World MasterCard Fashion Week, spring/summer 2014

October 22, 2013

By Hannah Yakobi and Katia Ostapets

Photography by Kareen Mallon

The fashion week season in London and New York is complete – we hope you enjoyed our coverage from the capitals of fashion. And now onto Toronto!

The tents were up in the David Pecaut Square in a blink of an eye; inside, the runways are filled with creative work of Canadian designers, ranging from established experts to emerging talent.

We will be publishing our coverage as fashion week unfolds. Stay tuned for an analytical review of the best shows this season – narrated by FAJO’s Editor-in-Chief Hannah Yakobi and Events Editor Katia Ostapets.

Pink Tartan

Key 5 trends on the runway: Mermaid hem skirts, thigh-length sweaters, playful floral prints, tea-length skirts and dresses, 50s skirts in leather.

Key colour: Creme.

Key fabric: Heavyweight honeycomb motif in cream and metallic navy.

Biggest highlight: Classic 50s and 60s shapes and conservative skirt lengths take on a modern twist in leather and clean architectural lines.

Conclusion: The Pink Tartan girl this season is an elegant debutante who exudes the sweetness of a precocious schoolgirl.

Fun fact:  Pink Tartan designer, Kimberley Newport-Mimran, has recently developed a capsule washable collection in collaboration with Tide, in her commitment to providing luxury garments that are machine-washable. Next season, she plans to add vegan-friendly washable leather to the line.

– Katia Ostapets

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David Dixon

Key 5 trends on the runway: Dixon’s signature floor-length gowns, fringe overlay on the lower half of dresses, see-through delicate fabrics, double-buckle belts, minimal use of jewelry.

Key colour: A mix of black and white.

Key fabric: Chiffon, re-embroidered lace.

Biggest highlight: Lines of printed script on some pieces.

Conclusion: This collection was a departure from Dixon’s previous collections that often celebrated a variety of colours, with primary highlights in red. However, his impeccable tailoring and selective usage of embroidery and fabrics made this a very cohesive and elegant runway show.

Fun fact: The collection was inspired by the book On The Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman. Unlike Dixon’s previous lines, it was made entirely in black and white, “just like a child’s answer to a complicated question.” Dixon said he approached his “fabric decisions and choices, based on materials that [he] used as a child, dressing [his] collection of Barbies.” Emerging model Chloe Rogers, the daughter of well-known fashion personality Suzanne Rogers, opened and closed the show, by doing the final walk with Dixon. This was Rogers’ runway debut although she is signed up with Elite Models and has done editorials in the past. Although she is slightly shorter than conventional runway models, Dixon told FAJO last month that he thinks it’s important to have inclusion and diversity on the catwalk, celebrating the beauty of every woman.

-Hannah Yakobi

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Mercedes-Benz StartUp

Key 5 trends on the runway: Classic menswear with vintage flair, pastels, loose sheath dresses, oversized accessories, varsity-style jackets.

Key colour: Distressed yellow.

Key fabric: Silk and satin.

Biggest highlight: All collections were very cohesive.

Conclusion: Each collection took the classic and put a spin on it. Dreamboat Lucy presented a vintage girly-girl, Eliza Faulkner Designs made linen fashionable, Malorie Urbanivitch’s muse was a no-fuss career woman, while Matiere Noire explored angular shapes. In the two mixed collections (menswear and womenswear), Hip and Bone showcased the tough and sporty, whereas Pedram Karimi went for the soft and minimal. The options for menswear were Faded Lifestyle that presented well-made wardrobe staples, and the loud and attention-grabbing suits by HD Homme.

Fun fact (about MBSU): For the first time ever, not one but two winners were chosen. Congratulations to Malorie Urbanovitch and Matiere Noire, who will be sharing the grand prize – a full production fashion show at next season’s WMCFW.

-Katia Ostapets

The winners of MBSU: Matiere Noire (left) and Malorie Urbanovitch (third right) pose on the catwalk.

The winners of MBSU: Matiere Noire (left) and Malorie Urbanovitch (third right) pose on the catwalk.

Dreamboat Lucy

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Faded Lifestyle

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Eliza Faulkner

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Hip and Bone

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Malorie Urbanovitch

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HD Homme

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Matiere Noire

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Pedram Karimi

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Sid Neigum

Key 5 trends on the runway: Wrap coats, laser cuts, geometric shapes, mini to medium-length skirts and dresses, sleeveless pieces.

Key colour: Neutrals.

Key fabric: Jersey.

Biggest highlight: Abstract-shaped laser cutouts on dresses.

