A Final LGFW Roundup

This last post doesn't feature the complete roster of designers who showed during the remainder of LG Fashion week in Toronto, but you can see a few that caught my eye (for both good and bad reasons, although mostly good). It was a pretty great week for Canadian fashion, have to say - want to know more? Read on.

This collection from Juma presented earlier in the week but somehow managed to slip past me when I was doing my Tuesday post. There were tribal prints and soft kerchief-esque dresses and flowing shapes. This was also one of the few lines to incorporate menswear too (with one particular eerily androgynous male model). I personally loved this collection, especially all the prints. You can check out the rest of the collection here.

At Vawk (from Project Runway Canada alum, Sunny Fong), there were a lot of business-like staples in neutrals with pops of rich burgundy and teal (my favourite colour), interspersed with touches of fur (I think real, in this case). Fur isn't my thing, but I loved the cable-knit details on dresses and blazers, as well as the really pretty hair. Does anyone have a better detail shot of it? If so, please send my way! I would love to try to copy it.

Unlike the knitwear monstrosities that walked Denis Gagnon's runway mentioned in my last LGFW post, the knits from OR by Angela Chen were something that I can (and will) totally get behind. They were unique and eminently wearable. I particularly loved her knit skirts. How chic and cozy! Seems like the perfect thing to wear on a cold Canadian winter day, in my opinion. I'll be on the lookout for them to add to my 2011 winter wardrobe, for sure.

Another favourite for me was the collection from Line Knitwear. I loved the layered looks, it reminded me of something one of the chic older ladies from Advanced Style might throw together, (see especially that mustard crochet cardigan - far left) and that her granddaughter might just as easily want to borrow from Grandma's closet. I think my personal favourites were the full length crochet dresses in various colours. So pretty and perfect for fall.

I have to once again agree with the folks at Fashion - Amanda Lew Kee's fall collection started out with promise. Pretty velvet pencil skirts (although I'd take mine with the slit a little lower down, not SO much leg), some leather and surprisingly subtle studded trousers, but then, wait for it (LGFW "face-palm" moment coming up below)...

She then delved into wrapping paper, tinsel, and the kind of sheer that can only really be described as gratuitous boob, although hidden in some cases by awkward ruffles or flowers. It just got worse and worse until I was wishing I had the first few models re-walking the runway and reminding me that there were some actually sophisticated pieces to start off with. Personally I don't think that the wrapping paper (or as so elegantly described by Caitlan Moneta - "gasoline-spill iridescent foil aprons") and tinsel will be catching on for fall.  See the rest of this collection here.

Last but certainly not least, the collection I'd been waiting for with baited breath all week, the fall line from Sarah Stevenson. Those of you who have been following for a while may recall my post on her spring line during the last fashion week in Toronto. I fell in love then with her amazing prints, and was also excited and pleased to learn that all of her pieces are ethically made here in Canada. Needless to say the Fall lineup did not disappoint, it stands out as one of my favourites of the whole week, hands down.

There were such romantic colours, shapes, and floral prints, I had a hard time picking out just a few favourites from the collection (actually most of it is featured here, although you can check out the remaining looks here). I think my top two looks from Stevenson's line were the opening long sleeved blue dress, as well as the t-shirt sleeved dress with the floral skirt (above right). I look forward to the day that these dreamy garments find their way to either Holt's or some other retailer here in Ottawa. Beauty!

Overall, while there may have been a few misses, but there were definitely a lot of hits on the runways in Toronto, and I am excited to see (and shop) these looks towards summer's end.  You can check out full (and seriously great) coverage of these and all the other shows from LGFW via Fashion Magazine.  What were some of your favourites from this past week's fashion?

All photos by Jenna Marie Waikani of Fashion Magazine, collages by me