So fresh and so clean

"I don't see why people make such a big fuss about $3 hot pants and $5 shirts" said the man sitting beside me waiting for the Joe Fresh Style show to start. Ah, Canadians can by so cynical about their designers, even when those designers are successful.

Last night I went see the show at LG Fashion Week in Toronto, which moved locations from City Hall to a bigger venue at 1030 King Street West which is great because the streetcar picks me up right in front of my building and takes me straight to the tents. Less walking is a good thing because I was wearing super high heels and I don't think my feet could have taken a lot of walking before all the waiting around I was about to endure.

When I stepped inside the tents all I could see was a sea of black. I swear I was the only one wearing colour (red) aside from a couple of volunteers who were wearing fuschia tights.
Women were wearing boyfriend jackets, leggings, booties, leather jackets and cute purses. Men wore well-cut suits, bow-ties, Oxfords and skinny pants. I felt that the fashionistas had a better turn out style-wise this year than in past seasons.

Here's who I spotted: Heatherette designer Richie Rich chatting up Jeanne Beker; model and Canada's Next Top Model judge Stacey McKenzie; Degrassi: The Next Generation actor Adamo Ruggiero (aka Marco); National Post gossip-hound Shinan Govani, Ben Mulroney and actress Kristin Booth.

The show started about 25 minutes late and my feet were hurting so much that I almost considered turning around and leaving, but thank God I didn't because it was such a fun show.

I knew it would be a cheeky, fun show when Theodora Richards (daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards) came prancing down the runway. Richards stumbled right near the beginning, kicked off her shoe, made a *oops! Oh well, I'm hot!* face and kept on shaking her hips.

The clothes were sexy; butt cheek-skimming mini-dresses, short-shorts, body-con dresses and fishnet knee-length stockings made appearances. You would have to be young (or seriously fit) to wear these.

The theme was underwear as outerwear; with bras sewn on top of blouses, bloomers and high-waisted undies-as-shorts. Sheer blouses also made an appearance.

For those who don't want to show off their backside, there were also boyfriend shirts-as-dresses in white and blue.

The really cute stuff were the pleated knee-length skirts and the blouses with rosettes in shades of lemon yellow and light pink.

The colours for the first half were white, light blue and beige. Then it moved on to yellow and pink.

The men also had some great selections with leather brogues, cardigans, tennis shorts and gingham bloomers and blazers.

Accessories were kept to a minimum but the small saddle bags were very cute. Unfortunately for shoe-lovers, Joseph Mimran pulled a Karl Lagerfeld a la Chanel and used clogs. Clogs are not sexy, not even while wearing Chanel.

It was a young, cool and fun collection and I can't wait to try on the clothes when they hit the shelves.

Me wearing a vintage blazer, a sequined minidress from H&M, cuffs from Forever 21 and tartan shoes from Winners.

Theodora Richards flouncing down the runway after kicking off her shoes

I see London, I see France...
I want this trench coat.





Theodora makes a dramatic exit.


For photos of the complete collection go here

L'Oreal Fashion Week: Joe Fresh Style

I have been so busy with work and all the fashion shows that I've had no time to update this blog as often as I would like. I hope that will change now that fashion week is over!

But now it's time to talk about fashion week.

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Fresh Style designer, Joseph Mimran. We talked a lot about what our bad economy means for his label and how he factors Canada's economic situation when he thinks about the clothes he designs.

We also talked about the lack of diversity on the runway as well as the future of Canadian fashion. Joe is very articulate and well informed of world events; he doesn't live in a fashion bubble although it is obvious that he cares very deeply for fashion and Canadian fashion in particular.

I got to interview him while the models were doing the run-through for the show that night so it was really cool seeing how a show gets put together. There were a few models who needed a lot of work in terms of their walk; a couple were walking too slowly during the finale walk and I could tell the coordinators were a bit frustrated. That's one thing that irritated me a bit while watching all the shows; the fact that the models aren't the greatest walkers. There were quite a few slow ones, as well as those who flapped their arms awkwardly and then those who were too stiff. These girls need more practice.

Joe decided to cast an all-Canadian model roster and he told me he thinks Canadian models are the best in the world, citing Coco Rocha (who opened for him last season) as one of his favourites.

About the show:

Joe focused on meditation and relaxing, playing Dr. Andrew Wheeler's meditative tape before the models walked. The lights went out, and a soothing voice told the pumped up audience to close their eyes and breathe slowly. It was a nice change of pace from the usual hectic goings-on at fashion week.

The clothes:

This was a very sporty collection full of shorts (nylon, boxer and terry,) striped tees, taffeta blazers, yoga pants, leather brogues and clear pvc totes and belts. The glasses were large and see-through à la Balenciaga Spring 2007.

The clothes fit loosely but you could still see shape. This is a woman going for a stylish stroll on the Boardwalk. Men wore bow-ties (love the Chuck Bass reference), wool sweaters, button-up knit blazers, boxing shorts and slim pants.

There were very pretty blouses with ruffled shoulders, ruched peacoats, nylonbubble skirts and dhoti pants for the very adventurous.

Most of the colours were neutral; black and white; with some bright dashes of yellow and green. Some pastel lilac was thrown in.

My favorite piece was a gorgeous long green shift dress that just floated around the model.
Most of these pieces are very easy to wear, even for us non-models. Joe made an interesting comment to me about the runway; he told me it's not real, that it's not meant to reflect real people. We were talking about the lack of ethnic people, but I found this poignant coming from a man who designs affordable clothes that are meant to be sold to "real" women.

I think Joe accomplished what he set out to do: He created classic, affordable clothes that are well-designed but not too innovative.

Spotted in the front row: Dan Levy and Jessie, the hosts of the After Show in MTV Canada. Also model/Canada's Next Top Model judge, Stacey McKenzie, showing off her gorgeous, long legs.