Conclusion: This was Neigum’s most feminine collection to-date. Traditionally, he has focused on more unisex, loose-fitting pieces and the runway show we saw on Tuesday was definitely very different from his past work: it was more risqué and more colourful. The tailoring was excellent. The music choice was perfectly in-tune with the powerful tone set on the runway. The only thing that was confusing were the “shoes” (pieces of leather pulled over the models’ real shoes) – the contrast they created with clothing was often too visually distracting.

Fun fact (about the designer): In the past, Neigum has used a variety of themes as key influences in his work, including stem cells, embryos, mathematic formulas and samurai. Neigum is also the winner of TFI New Labels 2012 competition.

– Hannah Yakobi

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Christopher Bates

Key 5 trends on the runway: Structured blazers, colour accents on collars and pockets, dark sunglasses, occasional geometric shapes, sophisticated chic.

Key colour: Blue.

Key fabric: Cotton.

Biggest highlight: Suspenders in the show added a classic touch to this runway presentation.

Conclusion: Bates has a tendency to have collections that make us think of James Bond – he also has a strong European touch that is often echoed in his work (he was educated in Italy, after all). Solid collection, ranging from casual to formal pieces.

Fun fact: Ron MacLean was in attendance at the show, wearing Bates’ custom-made suit and shirt.

– Hannah Yaklobi

Photography by Kareen Mallon for Christopher Bates.

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Matthew Gallagher

Key 5 trends on the runway: Floor-length pieces, loose sheath dresses, coral, silk tea-length and mini mermaid skirts, exposed midriffs.

Key colour: White.

Key fabric: Silk.

Biggest highlight: That feeling you get when the first look comes out and you instantly know you’re in for the best show of the night.

Conclusion: It’s as if Grace Kelly walked out of the movie screen to showcase her resort wear. Easily one of the favourites this season (our Editor-in-chief agrees), Gallagher’s runway presentation exuded effortless elegance with its sleek white ensembles and vacillated pops of colour.  The cut of the garments was impeccable and the vintage influences inspired a timeless feel.

Fun fact: After graduating from Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design in 2012, Gallagher launched his line and relocated back to Canada to debut at World MasterCard Fashion Week last year. This is his fourth collection.

– Katia Ostapets

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Mackage

Key 5 trends on the runway: Mini-skirts, shorts, oversized sunglasses, belts, leather detailing.

Key colour: White.

Key fabric: Leather.

Biggest highlight: Handbags.

Conclusion: Mackage is renowned for its masterful use of leather and some of the past collections have been so memorable that we still think about them several years later with an approving smile. Compared to their past runway shows, outerwear-wise this collection wasn’t their strongest: the repetition of colour and zipper detailing was quite redundant. The pieces that featured colour-blocking were definitely the standouts. The main draw of the collection were the handbags and clutches – they were trendy, sophisticated and some could be easily paired with both daywear and eveningwear.

Fun fact (about the designer): Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan, the design duo behind the brand, have been friends since elementary school. Their line was launched in 2000.

– Hannah Yakobi

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Caitlin Power

Key 5 trends on the runway: Crop tops, leather skirts and dresses, colour-blocking, matching shorts and blazers, minimal thigh-length jackets.

Key colour: Chartreuse and deep red.

Key fabric: Silk and leather.

Biggest highlight: The splash of chartreuse was a nice surprise, since many of the other collections focused on yellow and sky blue as their accent colour.

Conclusion: The show consisted of very angular looks that could transition from day to evening. There was a focus on the combination of silk pants and blouses, short suits, and colour-blocked cocktail dresses in simple shapes.

Fun fact (about the designer): When she first started her line in 2008, Power won the “Emerging Designer Contest” at Edmonton Fashion Week. She is also a past finalist of the Mercedes-Benz StartUp and TFI New Labels.

– Katia Ostapets

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Bustle

Key 5 trends on the runway: Bold playful patterns, graphic tanks, Bermuda shorts for women, loud pants, colour-blocking.

Key colour: Coral and cobalt blue.

Key fabric: Cotton.

Biggest highlight: The way the designer duo mixed-and-matched bold prints that still looked put together.

Conclusion: Bustle is always ever theatrical and certainly exciting. This year they brought us a tropical paradise complete with a jungle runway, and graphic prints full of macaws and equatorial flowers.

Fun fact (about the designer): Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow are the designers behind Bustle, they are also married and former lawyers. Hewson used to be a judge on Project Runway Canada.

– Katia Ostapets

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One Comment »

  • Chloe Rogers – elegance meets tomboy | FAJO Magazine said:

    […] season, Rogers also made her runway debut at the World Mastercard Canada Fashion Week in Toronto, where she opened and closed the David Dixon show. Looking calm, collected and very […]

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