Lucian Matis Fall 2013: 33 monochromatic looks that breathe new life into the big and boxy silhouette

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

Fashion is in Lucian Matis’s blood. His mother owned a fashion company in his native Romania, where he worked from a young age. “You didn’t even know fashion designers back home in Romania,” he once said. “You didn’t have this ‘job’.” But here in Canada, Matis has embraced the role whole-heartedly in a modest, but business savvy way. There was the appearance on Project Runway Canada, the diffusion line, Matis by Lucian Matis (which showed at the tents), and he’s alluded to further brand extensions. Friday night, however, brought a wide variety of fans, media and starlets for an extremely organized showing of the Lucian Matis Fall 2013 collection off-site at 1 King West.

To start, he sent a black full-length ball gown floating down the winding runway, the skirt over-laden with broken glass from bottles supplied by show sponsor Bailey’s. The chandelier-like embellishment jingled as it brushed past your feet, lulling the audience to attention like prayer bells in a church. Last year an ordering snafu jeopardized Matis’s tropical Spring 2013 collection, so you can’t blame him for producing a “Monochromatic Fantasy” for fall. The colours in black, grey and ivory were paired with hits of fur, felt, wool, and silk. In a post-show release Matis said this season he chose to focus on the simplicity of the silhouette: “I could emphasize the shape of the garments from an architectural methodology with boxy geometric shapes.” Sleek floor length ivory skirts paired with matching turtlenecks, an attractive ruffle-butterfly top, pantsuits in Banker grey, and leather raglan dress-sleeve combinations made for an understated and exceedingly pretty fantasy, indeed.