To celebrate Canada Day, Real Style Network wanted to bring you some Canada Style with some of our favourite Canadian fashion designers and retailers. Big cities like Paris and New York may be the fashion capitals of the world, but Canada has its own set of top notch designers. Canadian designers like Mark Fast and Erdem are turning the fashion eye on this country to see what our Canada style is made of. For Canada Day, why not support some of our homegrown talent. Here are Real Style Network’s Canada Picks from Greta Constantine, DSquared2, Andy The-Anh, Pink Tartan, and more of our favourite Canada Style:
Canada Style Canadian Fashion Shopping Guide:
1. This dress from one of our favourite Canada Style fashion designers Greta Constantine would be perfect for any summer fashion event.
2. Accessory designer Jenny Bird is making a name for herself in fashion at a young age. These Shoulder Sweepers Earrings ($150.00) show you why.
3. Get a casual summer look like this floral tank and pants from Canadian fashion design team Comrags.
4. You can’t talk about Canadian fashion without mentioning DSquared2. As one of the biggest names in Canadian fashion Dean and Dan Caten are at the top of the fashion world. Get these quirky DSquared2 shoes ($435.00) to show off your Canada Style.
5. While looking for new Canadian fashion designers, we found this Matt & Nat Santogold – Stellar Vegan Handbag ($185.00). Matt & Nat is a great eco-friendly company creating amazing handbags and accessories out of reused materials such as water bottles and vegan friendly fabrics.
6. Canadian designer Rudsak is the experts when it comes to leather in Canada. This Classic Gathered Satchel ($260.00) is just one example of the leather handbags they expertly craft here at home.
7. Canadian jewelry designer Dean Davidson has been getting attention around the world from fashion magazines like WWD and Vogue. Pick up his Silver Aquamarine Bangle ($425.00) before everyone knows his name.
8. Pink Tartan is one of our favourite Canadian fashion designers here. This Trench Dress ($395.00) is trendy, chic and sophisticated.
9. Get a unique jacket from Canadian fashion designers Mackage. This leather Evita Jacket ($385.00) is stylish and ready to give your outfit an edgy finish.
10. When you shop at Aldo you are supporting Canadian retailers. With shoes like this Seacrest Heel ($90.00) it makes supporting Canadian fashion easy.
11. For sophisticated summer fashion, check out fashion designer Andy The-Anh’s summer collection to get a beautiful blouse with his beautiful tailoring.
The G20 summit in Toronto has come and gone. Along with the summit has gone the fashion of the G20 first ladies which has been watched closely by fashion news media.
As usual, Michelle Obama’s fashion was the star of the show. Her fashion sense has been praised since fashion news outlets first saw her during the US campaign race. In Toronto for the G20, fashion critics loved the yellow and white Rachel Roy dress she wore for the Women of Distinction luncheon (seen in photo alongside Canadian fashion news icon Jeanne Beker). For the red carpet event, Michelle Obama had the perfect amount of glamour in a white cocktail dress by Paris-based designer Azzedine Alaia.
Unfortunately, the fashion news press has been less than kind to our own Canadian first lady, Laureen Harper. The fashion news media criticized Laureen Harper on her choice of floral dress made by a friend from vintage Valentino fabrics to meet Michelle Obama. The Globe And Mail’s Amy Verner had harsh criticism for her dress choice, by saying “Laureen Harper looks better suited for a garden party than a working dinner. The peony print veers dangerously close to tablecloth territory.” Fashion director of Flare Magazine Elizabeth Cabral said on Twitter “Michelle Obama’s chic white dress put Ms. Harper’s floral wallpaper frock to shame.” Perhaps Mrs. Harper should consider wearing some gorgeous designs by Canadian fashion designers such as Greta Constantine, Andy The-Anh or Pink Tartan.
We told you earlier that Topshop was coming to Toronto, Canada. Recently at the media preview we had a chance to see the collection at Jonathan+Olivia.
Topshop is one of the most celebrated affordable fashion retail lines from Britain and Kate Moss’ ‘ baby’. One might think it was the fashion heavyweights such as fashion designer mecca Holt Renfrew or the newly fashion forward The Bay were the ones to bring home such a publicized brand. You would be wrong on both counts. While both of the mega retailers were apparently very interested, Topshop was brought to Canada exclusively by a destination store called Jonathan and Olivia owned by Jennifer O’Brien. We say destination store because it’s location on Ossington Avenue is a trip off the usual Toronto shopping strips and into the trendy new boutique space. Hurray for Jennifer O’Brien, it’s not every day a small independent boutique takes on the heavyweights and wins the prize.
