This past weekend that I took my latest sewing project, the paillette dress for the Trash Fusion show in Barrie (as seen here, here, etc) to be judged.  I also got my brother, Jake, to take some photos.  Thanks so much Jake for the hospitality and the great photos!  My family was all there, including my Oma and Opa, and I am so glad that they were.

All of the entries were so lovingly crafted.  There were a lot of talented designers in the tent (it was raining), all with very different takes on the contest brief.  You can click any of the photos in this post to see them a bit bigger.  I especially liked the coffee-filter dress (second from left, above), I thought that this designer showed a great use of “trash”.  Some of the designers were teenagers, most were fashion students, and all of them exhibited a tremendous level of work.

Here is a little video of the final procession.

The winner was the big showboat float white dress made of (apparently unused?) paper towel.  Second prize went to the colourful doily mini-dress made out of shoelaces (with a jaunty matching beret) and third went to a previous winner of Trash Fusion Milton, a truly incredible post-apocalyptic tribal dress made out of busted inner tubes and scrap wire.

I’m not going to lie – I get competitive and I would have loved to get a prize, and I am very proud of my dress and I still think it was the best one.  I think it looks incredible on the body and in movement from far away, and close up viewers are delighted to see all the printed ephemera, consumer brands and logos, it is almost Warholian.  I received a lot of positive feedback, and the best was from my 2 year old niece who said my dress was “gorgeous” – so priceless.

You can see the winning entries for yourself from all three Trash Fusion events at The Rage in Kensington from June 15 to July 15.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed and supported this little project, and thanks to Jane Haselgrove for all her hard work putting the Trash Fusion contest together.

So, in between many other things (Where is this week going? Ack!), I have been diligently diving into recycling boxes and picking up trash on the street, plus picking up donations from generous readers. And… washing each item, cutting them into hundreds of paillettes, punching holes in each paillette, and stitching each paillette one by one on to my entry for the Trash Fusion design contest. Curious?  You can see some previous updates here and here.

The main event, a fashion show, is happening in Barrie, a town on a lake north of Toronto.  My brother lives there, so I think it is a neat opportunity to show my family (and my 2 year old niece) some fashion.  I’ve decided to model my own dress to keep the logistics simple. I am getting a hair cut from Greg May Hair just for the occasion, my first haircut since I resolved to grow my hair long. I plan on enjoying the modeling experience, it might be the last time I ever do it.

If you are in Barrie on June 12, you can come and see me walk the runway – a rare event. Check out the Ecofest Barrie site for more info.

Every year, Toronto Fashion Incubator runs a competition for the most promising young designers in Canada.  The contestants are run through a series of judging panels over the course of six months, culminating in a runway show at the ELLE show.  This year, sponsor Mattel heated up the competition by putting real money on it, a cash prize – $10,000 – amazing!

Anastasia Lomonova brought the drama with some really lavish dresses.  Anastasia was a classmate of mine for a couple years at Ryerson before taking off to Montreal and launching her label. Lots of texture and style – sometimes piled on, sometimes a lighter touch.  Its so neat to see someone’s style developed so far beyond fashion school.

House of Groves was leather, studs and riding crops, but the crowd really applauded when the full-skirted silhouette (lower right) came out – it seems like after so much tight and short, a great full skirt falling below the knee just feels like a breath of fresh air.

Diepo is lingerie transitioning towards cocktail – sort of night-to-later-that-night.  The runway was white and slick and all of the designers sent their models out in treacherous heels – so that all came to a head with the model on the lower-right – as she walked out her shoes seemed to literally fly off her feet and skid off both sides of the runway – you can see a gentleman picking it up in the background.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

Birds of North America brought the closest thing to colour that we saw that night – dusky navy blue, brown and burgundy.  The style of the dresses was more of the twee stuff that usually comes down New Labels runway in years past as opposed to the dominant theme of tough-sexy stuff we see this year. Maybe this shift in style is reflecting changes in the judging panel this year.  I often wonder, watching New Labels, whether the lengthy, involved judging process is a good thing – it seems to result in a certain homogenization among the contestants – or are our most promising Canadian designers really so alike?  The lack of statement colour on the runway was a bit disappointing – are we afraid of colour?

