (same goes for her models). Does this mean she’s experimenting with a new identity? Compared to last season’s capsule-sized collection, her fall outing certainly showed growth and a certain commerciality. She started with a more sophisticated aesthetic, but the collection lost focus and veered in a different direction. The heavy matte velvet, cut-to-there skirt suit with gold zips looked fresh and wearable, but sheer paneled leggings with soft cardigans, grommeted knit dresses and a hairy metallic dress in caution orange detracted from the more mature appeal. Similar shapes cut in different fabrics were repetitive, no matter how shiny or eye-catching they might be (gasoline-spill iridescent foil aprons included). She seemed to be at odds with who the Amanda Lew Kee girl actually is…  maybe this leopard is rethinking its spots.

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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: Great Canadian staples at Lundström

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Lundström Collection Fall 2011

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

Perhaps the designers were crafting their collections while staring out their studio windows into the snowy landscape of the last few months, but this seems to be the week of great Canadian outerwear. And from a brand known for their iconic parka, we would expect no less. At last night’s Lundström Collection, that very parka⎯done up in ivory with a fur-trimmed hood and paired with a tone-on-tone ribbed woolen dress⎯hit the right note on the sophistication scale. Coloured fur collars, sleeves and scarves were a welcome addition to the repertoire, especially a tres trendy grape stole. The major blip on an otherwise ladylike radar (skirt suits, metallic-flecked tweeds and bathrobe shapes a-plenty) were the velvet kaleidoscopic pants. A parade of Audrey-approved little black dresses, including a couple of special order gowns (a first I believe for the collection), closed the show but opened the door to a world beyond cold winter wear.

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Fashion » At the shows

TFW diary: A steep learning curve ahead for Choryin Choi

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Cydelic by Choryin Fall 2011

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

Given the number of new designers on the schedule each season, it’s clear that we’re big supporters of emerging talent. Fresh off of Seneca’s Textile Design and Fashion Arts Awards, newbie Choryin Choi may already have a devoted fan base. Exhibit A: uproarious applause by the student-filled crowd. A kooky capsule collection of complicated pieces (I heard more than one whispered Tim Burton reference) included big-buttoned bubble hem coats, lace blazers, rippling ribboned bottoms and moth hole skirts that upon closer inspection revealed a collage of masked faces. “Out-there” designers are a great part of Toronto’s fashion fabric, but those wishing to enter the fray will also have to learn to distill their vision and build a following beyond their peers to attract buyers. There may be a steep learning curve ahead, but isn’t that what fashion week’s all about?

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