Jonathan + Olivia, a long time favorite of the young and hip downtown crowd, currently carries Rag and Bone, Alexander Wang, Isabel Marrant and a number of other ‘cool’ labels. Real Style Network had a chance to preview the Topshop line at the store. The fashion line featured lots of loose, comfy tops, skinny jeans, some dresses, boyfriend jackets and more. If you love the Topshop clothing, it’s worth checking out.
Canada style mavens will be excited to hear that we will finally be able to get Topshop clothing, makeup and shoes here in Canada.
Topshop isn’t opening up a full store in Canada just yet, but is opening a shop within the existing Jonathan + Olivia boutique in Toronto. Starting on June 19th, you will be able to visit Jonathan + Olivia to find the latest in affordable fashion from Topshop including their designer collaborations line.
As one of the hippest fashion retailers in Britain, Topshop has 300 UK stores and 100 international locations. If you can’t make it to Toronto, Topshop does deliver to Canada. Real Style Network is going to the opening of the new Topshop store soon, and we will tell you all about it in our Canada Style updates.
Canada Style is Real Style Network’s special feature profiling fashion and style events in Canada. At the Haider Ackermann fashion show at the Royal Ontario Museum on Tuesday evening, the crowd was elated. This was the first time the Parisian based fashion designer has ever shown in Canada or even North America. 119 Corbo the boutique selling Haider Ackermann fashion exclusively in Toronto were the organizers behind the successful event.
The Colombian born, Belgian educated and now Paris based fashion designer is known for his precision cut leathers and artful draping. The Haider Ackermann fall/winter 2010 collection consisted of mostly dark coloured jersey and lace dresses, structured wool and leather suits and wool coats. You can see more of the collection photos here.
During the fashion show at the Royal Ontario Museum,the models walked slowly to a dramatic soundtrack in a dim room illuminated only by a few spotlights. This did not stop the fashion crowd from closely observing the intricate detailing and styling of each outfit. Take a look at the video:
Last night in Toronto, Canada’s Style fashion stars shone bright at Strut For A Cure charity fashion show. Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha and fashion designer Todd Lynn were the stars in this charity fundraiser in support of Coast To Coast Against Cancer Foundation. Strut For A Cure event and fashion show brought together over a thousand fashion loving patrons who helped raise money for a variety of children’s cancers.
The fashion show was emceed by none other but the hardest working woman in Canadian fashion, the icon Jeanne Becker of Fashion Television. Jeanne kicked off the fashion show of Todd Lynn’s fall/winter 2010 collection. As the venue was super hot inside and the models must have been sweltering in these warm clothes you wouldn’t know it.
Coco Rocha opened the show in a Todd Lynn beautifully tailored, structured tan suit. The collection consisted of neutral shades of tan, grey, black and brown. The only colour we saw on the runway came from the Christian Louboutin inspired red soled booties and knee high sneakers.
Todd Lynn’s collection presented a very structured military inspired show for both men and women’s wear. Jackets were reminiscent of army coats with leather detailing on the shoulder. Leather jackets with asymmetric openings. One leather jacket made of strips of leather was a stand out piece. Leather was added to many other looks in leather sleeves on a dress or a leather belt.
As we saw in the fall/winter 2010 collections shown during fashion weeks, fur had a big presence on the runway. Fur wraps and collars for both men and woman got applause from the crowd. The soft fur accompanying edgy leather pants and skirts gave the collection texture. The final look of a black leather and black fur coat had the crowd cheering.
After the fashion show Coco Rocha returned to welcome the girl who helped bring this whole fashion show together, 12 year old Erika. This little girl (who happens to be Coco Rocha’s cousin) enlisted the help of her supermodel cousin to raise money for the cause she believed in. Last year Strut For A Cure was held in Barrie, Ontario, but this year the show got bigger and better moving to this sold out show in Toronto.
As an overall success, the party was still going with a concert from Canadian band Dragonette when this Real Style Network reporter headed home. Overall this was Canada Style at it’s best showing not only our style, but our hearts as well. Here are some looks from Todd Lynn collection at the Strut For A Cure Fashion Show:
In our Canada Style series we love to feature all things Canadian. Canadian fashion, Canadian fashion designer profiles, Fashion Weeks and most of all the unique fashion and style across the country.Today our focus in on Montreal fashion finds.
Montreal ,Quebec is known for it’s great fashion. Often a unique flavour all it’s own, Montreal fashion scene marries quirky with boho, goth with European high fashion and in the end it all works. Our annual shopping excursion to Montreal did not dissapoint and we got our hands on some great fashion finds. The fashion finds included: open toe python booties, Gucci lookalike zipper shoes and a sequin t-shirt with a James Bond theme.