Paris Li‘s collection showed some sharp tailoring and some pretty sophisticated looks that suggest dressing for success.  Over all, all of the designers showed really chic, wearable designs – and perhaps the similarities make it a bit fairer to judge each designer against the other – but then again, at the end of the show, I couldn’t really think of which designer had really raised the bar. It reminded me a bit of the Press Breakfast at Holt Renfrew recently which was similar in the monotony of hues. When so much about fashion is personality, I wonder why designers don’t try more aggressively to differentiate themselves from one another.  Or are the designer really just catering their wares to the tastes of their curators? Either way, it leaves me with a taste for something more.

Lastly, each designer showed a few LBD looks made especially for their sponsor, Barbie.  These were all fun looks and here at least, all the blackness was part of the brief.

Anastasia Lomonova, House of Groves, Diepo, Birds of North America, Paris Li.

This year’s New Labels winner is Anastasia Lomonova – congratulations!  Thanks so much to Faulhaber and the TFI for inviting me to cover the event.

Evan Biddell is a designer with a flair for showmanship, and he is a designer who excels at notice-me clothes being worn by beautiful, confident women.  For his show at FAT, he teamed up with vintage dealer Refinery to notch the volume up using vintage clothing as materials – and better yet, he got his most outgoing friends to model the clothes. Pastel Supernova opened the show, and set the tone for a cast ready to steal the spotlight.

This is the kind of show that FAT does best – the models are fiercely unique, cartwheeling for the cameras.

Usually Biddell’s friends sit front row at his shows, and this time they had assigned seats too – mind you assigned with playful nicknames – which they strutted past.

“Sunny with a chance of Gail” had the most wonderful outrageous outfit, and turned the cameras on the audience for a change.

For the curtain call the enthusiastic models all took their seats and applauded their outfitters.

… and they stayed in their seats to watch the next show.  Somehow Biddell managed to pack the most memorable runway moments into a short fashion show that I have ever seen.  Cheers to all the lovely models for a job well done.

Its hard to believe that it has been four years since my own turn on the runway at my old fashion school.  Ryerson School of Fashion‘s grad show is called Mass Exodus, and its the best show in Toronto to see really exciting, unusual, and sometimes just plain weird ideas that only a fashion student would have the time and freedom to think up and proceed to spend six entire months executing.

There is usually about 50 grad collections, and these are just a small selection, in no particular order, with my comments.  I think it was one of the strongest groups of designers I’ve ever seen in Mass Exodus (curated by Sarah Casselman), and it was really touching to see them all get to take a curtain call. It really is a grand accomplishment to complete a small collection on your own for the first time, so every graduate deserves admiration and congratulations.

Adelaide Kim‘s collection is striking for its maturity and sincerity.  The items are wearable, want-able, classic and yet still novel – the use of transparent plaid organza for a jacket was a really neat concept, executed very cleanly.  Of all the collections, this was the one I can easily imagine being worn and recommended by fashion editors, who love that type of loose, unfussy, wry sophistication.

Amanda Kew Lee‘s collection was pretty much the ultimate in obsessed fashion student indulgence.  A slew of recent trends – studs, leggings with transparent panels, studs, pagoda shoulders, studs, headbands, studs – amped up to the next level.  Executed with devastating diligence, this collection is like a lovingly made time capsule, making the recent past seem like something worth getting nostalgic about just six months later.

Bianca Liu went the extra mile and designed her own textile patterns – really lovely, delicate, watery, painterly patterns that my poor photos do no justice to.  I only wish some of the tops were a bit longer – something about the proportions – or maybe its how the clothing has been combined – seems awkward around the hips.  But the overall sense of looseness, and the measured choices of colours, really made this one a stand out for me.

A2B by Jade Sullivan-Vallentyne was a playful pass on casual clothes for men.  Great jeans, hot colours, an affectionate evocation of Slater and Zack from Saved By the Bell, a snarky subversion of hipness.  Tacky and terrific.

