By Katia Ostapets

Photography by Kareen Mallon

LG Fashion Week is celebrating its 25th season this year and has been in full swing all week.

The new location for the event is the David Pecaut Square – conveniently placed in the heart of Toronto’s downtown.

Models on the catwalk at the Holt Renfrew fashion show.

Some of Canada’s top designers are participating this season, including Denis Gagnon, David Dixon, Pink Tartan, Joe Fresh and Joeffer Caoc.

We break down our coverage this season into two sections; with major highlights. Here is part 1.

Jay Manuel at his show in Toronto.

There’s No Place Like Holts

Luxury retailer Holt Renfrew hosted the There’s No Place Like Holts fashion show at the Toronto LG Fashion Week, at 6 p.m. on Monday night. There were 56 looks by 8 popular designers, handpicked by the store’s buyers, and  modeled around colourful H-O-L-T-S letters set up in the middle of the runway.

Jeremy Laing opened to a remix of Sweet Disposition, showing flowy neutrals, accented with belts and warp detailing. Smythe‘s vision was a preppy kaleidoscope of models in back headbands paired with colourful pants and blazers. The menswear Naked & Famous collection featured purple shirts with matching bow ties, while Major Lazer beats played in the background. Pretty but sexy cocktail dresses by TwentyCluny were very Bond Girl, with a few in black and white stripes á la Jean Paul Gauthier . Although Montreal favourite Denis Gagnon will be showing a solo collection later in the week, for Holts he presented dark florals and original garment shapes, occasionally styled with sneakers. Dennis Merotto’s collection was made up of wardrobe staples – simply chic clothing in black, white and butter yellow that’s ready for work, party or play. Pretty male models wore Wings + Horns casual wear. Sweaters were layered with jackets and scarves. To close, the French theme song for Eurotrip played as Lida Baday’s models showed off her fun summery take on Parisian style – simple shapes in bright hues, paired with cropped jackets.

Trend watch

1. Simple, classic shapes
2. Neon orange
3. Structured jackets
4. Conservative necklines
5. Belt accents

Arthur Mendonça

Arthur Mendonça took the romantic shapes of toga-inspired costumes from Elizabeth Taylor’s 1960 movie Cleopatra, and seamlessly melted them with the edgyness and colour of a futuristic 80s style. Nymph-like models with wet hair graced the runway in modern flower prints, Grecian shapes in neutral colours and body-hugging cocktail dresses with peplums. Bold 80s accessories and jewelry complemented the Canary yellow, purple, royal and aqua blue garments.

Trend watch

1. Royal blue
2. Daring slits
3. 80s inspired suits and dresses
4. Canary yellows
5. Geometric accessories

Mercedes-Benz Startup

Always having believed in the importance if aesthetic design to their brand, Mercedes-Benz produced the Mercedes-Benz StartUp competition, in association with the Fashion Design Council of Canada, in order to provide invaluable opportunities to talented Canadian designers. The nationwide search for the next up-and-coming designer yielded four finalists. The evening’s winner, revealed below, will receive mentoring from industry legends, an editorial feature in FASHION Magazine, as well as a solo show in fall/winter 2012 LG Fashion Week.

UNTTLD, pronounced Untitled and designed by Montreal’s José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger, opened with sombre, Halloween-like music. White separates and sheer wrap dresses were paired with Punk jewelry, and shoes made of metal chains and spikes. Carefully-placed zippers held together abstract-shaped jackets.

Self-taught designer and biker Adam Taubenfligel, along with siblings Mark and Ania, designed the Triarchy line. Using “real life and fictional adventures of the world” as inspiration, the line showed jeans, shirts and dresses made almost exclusively from denim, paired with white bandages as tops. With Elvis-like music in the background and models wearing antique sunglasses, the show had an authentic vintage feel.

Having started as a patternmaker and fashion instructor, Cassie Dee recently launched her namesake line in 2010. With leafy orange prints and safari-inspired separates, her collection took you on a road trip through Canada. Feminine pieces also made an appearance with lovely detailing and cowling at the knee-length hemlines.

Montreal’s LaSalle College graduate Travis Taddeo, showed a cohesive but minimalist collection that he describes as “the perfect mix between street wear and luxury.” Peach-coloured silk chiffon hoodies were paired with highly bleached unisex jeans. Oversized jean-coloured shorts, a brown feathered skirt and dress, and lots of jersey tops completed the show.

The night’s winner – Martin Lim, by Danielle Martin and Pao Lim, was announced by the gracious Jessica Stem – supermodel and an Ontarian. Having already won international awards for their designs and having worked with the likes of Christian Lacroix and Roland Mouret, the designers presented a varied and very wearable line. The collection can be summed up in four words: pink, violet, romantic and colour-blocking.

Attitude by Jay Manuel

Trend watch

1. Tailored pants
2. Retro prints
3. Earthy tones
4. Loose blouses
5. Silurian