Toronto Fashion Week Day 1 - The Grand opening by Lucian Matis

Toronto Fashion Week started off with a bang of glamour and luxury at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel where Lucian Matis ( runner-up on Project Runway Canada)  showed his rather Black Swan-ish F/W 2012 Collection.

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Opting for a more dramatic setting than the tent at David Pecaut Square, Matis showed his dark, elegant yet edgy collection of evening wear in one of the hotel's ornate victorian ballrooms. The collection, which consisted mostly of black gowns, featured dense handwoven lace, feathers, sheer mesh and nude underlay.  Entitled Nature's Art in Symmetry,  the designer's romantic designs were inspired by the beauty of nature. The dense lace effect, which appeared on full-length gowns and as detailing on almost every piece, was Matis' hommage to the beauty and symmetry of butterfly wings.

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The highlight of the show was a floor-length lace gown with a plunging neckline and a dramatic thigh-high slit that evoked the very essence of '40s glamour and haute couture. There were also a number of sheerer garments that gave the collection an edgier aspect which mixed well with the elegance of the lace.

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Matis also showed a lot of dark green feathers. His collection included a full feathered dress with wing-like sleeves and ball gown with a black bustier top and full feather-covered skirt, both of which were impressive but rather costume. The models also sported dark green or black talon-like nails à la Black Swan.

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Overall, the Lucian Matis show was romantic, elegant and edgy and had the opulence of a show that could have taken place during Paris Haute Couture Week.

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Toronto Fashion Week F/W 2012 - busy busy girl

It's that time again! It's Fashion Week in the big city of TDOT and this time I'm not a lame volunteer (not that volunteers are lame ...they're great! and I give them a big smile and two thumbs up for being so amazing) I'm ACTUALLY working it! Ha! I'm covering Fashion Week for Ryerson Folio and Dress to Kill magazine. It's been a very busy week full of crazy artistic fashion and incredibly fashionable people. I had the chance to go backstage and interview designers like Adrian Wu and Canadian fashion celebrities like Stacey Mckenzie. I've done SO MUCH but I have yet to start writing about it. With school work and managing two school magazines, there's no time to ACTUALLY sit down and write my reviews. If I'm not sitting on a runway bench, I'm emailing like a crazy person or interview people for my 2,000 + word feature stories for class. So much writing to do, so little time... Hopefully I will get my shit together and have my review of Day 1 up later tonight. In the meantime here's a Streetstyle shot of the outfit I wore to Day 1 taken by FASHION magazine.

Aldo hat, Levi's leather jacket, Zara denim shirt, AA high-waist jeans, H&M faux-fur gloves

Montreal, how I miss you so.

The biggest difference between winter in Toronto and winter in Montreal is that Toronto is snowless and reasonably cold, while Montreal is snowy, beyond freezing, and most of the time freaking miserable. The funny thing is... I really do miss my Montreal winter. I miss the dirty snow mounds, the frozen Outremont ponds and the creepy naked trees. On my last visit home, my bestie Brittany and I took a tour around the city and put together a little outfit shoot to showcase some of my winter and spring looks. Enjoy!

Zara jacket, H&M knit,  ivory BCBG studded clutch, AA shorts, Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots

Vintage sequin and mesh sweater, black short-shorts, JCampbell Lita boots

Photo: Brittany Paquin 

Styling: Elayne Millar

More to come! Stay tuned.

Make sure to visit http://dreamsyounggirlsdream.tumblr.com/ for more photography by B.Paquin

Feel free to HYPE my looks on lookbook.nu