The above fashion finds are available at Masska on rue de la Montagne in Montreal. Shoes and booties range in price from $250.00 to $500.00 and shirts from $150.00 to over $600.00 for a leather dress. The manager told us that all the clothing comes directly from Italy and is the latest from the Italian Pret-A-Porter fashion collections. The store is located on one of our favorite shopping blocks in Montreal on Rue De La Montagne between Sherbrooke St. and St.Catherine road.
Sandwiched at the top with Holt Renfrew and at the bottom with Ogilvy ( one of the oldest fashion department stores in the country) the street is filled with one of a kind designer boutiques. Next to Masska is Chacok a great French label carrying colorful jersey dresses, tops and scarves and next to Chacok one of our favorite Canadian fashion designers Marie St.Pierre displays her unique and creative collections. After a day of shopping have a sangria in one of the many outdoor cafes on Crescent street and enjoy everything Montreal has to offer.
French Fashion Designer Roland Mouret burst on the fashion scene in 2005 with a must have dress, called Galaxy that soon became the must have for every celebrity and ushered in the era of the fitted dress. The tall, elegant fashion designer looked dashing wearing his very ‘mad men’ suit from his new menswear line. We chatted a bit about his fashions and inspirations at an event in his honour at The Room.
Roland Mouret told me that he believes every woman should have a classic fitted dress in her closet and then use accessories to customize her look. He said he prefers the colours of his collection to be muted or dark (we saw a lot of black) in order for the woman to be the star. Mouret also said he draws his design inspirations from women themselves who he sees as mirrors to the world.
Women as stars, mirrors to the world facing the universe in a fitted designer dress, what a great concept! A girl can really get used to this kind of pampering. Well then what about looking good in his fitted classic dresses? Not to worry, according to this Style.com article, the tres smart fashion designer is not only a charmer he is also very practical and has put in a little secret device to ensure that all women look great in his dresses.
Mouret also came up with a practical device smartly developed from the “built” underpinning that was the secret ingredient in his famous hourglass Galaxy dress. Now he’s selling the underlying power-mesh base as a body-control device in its own right: a skin-toned slip with a zipper in the side.
Love the whole ‘undercover’ secret agent underneath designer dress concept! And the dresses are lovely as well. Take a look here:
In fashion news for Canadians this week, Juicy Couture and Canadian high profile fashion line Pink Tartan announced they will be opening their first free standing stores here this month. Shoppers will now be able to go to the Juicy Couture or Pink Tartan stores to get all of the fashion brand’s goods in one place.
The first Canadian Juicy Couture store will feature 2,100 sq. ft of shopping goodness at Yorkdale Mall. This isn’t the only place you will be able to shop Juicy Couture in the country. The fashion brand told fashion news source WWD that they are planning at least 3 other Toronto stores in the next 3 years and then they will move to other large Canadian cities within 5 years. Juicy Couture was previously available in boutiques and Holt Renfrew in Canada. The first Canadian Juicy Couture store opens on May 20th.
Canadian fashion line Pink Tartan, run by Kimberly Newport-Mimran, will be opening their flagship Toronto store in Yorkville later this fall. Pink Tartan will still be sold at large Canadian retailers such as The Bay and Holt Renfrew, but now you will be able to get the full Pink Tartan experience at the new store located in a historic Yorkville shop. The store’s interior is still in planning stages, but Kim says the interior will be reminiscent of her designs featuring both the hard and soft.
In Canada style news, Canadian fashion designer Nicole Bridger has won Canada’s first eco-fashion award.
The eco-fashion awards were created this year to promote Canada style mavens who are using organic and sustainable products to create environmentally friendly fashions. We told you here about the short list of designers that included 14 environmentally friendly Canadian fashion designers including Preloved and Lav & Kush among others. Fashion designer Nicole Bridger took home the honour of being named the first winner of Fashion Takes Action’s Design Forward award.
As many fashion designers go greener, Nicole Bridger’s fashions have been eco-friendly since the beginning. Her Spring/Summer 2010 collection is fashion forward with it’s stricking silhouettes and soft draping, while still being made of organic fabric in environmentally friendly ways.
Congratulations to Nicole Bridger for leading the way in eco-Canada style. Take a look at her spring/summer collection here:
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Last night in Toronto, Canada’s Style fashion stars shone bright at Strut For A Cure charity fashion show. Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha and fashion designer Todd Lynn were the stars in this charity fundraiser in support of 
ere reminiscent of army coats with leather detailing on the shoulder. Leather jackets with asymmetric openings. One leather jacket made of strips of leather was a stand out piece. Leather was added to many other looks in leather sleeves on a dress or a leather belt.
French Fashion Designer 
In Canada style news, Canadian fashion designer 