Genevieve Pearson‘s outerwear was just so slickly executed – and outerwear is challenging to do – it looked so totally pro.  The all-blackness was a bit predictable (would have loved to see these in colours!) but the confidence and quality is just outstanding.

Romandin by Cristina Sabaiduc had the most adventurous fabrications – chicken wire and silicone caulking are what gave these garments their tremendous structure and texture, without giving away their identity as hardware.  Cristina is expanding her collection to show in FAT (Fashion Art Toronto) – I am really intrigued about how she will develop her themes further.

I didn’t manage to get a decent photo of Sofronov by Aneta Sofronova , thankfully the designer let me use these drawings (which are AMAZING) from her website.  Its truly modern menswear that nods to technological habits and interprets traditional tailoring details without being too precious about it. Neat.

The finale collection was all golden hues, and abundant clusters of raw-edged floaty fabrics by Emily Baker and Andrea Spano.

Last week was LG Fashion Week here in Toronto. I gave myself a break this season from trying to provide some sort of timely coverage (so many others do it better, check FASHION Magazine for one), but some have been asking very politely for my thoughts on the matter.

So I’ve been trying to sort out what I think and feel about it all.  LG Fashion Week is always a week of intensity.  The whole circus keeps getting bigger, outgrowing venues season after season.  I am not great with crowds.  It sort of feels like going back to school – assignments and awkwardness, in crowds and outcasts.

In the end, I don’t think I have the emotional energy to sort it all out, so I’ve decided to just collect together a bunch of amazing photos, generously shared by Peter from Studiolit, and intersperse them with some of my random thoughts and unsolicited opinions. Its a big scroller of a post. So, I’m sorry, or, you’re welcome.

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Rock-It Promotions and the FDCC have kindly offered me some free passes to give away to two fashion shows happening next week in Toronto.  I’m also very excited to be attending these shows myself.

Jules Power is showing on Monday March 29 at 5pm.

Zoran Dobric is showing on Tuesday March 30 at 5pm.

The shows are happening at the Allstream Centre.

I have a pair of passes to give away for each show, so if you’d like a chance to go with a friend, please leave a comment on this post with the name of the show you’d like to attend.  Make sure to leave your real email address so I can contact you.  I’ll be randomly selecting and notifying the two winners on Saturday, March 27.

… or, when a designer should do a runway show, where, and why?

Not that I’m an expert.  Yet, I am a fashion blogger who has attended a few seasons of fashion weeks here in Toronto and in New York City, a mediaphile who has followed the coverage of each season closely for over five years, an entrepreneur who is interested in choices available for promotion, and a fashion illustrator who is lucky to count many fashion designers among my clients.

Two designers in Toronto have piqued my interest in this regard – while they both debuted with fashion shows, since their first season they have eschewed the runway for other avenues of promotion. Despite their absence from the catwalk, they’ve managed to achieve both sales and praise.

Juma debuted their line of cool sportswear for Spring 2007 at fashion week in Toronto, and since then they have focused on sponsorships, trade shows, and have experimented with online promotion.  These alternate tactics have won them much success – many press mentions, and a roster of retailers that grows every season.  I asked Jamil, who focuses on the communications for the line, why Juma hasn’t shown on the runway in recent years, and what circumstances would persuade them to show again.

we have stopped doing fashion shows because we only want to focus on showing our collections the best way we can and that is through print and online mediums.  we would only return to the runway if we had the resources to show in a platform with international reach.  even then, i question the use of runways shows while there are less conventional ways to show a line these days that can have similar impact if executed properly. ie installations, web presentations, marketing collaborations

Ashley Rowe debuted her sophisticated collection at New Labels for Fall 2008, though since then she’s been focusing on photo campaigns and videos to communicate the essence of her vision.  Ashley’s designs have been featured in some of the best fashion magazines in the country, and she serves an elite clientele.  I asked her the same thing I asked Jamil, and she tells me…

I would show again with the proper financing in place to produce a show on the scale to which I envision it.  Currently, I am finding more creative ways to show each collection off the runway.

