The eleventh Toronto Fashion Blogger Brunch felt very different because it was at night – but as always it was a lot of fun. We talked about Adrian’s adventures at Chanel, Montreal fashion week’s enticing offers to Anita, and what it is like working in fashion television, and we touched on many other random and regular subjects.
The Brunchees
Ryan Oakley of The Grumpy Owl
Anita Clarke of I want – I got
Henna Singh of Canadian Beauty
Adrian Corsin of Fashion Verbatim
Tiffanie Ing of TorontoStreetFashion.com
Alison-Violet Mount of Fashion Television
Daniel Pilaprat, friend and model
Danielle Meder of Final Fashion
Henna took some pictures and if any merit posting I’ll slip them in right here. Until that happens, here are some Canadian fashion clicks to look at.
News flash! Canadian Press informs us that an imam will be hosting Project Runway Canada. Contestants who reveal ankles, arms or hair will be out. Will this choice of host popularize fashion amongst the Islamic population of Canada? Will other religious denominations object? We will find out October 8th.
Irene of TorontoStreetFashion.com notoriety is following my example (flashback) and is blogging her fourth year collection. She just posted her inspiration board and I am looking forward to seeing her collection develop, combining graphic design and graphic violence with what will surely be graphic results. Irene is one design student to keep a wary eye on.
It is official… L’Oreal Fashion Week will be held, in tents, in Nathan Philips Square. Those of us in central locations are relieved we won’t have to schlep down to Exhibition place this season.
Hold on… it is in tents? In Toronto? In late October? Will this sudden change of venue repeat that frigid logistical failure earlier this year at Fashion Cares? Have we learned nothing? I can not miss a fashion fiasco and will be there with mitts on. My heart goes out to the models though – they are going to be dressed in fresh spring and summer clothes.
On the other hand, perhaps bringing fashion to the center of the city will also bring it to the attention of our city. I sometimes wonder if many people in Toronto are not even aware that we have a fashion week – certainly most people are unaware of local fashion designers. That the FDCC is opening its tents to the general public will hopefully give Toronto’s fashion scene a chance to introduce itself to… Toronto.
I am anticipating this season with excitement.
After I went on and on about the horror and hilarity of fashion and lifestyle copy, blogfather Hugh MacLeod gets to the point – it is called dinosaur language. I was once guilty of using it as well – both in fashion school and my brief stint as an employee I was taught to communicate to customers and press with phony drivel because it was conventional. Now that I am at the other end of these effluent pitches I have lost patience with convention. Last week I posted some excerpts from some particularly meaningless press releases, including one that was so over the top, I could not stop reading. For posterity, here is one full paragraph.
For the women who likes a little edge with their stylish upscale sensibility – the designer duo’s collection entitled “You Only Live Twice” marries luxury and practicality, simplicity and glamour; bringing to life the allure and style of the contemporary “Bond Girl”. From the tropics to the urban jungle; from the colonials to industrial lofts, they remain classy and fabulous, striding over cobblestones in three to four-inch heels; smartly turned out: suits, short skirts and designer shoes.
As we learned at Fashion Cares, cobblestones and high heels are hardly the marriage of luxury and practicality, regardless of whether the heels are three or four inches. Not many press releases make me laugh, but this one did.
After I posted about it I got a personal email from the designer who sent me the release – meaning that unlike 99% of email pitchers, he actually reads the blog! Instead of sending me adjective heavy objections for inferring his press release was the email equivalent of a train wreck, his message was human and genuine. He even dropped by Brunch Nuit and invited us all to his show. Which is a relief, because designers usually show better than they tell. This designer is a class act and demonstrated that he knows how to get bloggers to listen.
So, Evol Williams, this is for you -
