Last season Canadian fashion designer Mark Fast made fashion headlines by using plus-size models in his revealing Spring/Summer 2010 runway show. Yesterday at London Fashion Week, the designer stayed true to his vision and used curvy models in his knitwear show again.

While other runways shows featured tradition size zero models, ABC News reports Mark Fast was adamant about making sure his clothes were modeled on real looking women. He has stood by his vision of celebrating all women through fashion regardless of size.

Mark Fast is getting good reviews for his ideas. The fashion critic from the Telegraph said, “I really enjoyed the show because I think Mark has really developed and evolved as a designer… He’s doing things that ordinary people could wear, as the size 16 models demonstrated.”

Mark Fast’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection is much less revealing than his previous show. This season he added more to his collection than just his trademark knitting. The Mark Fast Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show featured tight fitting and draped dresses with detailing at the neckline, light skirts and cropped capes. The colours spanned from neutrals of black and brown to vibrant jewel tones of red and orange.

Watch Mark Fast’s Fall/Winter 2010 show from London Fashion Week here:

[Photo via Kari Estrada]

From an elementary school fantasy to the runways of New York Fashion Week, Canadian fashion line Mackage really is a dream come true.

Montreal natives, Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan’s dream began in elementary school where the pair met. They began sketching designs together imagining the day when their pictures could come to life. The pair attended La Salle College in Montreal where the idea grew. At 20 years old, the dream came alive in the form of Mackage.

Mackage is best known for their outerwear. Their coats are not only fashionable and beautifully tailored, but they are also warm and functional. These are stylish winter coats that can actually withstand a Montreal winter. They create elegant, timeless silhouettes with their leather, wool and fur lined coats that women of every age crave.

Celebrities Halle Berry, Andie McDowell and Catherine Zeta-Jones have discovered the luxury of each Mackage coat.

Ten years later, Mackage is internationally known. They recently opened a store in Paris and showed at New York Fashion Week for the third time. In 2009, the design duo debuted a new line, Soia & Kyo. This line is more youthful with bright colours and less of a focus on leather.

This year Mackage debuted their first full ready-to-wear collection to positive reviews. This dream is not over yet.

While the opening day of New York Fashion Week was overshadowed by the tragic death of designer Alexander McQueen, the shows went on.

Canadian outerwear designer Mackage kicked off shows at Bryant Park on Thursday morning. The Mackage Fall/Winter 2010 line included pieces in neutral colours: white, blue, grey, black and brown.

WWD called the Mackage line “a fun and edgy outing.” The line included leather studded shorts, pencil skirts, and skinny pants. The outerwear ranged from leather jackets to wool coats and warm winter coats with fur lined hoods.

See the finale of the Mackage Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show here:

[photo via Kari Estrada]

Canadian fashion designers Dsquared wowed the audience and paid homage to their home country in Milan this week as they served up their hockey themed Fall-Winter 2010 menswear line.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dsquared show started off with a bang early in the morning with Bill Kaulitz from the popular German band Tokio Hotel stomping the runway in leather pants and fluffy leather wings. Reports say that Dsquared will be creating the costumes for the next Tokio Hotel tour which is why they asked him to open the show. It didn’t stop there though.

The DSquared show was themed The Hockey Horror DSquared Show with a faux ice catwalk, hockey sticks and music from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The models were bruised and bloody and looked ready for a fight on the ice in their new designer clothes.

The line had jersey style shirts with leather appliques featuring maple leafs and hockey mask images. Some of the clothes were blood splattered, which may or may not have been a part of the show or actually what the clothes will look like off the rack. Studded leather, denim, chains around the waist or neck and rasta caps were all featured in this masculine winter line.

Dan Caten told The Toronto Star: We created three different themes, threw them in a blender and created something new… It’s like Freddie Kruger goes to bed with Dr. Frank-N-Furter and ended up in a threesome with Jason.