An ideal show for me would be: an appropriate venue for the theme of the collection, great models, lighting, music, and an interesting twist to the regular Fashion Show (not sure what that would be at this moment).

I’m impressed with both of these designers for thinking of resourceful, clever ways to get their lines out there – and what gives me a lot of confidence in them for future seasons is their clear-eyed assessment of the value of a fashion show versus the cost.  All one has to do is look at programs of previous fashion weeks to see how many new designers fall into the deadpool after one or two fashion shows.  I have mused before on why that is in my post designeritus.

Whenever I find myself in conversation with a designer, runway shows are a common topic. Especially newer designers are curious about what I think of the value of a show from the perspective of media.  Here are the basic points that make up my opinion on the subject, for what it is worth.

1. Should I have a fashion show? The perceived prestige of having a fashion show is considerably lower within the fashion industry than it is to the general public.  In general, I believe that if you don’t have the promotional budget to afford an ad in a magazine, you don’t have the budget to do an exceptional fashion show.  For new designers with limited cash flow, I believe that the only things worth spending money on are PRODUCT and SALES. At the beginning stages, a fashion show is an expense that most small businesses won’t have the means to bear, and the results are too intangible to risk borrowing money for.  Read designeritus for more of my thoughts on this.
2. What is the goal of having a fashion show? A fashion show is for PR and branding, not sales, so the real question to ask yourself is what members of the media or celebrities will be in the audience of that fashion show, and who their audiences are.  If the answer isn’t “the same people who are or should be my customers”, then reconsider.  Also, are you in a position to capitalize on buzz from the show – is your line available in stores already, so the coverage you receive can help you sell product?
3. Where should I show? Choose the location of your fashion show to coincide with the markets that you would like to have more press in.  If you want to be picked up by Toronto press (and to a lesser extent Canadian press), show in Toronto – but if you want international press, you’re going to have to show in New York, London or Paris.  If your line appeals to a certain geographical market – say, Vancouver or Miami – you’ll get more bang for your buck showing in those places.
4. Should I show on the official schedule or off site? This depends on how familiar you are with the city you are showing in, and what your budget is.  If you are showing in a city you don’t live in, showing at an official venue will make it easier for press unfamiliar with you to come. Either way, it is critical that you work with a well-connected PR firm located in the city you are showing in or it is unlikely that anyone you are trying to reach will come at all.
5. I can’t afford my ideal fashion show – should I show anyway? I agree with Jamil and Ashley, runway shows shouldn’t be something you are willing to compromise on.  An exceptional fashion show needs be a spectacle, communicating your story and vision in a compelling way to an audience who is already jaded by seeing a million fashion shows – if you are unable to muster the resources make their pulse rise, don’t risk boring them. If you do, you may not get a second chance for their attention.

Have you had a fashion show or considered having one?  Are you a member of the media?  What is your opinion on the value of a fashion show to a designer?

Rolling back into town on the bus on Friday, I checked my old-school paper planner and remembered that R4 Fashion was on that night!  Lucky chance that I caught the early bus.

This is an image of a pretty dress on the best model of the night (work!) by designer Rachel Chan featuring recycled Coca-Cola cans.  For the full story of an amusing and unusual evening and a couple more pictures, check under the fold.

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The byline for next year’s Toronto Alternative Arts & Fashion Week is “made with love” – sounds familiar?  But knowing [FAT] it won’t be the usual kind of love. They’re seeking inventive designers and artists to participate.

TORONTO ALTERNATIVE ARTS AND FASHION WEEK – CALL 4 FASHION DESIGNERS, VISUAL ARTISTS, MUSICIANS

April 21-24 2010 marks the 5th anniversary edition of |FAT| Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week. We are now accepting entries in Fashion Design – Photography – Video – Performance – Music – Installation Art for the 2010 event.

Entry Deadline: Dec.22/09

To Apply and Participate Visit:  www.getfat.ca