Fabulous Fashion Week

If you like oversized fuchsia cowboy hats, men in midriffs wearing pope hats, and have a thing for pirates, you would have loved last week’s L’Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto… well at least you would have liked the Envers show. The high stiff collared ruffled shirts of the mens collection which made me think of Oscar Wilde at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, and the ringlets and enormous pouf skirts from the womens collection, were reminiscent of those overdressed collectable dolls old ladies buy and display in their china cabinets. Though it was a very entertaining show, the costumesque looks did not appear (thankfully) on any of the other runways.

There was quite a wide array of looks from show to show. Pat McDonagh was a fur extravaganza. The paint throwing must have happened before the show because her neon blue fox fur stole was anything but natural. There was a collective gasp in the audience when that poor dead fox came out. I had my camera ready, waiting to capture the outcry, but alas, it never happened.

David Dixon’s collection had beautiful fitted jackets with feathery blouses and skirts, but seemed to get stuck on some shiny blue fabric with velvet overlay that reminded me of curtains or old lady wear. The big event of the week in my opinion was Andy Thê-Anh’s collection. If I was single, I would propose. The swingy skirts with lace trim, delicately ruffled blouses, and the fur coat with long feathers, were absolutely gorgeous. The dresses were perfection as I’ve come to expect from dear Andy. Pink Tartan put on a great show, which actually included pink tartan! The collection was hip and totally wearable. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take in all of the shows thanks to some grueling school assignments so I know I missed some of the greats.

Overall, some gorgeous looks for fall 2006. I noticed some definite trends which I will divulge to you: tapered pants, cinched waists with thick belts, a higher waistline in general, a lot of neutrals: charcoal, beige, brown, peppered with rich purples and greens… all in all, a feminine, fitted silhouette. Makeup was not surprisingly all about smoky eyes and a strong red lip ala Grace Kelly.