Montreal.Fashion.Week.Spring.2012

Montreal Fashion Week #21: Spring.Summer.2011


Here we go again, the fashion jungle is meeting up for a jammed 4 days to present the new ideas, trends & design for the Spring.Summer.2012 season. Felt like it was just yesterday that I covered the 20th edition of Montreal Fashion Week. How time flies!

I will not be attending all the shows this season as I have selected a few that I particularly wanted to see. Others, which I also wanted to see but wont be able to attend due to scheduling conflict, will be followed closely through tweets, pictures, articles and blog entries from the full-on coverage Montreal Fashion Week gets locally from our great fashion bloggers, media's and so forth.

Looking forward to seeing the great fashion on the catwalk as well as from the many attendees. As you know, the fashion crowds prepare their outfits (yes, because there are many different one involved) weeks in advance! Fashionista's and Fashionisto's can go wild with their outfits and will probably be praised for it. It's all in good fun & is part of the whole experience.

Hope you will follow me all throughout this week of tweets, pictures and post on all that is fashion in Montreal. This season, I will be collaborating with photographer Rouge-Photo as he will be joining me throughout the week in sharing the vibe and pulse of Montreal Fashion Week by taking pictures of everything interesting and noteworthy to me. I have previously spoken about his work in my blog. Check it out here.

It begins on Tuesday...stay tuned.

-The.Shoe.Freak

For more information on Montreal's fashion week, designer bios, schedules & venues, events, & much more, go to their website at http://montrealfashionweek.ca

Traveling.For.Fashion

The perks of working in the fashion industry is without a doubt the traveling one must do around the world. As a designer, it is important to stay inspired and focused. Traveling allows all of that as it provides great discoveries, as well as enriches the mind with different ways of life, cultures and so forth. This, therefore, keeps the creative side flowing and nurtured.

This week, I will be traveling for work, again. My destination: Europe & more precisely, London and Paris. This trip will definitely help in my creative process for my work. But also, it will give me many things to blog about when I get be back. I am quite sure I will back with tons of new ideas and inspired to the fullest.

Until then, I leave you guys with some pictures of what is synonymous of fashion for both London and Paris.

-London:

(Luxury.Department.Stores: Selfridges.&.Harrods)

(Designers: Burberry.&.Stella.McCartney)

-Paris:

(Luxury.Department.Stores: Galeries.Lafayette.&.Au.Printemps)

(Designers: Christian.Dior.&.Chanel)

P.S: Excuse me for the lack of post while I am away. No worries though, I will be back with plenty to share with you all.

-The.Shoe.Freak

Men.Fashion.Trend: Skirts

My latest article for Your Kloset talks about an emerging trend in Men fashion; the skirt. After the overwhelming response to my article (which you can read here), I decided to further discuss this trend on my blog.

Yes, skirts have made their seldom appearance in prior seasons (mostly kilt-looking & inspired), but nothing like Spring 2012 where some collections presented had as many skirt options as pants, and in some cases, full-on skirt collections. As mentioned in my article, skirts have always been predominantly a womenswear staple, however trendsetting designers are pushing forward the notion of a masculine man wearing them, pushing the boundaries by playing with length and fit. And the variation in detailing & silhouettes was astonishingly different and fresh for Spring 2012.

Rick Owens, for instance, showed a floor length, figure-hugging dress-like skirt in an almost skirt-only collection, while others like Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy collection as well as Thom Browne showed above the knee, wide width, almost kilt-like versions, playing with patterns and textures. Volume, flow and movement, terms usually employed in women's fashion, were predominant at Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake.

(Patterns.at.Thom.Browne/Givenchy/Yohji.Yamamoto)

(Long.Ankle.Length.at.Rick.Owens/Yohji.Yamamoto/Damir.Doma)

(Knee.Length.at.Givenchy/Comme.des.Garcons/Givenchy)

In all honesty, even I am having a hard time keeping a straight face on while trying to describe the different design components and their variations designers used as this trend is only at a beginning stage of what fashion normally calls a trend. Again, we have seen the skirt in menswear before, but nothing like the onslaught for Spring 2012, hence calling it a "trend". I am quite sure that it will still take a bit of time for the world to embrace terms like a-line, pencil, pleated or flared skirts when describing updates and changes to the men skirt, if the trend takes on of course!

All kidding aside, do you think the men skirt is here to stay or is it just a one season figment of a (many) designer's imagination? I would really love to hear your opinions, comments and feedback on this subject.

But for now, Men, you better start shaving those legs! ;)

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: Gq.com/Style.com)

My.Fashion.Wishlist: SSENSE.COM

Ok, I have to admit, I have an obsession with shopping on great Montreal-based luxury retailer SSENSE.COM. Every beginning of a new season, I make it a must to go check out their new offerings and every single time, I get sucked in by their amazing choices of luxury brands as well as affordable fashion brands. Always at the forefront of fashion and trends, they only offer the best of what is out there. However, this is not really good for my wallet and bank account as quality design does not come cheap.

I have already scanned the site for what I would want (but won't necessarily get, as you will see at the end of the post) and this is only the beginning, as they've only begun receiving their Fall-Winter merchandise for 2011-2012; hence calling this post my Pre-Fall Wish List.

