LGFW: (My) First Day at Toronto Fashion Week

On Wednesday morning I headed out bright and early on the train to Toronto to see some shows at LG Fashion Week. I got settled in at the Inn I was staying at, did a wee bit of shopping and then headed to the venue to pick up tickets and see the shows of the day.

I thought I might be a bit too late for the first show I wanted to see, but luckily I was just in the nick of time to see the presentation from Marie St. Pierre, a Montreal based designer showcasing her spring lineup. St. Pierre featured mostly easily flowing dresses with a very relaxed vibe in variations of black and white, with two major pops of colour in (my personal favourite) a floor-length red number as well as an emerald draped dress.  Not too sure if I'll be going for the swim cap look this spring, but there were lots of easy wearable pieces among this collection.

Next up was Klaxon Howl, a menswear line that I was (for obvious reasons) a little less familiar with. Lucky for me I got bumped up to the seats normally set aside for Elle Canada since a number of the reserved media folk didn't make it to this show - but I wasn't complaining! I was able to get a few good shots of the looks as the fellows sauntered past. Mostly very well tailored pieces that I could actually picture some of the guys I know looking quite nice in.

As a last aside on this show - if you follow me on twitter, you'll know that there is one male model who seems to get cast in every runway show featuring men during this and past Toronto Fashion weeks - and I find him so creepy (see what I mean here)! I had to laugh because he was one of the gentlemen walking the runway in this show - you can sort of see him in this picture, he's the fellow with the long flowing hair. Oh dear. To his credit, far less creepy in this show than in others.

Next up was the presentation from Label. These are not actually my photos  (these are from Fashion, below are from the FDCC FB Page), I was unable to get any good ones, namely because the show was set up like a runway show although there was no seating, so people crowded around trying to get a look and so I mostly peeked between heads and over shoulders to glimpse the garments. It wasn't until later when I looked through the lookbook pamphlet they handed us that I was really able to evaluate what I'd seen.

The colour palette was mostly soft - mauves and greys but also incorporated one of my favourites - teal.  I particularly liked the maxi skirts, seen below in sheer and solid versions, although my favourite piece was probably the lone print dress.

 The centre photo above is a strange one, because it combines one of my favourite pieces, the blouse, with one of my least favourites - those pants. Perhaps it is a personal taste thing but I can't imagine many women looking good in those super-skin-tight silver leggings. The collection overall though was very wearable. I thought perhaps that it didn't have the drama needed for a runway show and may have been better suited to a presentation style, but that's just me.

The last show I got to see was, wait for it, a rug show. That's right, floor coverings. I almost didn't go to this one, because I thought it seemed a bit of a strange idea and I'm not that enthusiastic about rugs in general, but I'm glad I went because it was definitely ... interesting.  Essentially what happened was that the rugs produced by Korhani were turned into "wearable" outfits that could actually have runway presence rather than just being presented in a large frame (as some of them were around the venue).

It started off with a theme of travel and different cultures, from the desert to the beach and beyond, but just when we thought the show was over, all of a sudden we were transported to ... wonderland? A major switch to a totally different theme, and models came out in characters from Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and even Spades - like actual spades (all you could see of the models were spandex-clad legs and red heels).  Quite a shift in mood to say the least, but Korhani certainly kept us on our toes - who knew rugs could be so exciting?

After a quick but enjoyable dinner with the fabulous Isabel of Hipster Musings - the last show of the night that I wanted to see - Joe Fresh, ended up being quite a debacle. You can expect a full post devoted to that collection (which I loved) and the story of a major misstep by organizers coming up very soon.

You can see all of my shots from Wednesday's shows via the Lot 65 FB page. Take a look - I'd love to hear your thoughts on the shows!