All posts under ‘Mercedes-Benz Start Up’

DUY Fall 2013: The designer makes good on his Mercedes Benz Start-Up winnings with a superb fashion week showcase

By | March 20th, 2013 | 12:30 pm

Comments

DUY Fall 2013

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

See the DUY Fall 2013 collection »

Edgy but elegant—it’s a difficult line to walk, even for the most seasoned designers.

But Duy Nguyen proved he was up to the challenge in his World MasterCard Fashion Week presentation. The solo show was an award received along with industry mentorship (including face-time with yours truly) from the Mercedes Benz Start-Up program after a cross-country search and runway showdown last fall.

The Vietnam-born, Montreal-based designer proved his mettle (or metal), if you count the silvery embroidered lace gowns, twinkling wool trousers and shimmery tweed pencil skirts showcased in the DUY Fall 2013 collection.

A pale, frosty palette and fox-trimmed leathers fit with the Canadian Arctic theme. Materials were all rich, warm, and begging to be touched, with mohair trousers cut to pleated perfection, and a “hairy” top that looked like a fine shag carpet. Nguyen also spent weeks slicing tulle for his swishy evening skirts, basketweaving wool jersey for tops and handcrafting hundreds of flowers from left over scraps. “I wanted them to look like they were decomposing,” he said of the appliques that wound around shoulders and necks.
Read more »

Mercedes-Benz Start Up 2013: Now accepting submissions!

By | February 20th, 2013 | 2:00 pm

1 Comment

Mercedes Benz Start Up 2013

Mercedes Benz Start Up 2012 winner, DUY, shot by Jenna Marie Wakani

Attention aspiring designers: 2013’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up cycle has officially begun! For the third year in a row, Canada’s premiere mentorship program will be on the countrywide hunt for one lucky up and coming designer who will win a year of industry mentorship and a showcase at World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto.

“Mercedes-Benz Start Up offers aspiring designers the opportunity to be discovered, mentored and groomed to become successful business owners,” says Jarrad Clark, Director of Global Production, IMG Fashion Events and Properties. “The beauty of this program is that you do not need to live in Toronto or a metropolis to apply or be a part of this experience. We travel across the nation to make it easily accessible for designers to meet with our panel in a place close to home as we believe there is hidden talent across the country.”

Last year’s winner, Duy Nguyen, will be debuting his Fall 2013 collection for his label, DUY, on March 19, 2013 during World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. Nguyen received mentorship from industry experts such as Barbara Atkin, fashion director at Holt Renfrew and our very own editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra, while taking part in the program.

2013’s local searches will begin on April 23 in Calgary, AB and visit Laval, QC Winnipeg, MB and Kitchener, ON in following months. If you are interested, or know someone that is, more information and the application are available at Mercedes-BenzStartup.com. Applications are accepted as of today.

Tried-and-true retailer Reitmans teams up for the holidays with up-and-coming label Martin Lim

By | October 31st, 2012 | 11:00 am

Comments

Designer: Tried-and-true retailer Reitmans teams up for the holidays with up-and-coming label Martin Lim

See the article photos »

It’s a sweltering summer day, but in a cavernous (and thankfully, cool) Montreal loft studio a model is glammed up like a hostess at a holiday fete. The shoot is for a capsule collection that brings together 365-store-strong Canadian retailer Reitmans and two-year-old fashion label Martin Lim, designed by Montreal-based husband and wife team Pao Lim and Danielle Martin, who won last year’s Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition. But these designers aren’t exactly new kids on the block. After both completing a master of arts in fashion at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins, Martin and Lim honed their design skills in Paris: she worked at Christian Lacroix; both put in time at Roland Mouret. In 2004, they returned to Canada, and launched their own line in 2010.
Read more »

Toronto Fashion Week Spring 2013: The Mercedes-Benz Start Up crowns its winner, plus all the looks from the 8 finalists

By | October 24th, 2012 | 2:30 pm

1 Comment

Mercedes Benz Start Up Spring 2013 Toronto

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

See all the looks from the Mercedes Benz Start Up finals! »

And the winner is: DUY! Last night, the search for the Spring 2013 winner of the Mercedes Benz Start Up competition came to a close and Montreal designer Duy Nguyen was crowned the victor.