Without further ado, here is my Pre.Fall.Fashion.Wish.List.from.SSENSE.COM:



The price tag of such a wish list? $19,355 Cdn (without taxes) ...Yes, you heard right! As you can see, my taste does not come cheap. But rest assure, it is only a Wish List, nothing more. But hey, if anyone of you guys out there would like to get me something, now you know what I would want! ;)

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: ssense.com)

Bags.Of.The.Day.Fall

Fall is knocking at our doorsteps folks. It is already time to showcase the Fall/Winter 2011-2012 items that will make us go dig in our savings. Yes I know, Summer is not over yet, but as you know, Fashion is a fast industry and stores are already merchandising their new offerings for the up-coming season.

And since I am in a very "handbag" mood these past few weeks, I decided to showcase bags as my first complete Fall segment. As my bank account can attest, bags have been the majority of my purchases these past few months. I have purchased at least 5 new men handbags recently, from shoppers to duffle and everything else in between. It is safe to say that handbags have become my new addiction-my poor bank account! But with choices like the ones you will see above, how can you resist really?

Here are my choices for Bags.Of.The.Day:

-Ladies.Bag.Of.The.Day

(Tory.Burch.Fall.2011)

Who: Tory Burch
What: 'Bond' plaid Shoulder Bag
Why: The new "it" shape in womenswear for bags is certainly the boxy shape. What I love about this Tory Burch bag is its play with the season's of-the-moment print, plaid and its derivation; an interesting Mix of plaid and herringbone, with leather trimming that complete the mix. Also love the soft colors used for colorblocking and detailing that do not over-power this already charged bag. Yet it all seem to work well together. A perfect fall bag for everyday use. Swoon ladies!
How Much: $465 Us (@toryburch.com)

-Mens.Bag.Of.The.Day

(Dolce.Gabbana.Fall.2011)

Who: Dolce & Gabbana
What: Tartan and Calfskin shopper
Why: The new trendy shape for men these past few seasons is the shopper bag. Here, Dolce & Gabbana add a fun twist by using a mix of fabric, calfskin and wool, and a classic red tartan pattern to jazz up the usually simple shape. I love the touch of red, and the detailing is subdued for the usually out there Dolce Gabbana fashion (only the classic Dolce & Gabbana gold hardware is used here). Great all round bag for the city-modern man. Love it!
How Much: $750 Cdn (@luisaviaroma.com)

Would you wear/buy these bags?

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: toryburch.com/luisaviaroma.com)

Haute.Couture.Fall.2011

The Haute Couture season for Fall 2011 just ended in Paris and in honor of the incredible body of work I have seen this week, I have decided to share with you my favorite pieces and looks from the extraordinary designers and their stunning work.

As a designer, Haute Couture is what you dream of; the fairy tale, the exquisite workmanship, the breathtaking one-of-a-kind pieces. Every year, the debate on Haute Couture's relevance and imminent death rages on, yet, every season designers (only a handful, sadly) keep sending out masterful work of art. In fact, you can read my article on this subject for YourKloset.com here.

Lets see some of my favorite Haute Couture pieces from the Fall 2011 season.



What were your favorite showstopping piece(s) of the Fall 2011 Couture season?

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: style.com/fashionising.com)

Fashion.Cities: London

Last Month, I traveled to London for business. It was the first time I got to travel to this amazing city. As a fashion lover, I was extremely excited to visit this great fashionable and trendsetting city, especially since London is known as one of the avant-garde capital fashion and design cities of the world. In my mind, I had many Posts already written for my blog, as well as many ideas and things I wanted to discover and take pictures of. However, since my visit was very short, and concentrated on the work I had to do there, I wasn't able to fully grasp everything I thought of for my blog, nor take any pictures. Therefore, I thought I would present a few London and/or UK-based designers/brands to you guys instead. I am sure you know many of them already, but it is important to showcase their impressive contribution to fashion.

Here are My.Top.10.British.Designers.or.Brands:

1-Alexander McQueen (Creative.Director: Sarah.Burton)


2-John Galliano


3-Burberry Prorsum (Creative.Director: Christoper.Bailey)


4-Stella McCartney


5-Phoebe Philo (Creative.Director.at.the.French.House.Celine)


6-Vivienne Westwood


7-Gareth Pugh


8-Mulberry (Creative.Director: Emma.Hill)


9-Christopher Kane


10-Marchesa (Creative.Directors: Karen.Craig.&.Georgina.Chapman)


***Notable.Mentions:

11-Jenny Packham


12-Jonathan Saunders


13-Paul Smith


14-Nicholas Kirkwood


15-Charlotte Olympia


16-Julien MacDonald


17-Giles Deacon


18-Matthew Williamson


19-Thom Browne


20-Temperley London


And the list goes on and on as many more designers are making waves on the international scene. As you can see, London has a great pool of amazingly talented designers and established brands and fashion houses that compete in the luxury brand category in fashion. The aesthetic of London fashion is a mix of British bourgeoisie mixed with vintage inspiration and eclectic punk rebellion and avant-garde fashion. What a mix, but that is London for you, a beautiful and intriguing melange that is not seen anywhere else! I can't wait to go back already!

What are your favorites London-based (or UK-based) designers?

-The.Shoe.Freak

(source: style.com/elle.com/nicholaskirkwood.com/charlotteolympia.com)