Toronto Fashion Week's 10 finest
Settled in its new home in David Pecaut Square and featuring a solid mix of upstarts and established labels, the newly christened World MasterCard Fashion Week had its share of hits (and misses). From the front row, Globe Style focuses on the hottest looks for fall/winter 2012
SMYTHE Always a dependably elegant start to the week, Holt Renfrew’s designer showcase featured looks by eight notable labels. Well known for its streamlined-yet-sexy jackets, Smythe showed a series of striking toppers paired with one of the week’s most buzzed-about accessories: cute cat-eared cloches by Toronto’s Lilliput Hats.Chris Young / The Canadian Press
MARTIN LIM Comprised of Danielle Martin and Pao Lim, the Montreal-based label was the first winner of the Mercedes-Benz start-up program launched last season. ML’s 1960s-themed collection faltered at times, but the team’s talent shone through in silk dresses cut and draped to show sensual movement.Chris Young / The Canadian Press
LUCIAN MATIS One of the designers showing outside the week’s central hub, David Pecault Square, Matis drew a rain-soaked Monday-afternoon crowd to the Fairmont Royal York hotel, where the Romanian- born designer revealed his dark, nature-inspired collection to a ballroom full of invited guests.Jenna Marie Wakani
EZRA CONSTANTINE It was previously shown alongside its successful sister label Greta Constantine, but this season designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong gave their solid men’s-wear collection a show of its own. Playing with the notion of armour, the duo combined light bondage references with wools and heavy knits.Jenna Marie Wakani
PINK TARTAN Designer Kimberley Newport-Mimran picked up where she left off last season, showcasing a slew of sleek 1960s-inspired looks for her uptown-styled Pink Tartan label. No one cuts a coat like Newport-Mimran: the outerwear pieces, particularly those mixing textures like wool and fur, were obvious knockouts.Jenna Marie Wakani
JEREMY LAING As part of Holt Renfrew’s show, Toronto wunderkind Laing once again showed he’s worthy of his considerable hype, this time by unveiling ethereal layering pieces in coffee hues. This patchy suit had show goers lean in closely to inspect its intricate pattern.Chris Young / The Canadian Press
SID NEIGUM Hard-edged leather, a Neigum favourite, stood against draped tops, skirts and dresses over slim trousers for a unisexy feel. Standouts here, however, were the knits. Soft and light, you could see them translate onto a wide range of stylish men.Chris Young / The Canadian Press
LINE John Muscat and Jennifer Wells’s collection for their label Line was full of huggable, interestingly shaped knits in multi-hued patterns and pleasing shades of grey. Though many were oversized, the sweaters and ponchos were far from dumpy, especially when styled with second-skin trousers and sharp metallic belts.George Pimentel
JOE FRESH Opening with a clip from 1966’s Blow-Up, the show displayed its, yep, 1960s influence right off the bat. While many designers played with fur this season, the faux stuff popped up at Joe as big, lush sleeves on an otherwise fitted wool coat.Jenna Marie Wakani
CHLOE COMME PARRIS Sister act Chloe and Parris Gordon proved they’ve outgrown their ingenue label as they presented their burgeoning line to a packed crowd. Their signature flowing, feminine cuts and draping were flanked by fur, studs and covetable seashell-meets-paisley prints, which worked best in theJenna Marie Wakani