Cheers for another remarkable L’Oreal Fashion Week.  The general sense I got this year was that our designers are presenting better collections than ever, and the press and audiences have never been more engaged.

Coutorture has been collecting images from fashion weeks worldwide, and Toronto’s is in there too.  My top two this season happen to be from the Montreal contingent.  Both Renata Morale’s twisted pleating and Denis Gagnon’s tortured jerseys brought me to my feet.

The home team brought it too.  See all the collections by clicking on “photos” here.

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Of course it wouldn’t be fashion week without the politics sitting like elephants and donkeys in the front row.

There was the infamous speech – not just that one either.  Apparently we also paid for an expat to come dismiss our fashion scene for us at the Holt Renfrew media cocktail – this statement is an aggregate of other people’s impressions, I missed it.  Finally there was Phillip Bloch unenthusiastically introducing designers at the LG Fashion Fusion afterparty.  (edited; see comments)

Why do we have so many speeches and so few good ones? How complicit are we as an audience allowing keynotes to drag rather than inspire?  Am I the only one who can think of several remarkable speakers from Canada and abroad who would energize the audience, for a fraction of what it costs to keep Bloch in cashmere?  Or do we even need to have speeches?

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Which members of the media did a great job this week?  Applause for Glen Baxter, Andrew Sardone, David Livingstone and Nathalie Atkinson, not only for attending practically every show, but for giving us thoughtful and enthusiastic coverage.  Who left their seats open for enterprising F-Listers and bloggers?  Anyone can check slideshows on the internet and come to their own conclusions – the engaged audience for coverage of Canadian fashion expects a lot more from our experts.

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Last and least, the Anonymous emailer was back in our inboxes again.  It is old news now and as such is unfashionable to discuss – but the petition continues to collect a few signatures.  Is there anything more futile than an internet petition?  Regardless the identity of the petitioner, I don’t believe that this initiative has the power to change anything.

I would rather look to the friends and supporters of the lady in question – if she can be encouraged to accept that she does have “a problem in her life”, with genuine caring for her well-being and respect for what she has accomplished, then perhaps she herself can be persuaded that “apparently something has to happen”.  There are only a few individuals who can change this.  They know who they are.

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Finally, on a lighter note, Max Velosse presented her sophomore collection in the tents… “Under the Influence” …lets just say that it was flippin’ fabulous.