Toronto Fashion Week F/W 2012 Day 2 - Chloe Comme Parris (iwantsiwantsiwants!!)

Sisters Chloe and Parris Gordon showed an amazing collection this season during the Chloe Comme Parris runway show on March 13, Day 2 of Fashion Week. The collection was all about mixing girly floral wallpaper prints in muted colours with grunge looks in khaki, grey, and black. Everything that came down the runway was gorgeous and made me want to run back stage after the show and steal every single piece of it. The floral wallpaper print chiffon maxi dress, skirt, and blouse, in muted and subtle colours like blues and earth tones were absolutely gorgeous and no doubt the best pieces of the collection.

Full house at the Chloe Comme Parris show
photo: Elayne

Photo: Dress To Kill magazine

Photo: Elayne

Photo: Dress To Kill magazine

  

Photo: Elayne

These prints were paired with knit sweaters and oversized jackets adorned with distressed metal studs and exposed zippers. There was also a lot of leather on the runway in the form of leather trims, and stud embellished leather tops in khaki and black. The designers also showed a number of accessories such as big fur shrugs and gorgeous distressed jewelry designed by Parris Gordon. The balance between the feminine flowy dresses and the edgy jackets and leather pieces can only be describe as 'Beautiful Badass' - the name of the Chloe Comme Parris f/w 2012 collection. The girls really hit the nail on the head with that title.

Photo: Elayne

Photo: Dress To Kill magazine

Photo: Dress To Kill magazine

Photo: Dress To Kill magazine

Overall my favourite look (I'm definitely not the only one who liked it -- it's graced the pages of almost every review of the CCP runway show this month) is the floral dress paired with a gorgeous orange-tone fur shrug and Parris Gordon's distressed metal brace cuffs.

Photo: Elayne

Photo: Elayne

Versace for H&M - fit for cougars

Yesterday H&M stores all over the world opened their doors to crazed fashion fanatics who'd lined up friday afternoon to get a piece of the new Versace for H&M collection. At 8 a.m. on Saturday morning the hordes moved in and stripped the racks to the bone. By 12:30 p.m. there was nothing left.

H&M on St. Catherine street in Montreal
montrealgazette.com

H&M on Regent street in London
guardian.co.uk

The highly anticipated Versace collection is made up of the Italian fashion house's signature pieces of the 80s and 90s with a modern twist. Equipped with the classics - gold medusa head, the Greco Roman pattern in embossed gold studs, and loud colourful patterns - the 43-piece collection is Versace's attempt to attract an entirely new generation. The old staples are mixed in with some of the new spring/summer 2012 ideas such as bright neon colours, animal prints, leather and studs, and wallpaper print (unfortunately they decided to go with a Miami Beach print rather than something that would keep you from vomiting like a floral or baroque). 

Versace- busy patterns
fashiondevelopmentgroup.com

Miami Beach print in neon- a la wallpaper
torontostreetfashion.com

leather shift dress with gold studs
flare.com

leather, studs, and Miami Beach
torontostreetfashion.com

Versace brights
torontostreetfashion.com

The key pieces of the collection are shift dresses in black leather, or bright colours like yellow, pink, and red, all of which were studded-out in gold. While the collection's objective is to attract the younger generation of fashionistas, most of whom missed out on Versace's hay day in the early 90s due to the fact they had yet to be born, the loudness and tackiness of the over- the-top gold ornaments leaves the collection looking old. When I look at the collection I don't see a new generation of Versace fans, I see 50 + year-old Italian woman with bleached blond hair, botox, lip injections, etc, who want to feel young again (*COUGH* DONATELLA VERSACE).

Donatella Versace the queen cougar
dailymail.co.uk

the cougar belt
torontostreetfashion.com

In my opinion the only good Versace is vintage Versace. That is all. If Versace wants to survive it needs to evolve and drop it's tacky Italian cougar dresses and gold bling and do something new and young. You can do it Donatella! Think of the children!

To view the full collection in all its jungle-fever-cougar-bling glory visit: http://www.hm.com/ca/versace#home

TFW S/S12 Day 5: Denis Gagnon- the big finale, Montreal-style (artsy and ridiculous)

When Montreal designer Denis Gagnon marched into the backstage dressing area in a storm of "câlice" and "tabarnac", I felt right at home. Wearing his signature oversized black glasses, he pushed rolling racks and curtains out of the way in a fit of Montreal-style impatience and stress ( think Quebec drivers if you don't get what I mean) all the while scaring the living shiz out of the timid Toronto volunteers. His collection this season showed a lot of edgy pieces, but that comes as no surprise, the man's job is to prove his edginess.

the man and his glasses... 

The collection, entitled Denis in the Garden!, is his take on spring time cuteness and garden parties. Much like his collection last years, Gagnon played with the idea of a man's suit. The pieces were all very masculine - black and white tux pieces, black mesh shirts with white tux-fronts and cuffs, tailored blazers and trousers - but with a feminine flare.

black mesh tux shirt with white pleats and cuffs 

Another idea he worked off of, other then the "tux", was the floral suit. He used a great floral pattern on black fabric for several jacket and pant suits in the collection. The pattern went really well with his "in the garden" theme and gave the audience something new to think about for spring and summer. He was the only one, if I'm not mistaken, to show wallpaper patterns during Toronto Fashion week for next year. The floral trend was huge in New York and Paris, with designers like Miu Miu and Givenchy sending out models in what looked like their gramma's chopped up curtains.

right- floral trousers, left- patchwork suit

the show-stopper-- the floral blazer and trousers

Anyway I love the patterned suit, the mesh man-tux shirt, and the great little white and black oxford shoes. I didn't love, however, the 20 minute artsy and superbly lame intro video. How Montreal do you have to be to start your runway show with a ridiculous video of models running around a forest in slow-motion? Not only was the video never-ending, Gagnon made sure his freaking glasses had at least 10 minutes of screen time... not impressed.

frontal satin pleats - the 'tux' look