Day 2 of The ShOws F/W 2013 - Tanya Taylor, Steven Tai, and Jeremy Laing

It's official! Toronto Fashion Week is back for another F/W season, which means I will be a busy bee all over again. This time though, I'm affiliated with a major newspaper! No more rushing around to make sure I get a good seat by the front row. I AM THE FRONT ROW. I can now casually walk in late and straight to my lovely reserved National Post seat next to whatever major blogger/editor-in-chief/Canadian celebrity. Have I mention that my life is pretty good right now?

This week TFW jumpstarted with The ShOws, the two-day runway event that hosts Canadian-born international designers/design houses like Comrags, Jean-Pierre Braganza, Tanya Taylor, Steven Tai, and Jeremy Laing. I was sent to cover Day 2 of the ShOws (the better of the two-days in my opinion--- Jeremy Laing is so effing cool) for the National Post.

Once I got to the event space at the Andrew Richard Designs studio, I was greeted with a goody bag of complimentary makeup, hair products and candies; all the Vitamin Water I could drink; and an array of cute mini snacks on sticks. Oh and obviously, since we're so bloody Canadian, there were Timbits and Timmy's coffee for all to enjoy.

Obviously I take photos of the food...

After stuffing my face with freebies (as usual) I made my way to the runway room, took my seat  and watched the Tanya Taylor show. While the models marched down the runway in the designer's 1960s schoolgirl-inspired garments, I was fumbling around with my notebook, pen and Iphone. You'd think after three years of doing runway reviews, I would have figured out how to do this with some kind of grace... Nope. As the last model made her way backstage, I had finally gotten myself together. I managed to get some good photos of the line while scribbling in my notebook at the same time.

The next show was that of the young Steven Tai. The self-proclaimed nerd took his line to a crazy level- mixing 60s sportswear with present-day technology. Really great stuff!

And to close off the day was the always amazing Jeremy Laing! If you wanna give my review a read click here!

In between the shows I was running in and out of backstage. Here are a few shots from behind-the-scenes. I also interview the lead hair and makeup stylist about the looks for each of the shows. If I'm not crazy busy in the next few days I'll make sure to get some sort of beauty post up because honestly, those guys have some great hair and makeup tips. 

Model being prepped for Steven Tai show

Backstage makeup madness

Makeup and hair for Tanya Taylor 

Makeup for Jeremy Laing 

Makeup for Jeremy Laing

Greta Constantine S/S2013 and my lifetime supply of gum

During Toronto Fashion Week, I was asked by Dress to KILL magazine to interview the two creative minds behind Greta Constantine. The designer-duo didn't actually show their Spring/Summer 2013 line during the designated World Mastercard week of fashion wonders. Instead, they opted to hold off till November and do their own thing in Toronto's cobblestoned Distillery District. I wrote a little something about their line for DTK so take a look here if you're interested in sexy form-fitted dresses for spring 2013. Also, their wonderful PR people put together a fun behind-the-scenes video for us, which is also up on the DTK website.

Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill of Greta Constantine
Photo: Toronto Life

The PR team also took the time to personally send me a box of goodies as a thank you for the interview. Receiving packages full of cute stuff is always super exciting, especially when all the cute stuff is FREE (mouhahhahah!). The Greta team collaborated with 5Gum so now I'm basically swimming in the stuff. Good thing I'm a gum person. I also got a great lipstick. It's bright pink - perfect for spring. Thanks guys!

The mystery box 

Gum fest!

Freebies: Greta Constantine scarf for 5Gum, metallic silver IPhone case, nail files, blue and black nail polish, Maybelline lipstick, and every flavour of 5Gum

Pink Maybelline lipstick - Gonna be a favourite this summer.

Issey Miyake - Pleats Please? Yes Please!

In late November I was sent to the Issey Miyake launch party for the brand's new Spring/Summer 2013 fragrance, Pleats Please. The super exclusive press party was held in a gallery at the gorgeous Gardiner Museum on Queen's Park - a perfect location to unveil a fragrance that was designed not only to encompass beautiful scents, but fashion, dance, movement and geometry as well. Unlike the brand's original fragrance, which has a more nature-ish Japanese-raw-material scent, Pleats Please is young, sweet, and fun.

It's definitely targeted to a younger more free-spirited audience and after using it for the past few months, I must say, I really do like it. I've always been a more musky perfume person but Pleats Please and it's sweetness just caught hold of my heart strings. If you want to learn more about the Japanese fashion house visit their site. I urge you to read up on their pleated garments -- really really cool.

Anyway go to the Bay/Sephora and give Pleats Please a sniff. It's good stuff.

More about that launch party! The Issey Miyake PR girls are pretty freaking good at their job. Not only did they walk around in the Issey Miyake signature pleated kimonos (in gorgeous bright colours for S/S 2013) they were extremely sweet and had prepared an amazing dessert table! There were cupcakes, candies, and all sorts of fun things all in pink and orange (to match the fragrance's box colours)

Since I'm a huge baby and all-for free fashion stuff - especially when it's freaking cupcakes <33333 - I was all up in that dessert table. If it wasn't obvious that I was the youngest one there when I walked in, it was definitely obvious when the other fashion women noticed me sitting by the table, stuffing my little chinese food take-away box with all the goodies I could get my hands on. Yeah whatever. They're just jealous..

Oh, I almost forgot to mention... I killed their origami station! Check out my crane! Skillzzzz