Pitted against seven other designers from across Canada, Nguyen’s dreamy pieces impressed the judges (including our editor-in-chief, Bernadette Morra) and secured his spot at the top of the podium. The DUY Spring 2013 collection was California girl meets New York, pairing structured suits with flowing chiffons and short-shorts with strong, collarless blazers. Nguyen was inspired by the French who are “very easy going” yet the collection was not necessarily reflective of Canadians—but worry not, as he told us that “fashion is about dreaming.” There was also a tinge of nostalgia, as silhouettes were very ’80s with crocheted knit tops and a modern version of the mom jean. The palette was simple and airy with seafoam greens, crèmes and baby blues but was punched up with a bright red-orange dress and short suit that featured cutouts. These pieces were winners in their own right. Read more »

What’s in your bag? Toronto Fashion Week edition

By | October 24th, 2012 | 1:00 pm

Comments

What's In Your Bag, Dwayne Kennedy

Photography by Farzin Ghayour

See what’s inside the bags of the brains involved with fashion week »

Packing a bag for Toronto Fashion Week should be considered some sort of art. The contents of the bag must be able to transport the owner from work, to shows, to more shows, and to after-parties, therefore having the essentials on hand is, well, essential. This week, we’ve taken a look inside some of the organizers of rogue fashion week, including The ShOws mastermind Paola Fullerton, and three-member team spearheading The Collections: Dwayne Kennedy, Brian A. Richards and Mel Ashcroft. We’ve also snuck a look into Caitlin Power’s bag—the Calgary-born designer showed her collection as a part of the Mercedes-Benz Start Up competition at World MasterCard Fashion Week last night. The contents of these It bags (which range from Chloé to Chloé Comme Parris!) have one thing in common: they all serve as fashion week survival kits. Read more »

Inside Calgary’s Parkluxe fashion show and party: 28 photos of the city’s finest celebrating its up-and-coming designers

By | October 12th, 2012 | 3:30 pm

Comments

Parkluxe Calgary 2012

Photography by Jason Waight

See the PARKLUXE fashion show and party photos »

A large metal door retracted into the ceiling at the end of a long runway, and a Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG Convertible (we checked) roared into view, casting a dark silhouette, the high beams momentarily blinding the audience. Another sleek silhouette, tall and lean, stepped from the machine and took a powerful stance before 400 guests.

By now, Calgary’s non-profit organization PARK (Promoting Artists | Redefining Kulture) has secured a reputation for hosting premier fashion events in Alberta (see our spring coverage from their emerging designer event, PARKSHOW). On Saturday night, the second annual PARKLUXE, which features four stand out Canadian designers who share a high-end market, pushed the envelope with a conceptual show at the Hyatt Auto Gallery Mercedes Benz in central Calgary.

Toronto-based designer Caitlin Power (a Calgary native) drew from the audience a collective gasp of admiration, as her bold, structured line kicked off the Fall 2012 collections from Anne B. Accessories (Calgary), Nicole Campre (Edmonton), and Lauren Bagliore (Calgary/New York). The latter designer gave us something to dream about, closing the show with a grand total of 34 looks, all luxury leather, draping, wool, and Bagliore’s signature Italian black matte jersey.
Read more »

Mercedes-Benz Start Up awards Duy Nguyen as its Quebec City semi-finalist!

By | June 13th, 2012 | 12:30 pm

Comments

Photography courtesy of IMG Fashion

See the winning collection! »

After last year’s impressive show in Montreal, 2012 saw the Mercedes-Benz Start Up semi-finals set up shop in Quebec City. And so it was at the fairy tale-esque Château Frontenac where I was reunited with the permanent panel from last year’s inaugural edition, plus two new local fashion experts.

JoAnne Caza, the captain of Mercedes-Benz Canada, wowed me with her perfect bilingualism (she’s from the West Island). Local Twitter fashion fans were ecstatic about photogenic Aussie-native Jarrad Clark who heads IMG Fashion—and who was also a judge on Project Runway Australia. Then, of course, there was Hans Koechling, president of The Image Is (who just got back from working on Next Top Model in Britain), and, the Simon Cowell of the group, Robin Kay, president of the FDCC. Joining me in guest judge duties were Christiane Garant of Myco Anna and Louise Maheux from Simons. Read more »

Mercedes-Benz Start Up is searching for budding Quebec City designers!

By | May 29th, 2012 | 5:00 pm

Comments

After rolling through Halifax and Edmonton, Mercedes-Benz Start Up will be pulling up to Quebec City this month in search of the city’s newest crop of design talent.

Though there can only be one winner at the end of the design initiative’s run, if last year’s cycle was anything to go off of, it’s a win-win for everyone in the running.

The initiative, which is in its second year, is aimed at finding Canada’s brightest emerging talent, fostering and mentoring their design skills and giving them a unique opportunity to gain some national exposure.

Read more »

OLDER
PAGE 1
Join Fashion
Advertisement
Current Issue
Current cover of FASHION Magazine
Advertisement
Contests
  • Woodbine Queen’s Plate Contest