This isn’t the first time that DSquared have honoured their Canadian roots in a fashion show. Last year the themed was Algonquin Park camping.

[DSquared images via The Matt Shea and Fotos Graficas]

by: Editor

As we have written here before, Marie Saint Pierre is a top Canadian fashion designer. Her styles (all made in Canada) are innovative and edgy enough to stand out in the crowded high fashion arena. I like that she stands true to her own vision while incorporating some of the more daring fashion trends into her designs.

Below is the preview of her spring collection and some selected standout pieces.

Outerwear (left): The coat styles offer a variation of the spring’s top coat, the trench. Both are cut higher on the body and the first coat also offers some shoulder detailing. Often what separates a tailored design piece from a mass market is the level of detailing and tailoring in the individual clothing. Designer fashions are often not produced in the same quantity or for that matter offshore, so the crafting and sewing process is more tightly controlled for quality.

Daytime/ work wear options (to the right) come in the form of high waisted dress with short jacket and pant suit with layering and detailing. I look for versatility and wearability in my choices that offer real style alternatives with some innovative fashion flair or the “umph” factor. Both of the outfits can be worn with different pieces that you might have already in your closet. For example pair the pant suit jacket with black pants or skirt. Wear the dress with a longer gray, black or white jacket or cardigan belted at the waist for a professional work wear look.

Evening wear (above): The asymmetrical bottom, off the shoulder look cut of dress number 1 picks up on all the top fashion trends in evening wear at the moment. Top French designers such as Lanvin, Yves St.Laurent and even Chanel all showed a variation on the theme. I also love the gold sleeves. It provides the immediate “WOW” factor. The ruched fabric of outfits (2,3,4) are Marie Saint Pierre’s signature look. It looks great and offers the additional value of being a great travel dress. It does not wrinkle!

See more other innovative designs by Marie Saint Pierre here.

Montreal designers, Second Clothing have created a pair of jeans that are made for real lifestyles of busy women. What’s that you ask? A pair of jeans that fit and wear like a yoga pant.

Aptly the pants are called: Yoga Jeans. According to Second Clothing , they have created these form fitting, yet comfortable pants from 98% brushed cotton and 3% elastane. The cuts and styles are supposed to hold, shape and lengthen the body. They come in high to low rise and have bootcut, straight leg and skinny jeans and they are being praised as “miracle jeans” by women of all shapes and ages because they flatter all types of curves.

Sounds good to us, definitely worth a fitting. You never know, but it might even help break our LouLou Lemon yoga pants weekend wear habit!

Vancouver Fashion Week kicked off today for a 5 day presentation of the best of West Coast fashion. Showcasing urban designers attuned to Vancouver’s relaxed lifestyle as well as Native Canadian artists and eco friendly fashions,the event runs until Sunday Nov.8,2009.

Here is the schedule of events  and some of the featured designers:

           

                      Hawks                                 Lav&Kush                         Kersh

Vancouver Fashion Week will also showcase the work of a Native Haida artist Dorothy Grant. A world renown native artist, Dorothy is also a great designer, take a look here at some of her fashions.

                                      Dorothy Grant Leather purses with Haida designs

Toronto Fashion week or as it is known LG Fashion week has been officially and traditionally kicked off last night with a media event at  Holt Renfrew , Canada’s top luxury retailer. The miss “Cool, Calm and Collected” herself, Holt Renfrew’s VP of fashion direction Barbara Atkin, took the podium to reassert Holt Renfrew’s commitment to Canadian Fashion. After some introductions and a short speech by Robin Kay, President of FDCC it was time for the mini fashion show of  the Canadian Designers, Barbara Atkin called ” our group of seven”. Holt Renfrew’s favorite Canadian design lines shown on the runway were: Lida Baday, Denis Gagnon, Pink Tartan, Jeremy Laing, Greta Constantine, Mikhael Kale and Smythe. Here are some photos of the fashions: