I produced a video! (But more like stood around and let Eva Michon's and Calla Haynes' magic unfold)

Hi friends! Look what I did(nt)! Recently, I started an amazing video series on FASHION's site, featuring weekly collabs between up and coming Canadian designers and directors. First up, the amazingly awesome director/magazine editor-in-chief Eva Michon channeled Melancholia, and oddly this scene from Something's Got to Give with Calla's beauty of a Spring 2012 collection. To get 'er done, a bunch of us, including stylist Richard Autio and model Devon Owens, holed up in a Forest Hill mansion blowing balloons, eating candy, and umm... filming. Have a peek and tell me you love it. Because I already know you do.

A great quote from the great Patti Smith

On her new album:

"I just want it to come out, to be a surprise, a magical experience. I liked standing in line for a couple of hours trying to get 'Blonde on Blonde' and having no idea what was going to be on it. I liked standing in line to see Psycho, having no idea what's going to happen except for the poster. That's the way I like it, and I try my best, even in the present culture, to present our work like that" -pulled from the winter issue of T Magazine

Babe of the Biweekly: Everyone in the new Beastie Boys video

Welcome back to Babe of the Biweekly, the far from biweekly section where I like to talk about my semi strange crushes on old men, ugly weirdos and the like. This week, I bring you the most babe infused 30 minutes (or 5 if you prefer the shortened version) of your/my life via the Beastie Boys' video for their new single "Make Some Noise."

The self-mocking parody mini movie has Elijah Wood (childhood crush babe) playing Ad-Rock (bad ass Jew babe), Seth Rogen (formerly fat Jew babe) playing Mike D (semi babe) and Danny McBride (ok, non babe) playing MCA (skinny/survivor babe) and just about everyone from Jason Schwartzman (big-nosed Jew megababe) to Steve Buscemi (ugly weirdo babe), Ted Danson (silver fox babe), Orlando Bloom (obvious babe), Will Arnett (another obvious and also hilarious Gob-playing Toronto-born babe), David Cross (not really a babe but also Tobias Funke so all in all, babe) to Chloë Sevigny (ultimate girl crush babe) playing absurd bit parts.

Elijah Wood being in this little bit is especially tantalizing to me considering that I used to have the largest size pre-Frodo crush on him EVER from like grade 3-5. Like trading his posters for ones of J.T.T became what I was known and well liked for. (Those girls were idiots though, like how could this not give them a lady-boner? Zo zexy!) I saw him a few years ago at a gallery opening in New York and totally skeeved him out by telling him he was my first boyfriend. But hey, grade 4 was calling.

Elijah Wood as Ad-Rock. Babe x2.

Steve Buscemi as the angry curmudgeony waiter.Ted Danson as the host. The silver babealicious host.
Chloë Sevigny as an LSD'd-up groupie.

Will Arnett as the Wall Streeter.

Talent Scout: Lewis Mirrett

Hey folks! I know it's been a while.... actually a while doesn't begin to explain it but I promise there has been good reason. I've a new gig! Since January, I've taken over as the online editor of FASHION Magazine. Fashionmagazine.com to be exact, so I spose I've been funnelling all of my genius ideas and discoveries into that platform, and well that's just not fair! There have been loads of great posts in the last little while, but I wanted to share my favourite discovery so far... a budding photography student by the name of Lewis Mirrett.

Introduced to me by Susie Sheffman (FASHION's inimitable fashion director), I decided to give this kid a shot based on not much else but a gut instinct and boy am I glad I did. I've been over street style photos for a while, the sameness of the poses, the cropping, the copy catting... Lewis though, has breathed new life into the age old (and by that i mean minute old) style with his unbelievable eye for the details, his obsession with juicy colour editing and genuine passion. Check out some of my fave snaps below (the rest can be viewed HERE). Watch out for this one... I can tell you that. (Oh, and the gals in the first photo? That's my friend Sahar, you might remember as a former Kate Girl and Shirin, another amazing photog!)

Art Attack: Icons in the Making

Here in 2010, it's quite a simple matter to look back at the age of old and identify icons of style, screen and beyond. It's much muddier when you try to define what's special about now, though... don't you find? Yes of course, no one would argue the impact on mainstream culture of the likes of Lady Gaga, Facebook and so on, but do you really think of them in the same light as Marilyn Monroe, or the invention of Pop Art? It always seems so much cooler and more monumental in hindsight.

In an attempt to draw a kind of parallel between the icons (or those in the making) of yesterday and today, the New York Times just put out, 14 Actors Acting, an amazing series of actors acting out iconic silver screen stereotypes. The hit man (Jesse Eisenberg), the aging mob boss (Michael Douglas) and the emotional crack(ing) up (Tilda Swinton) are all addressed as well as some of my favourites from Noomi Rapace, James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, Vincent Cassel and Natalie Portman below:

Even MORE Topshop in TO!

For those of y'all in the know Torontonians - aka all y'all - you're aware that Ossington flagship, Jonathan + Olivia has been the only Canadian stockist of Topshop merch for a while. Old news... I get it. Last Wednesday night though, J+O opened the floodgates to even more cheap n' cheerful coolness by launching the last Kate Moss for Topshop collab, Topman and the cuter than cute makeup line. As any aesthetically minded gal, I am a sucker for packaging, and these dotted and scribbled items are no different. Check out J+O's selection, before I buy it out. It might be real soon.
The Topshop Makeup Collection ranges from $12 - $75 at Jonathan + Olivia, 49 Ossington Ave.

It's a FASHION Party!

If you're in Canada and you feel like seeing my mug in print, pick up a copy of this month's FASHION Magazine (Winter 2011 issue, Taylor Swift is cover girl). I profiled 4 of the country's up and coming design talents. (who you've no doubt seen on this blog already): Rita Liefhebber, Thomas, Speech by Michael Mercanti and Carlie Wong.

The piece was cool on its own, but what really took it into radtown, was the portraits of three of the designers taken by Sean J. Sprague, my new FAVE photographer! Don't they all look like little angels? Or holy in cool factor?

I've scanned the piece for a bit of sneak peek but if you'd actually like to indulge (me) and read the words, you'll have to pick up a copy... yay!

Art Attack: Cecil Beaton's Other Genius

Nowness - aka the best website on earth - has turned the focus back to one of the original geniuses of fashion photography, the one and only Cecil Beaton. Beaton, who is most famous for his capturing of each and every glamazon of his day, from Marilyn to Audrey to Queen Elizabeth, has now been bestowed with the title of ‘magical diary keeper’, by having his collaged inspirations compiled into a new Assouline title, The Art of the Scrapbook, available at the end of the month. I have no doubt that the vibrancy of these frozen moments in pop culture will utterly delight the senses (and certainly at $250 a pop, the book will be a lot more reasonable than trying to score copies of a similar collectible titles from the 50's, which I have been trying to acquire for a good 3 years now... )

Talk of the upcoming book brought me back to my first discovery of Beaton’s ‘other’ work, when my ‘in-training’ eye was first assaulted with the wildly imaginative images that hovered perfectly between the worlds of fashion and art – specifically Surrealism – that were so intermingled during his earlier days of the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.

One photo in particular stands out as my all-time Beaton fave: ‘The Soapsuds Group’ at The Living Posters Ball of 1930. Pictured at the left is the photographer’s sister and sometimes muse, Baba, along with her two friends, Wanda Baillie-Hamilton and Lady Bridget Poulett. As the title suggests, the three young debs are posing as soapsuds. Soapsuds in the most fantastical bathtub ever to be imagined, the three ephemeral beauties appear like archways which make way for the experimental future of The Factory, Exploding Plastic Inevitables et al, transforming rich girl portraiture into dreamy art. Magnifique, right?

Once More For the Cheap Seats: Lanvin x H&M

Hey guys! So there's something really special happening in the world of fashion right now, not sure of you've heard about it? Juuuuust kidding. You would have to have been living under a rock, or actually just dead, to not have heard about the MUCH anticipated Lanvin collection that Alber designed for H&M. Yes, yes... you know, I get it. What I'm glad to fill you in on then, is that after ogling the flowery party dresses, sexy skirts, furry jackets, crayola jewels and pointed heels in person last Wednesday at the AGO (thank you for the lovely parting tote/notebook/bow tie/lipstick by the by... best ever), I can honestly say that the crazy amount of buzz has not been misguided. The wham bam pieces are just amazing and you would envision. True to Lanvin sophistication, but every bit as fun as H&M always is.

The good news is that the collection will available in store in over 10 sleeps (November 20th to be exact). The bad news is that you'll actually have to spend one night not actually sleeping to get your hands on even one piece. Here's to the spiked hot cocoa!

Talent Scout: Pink Cobra Spring 2011

I guess it really doesn't count as really scooping unknown talent when one of your besties is widely known as one helluva talented babe. Not only is Tania Martins the badass designer behind Toronto-based label, Pink Cobra, but she also co-owns the Queen Street West fixture, Carte Blanche, which Pink is sold at. Major, right?

Tania’s been pretty swamped lately working on her Spring collection, of which her look book and video have just been released. Largely an ode to sexy cutouts, pastel colours and overall tightness, the collection has got a handle on what the cool kids want to wear, and what the modern women need to wear. A long time ago, Tania told me that I might have had something to with the inspiration behind one of the gals in the video, but now looking at it, I see that there is just no way I’m as cool as any of these gals. But it’s those gals who Tania designs for, and successfully at that, since she IS one of them. Oh and hey, they're who you want to be too.

Tommy Ton Says: Thom Browne's into women now...

With all of the hullabaloo of the Spring shows, I must have completely glazed over the fact that Thom Browne, aka. the world's dapper-ist gent in ultra cropped pants, has officially delved into womenswear. Like, woah! While the preview of Spring was not a super publicized dealio, Tommy Ton was lucky enough to snap some lovely preliminary shots. As you can see, Thom’s take on the ladies envelopes his signature upper crust quirk, with pops of primary colours, loads of pleating and heritage fabrics.

Here's what Tommy told me about the collection: “Those photos were taken during fashion week. He held a very private cocktail with friends wearing the clothes and then after they headed to dinner all decked out in collection. No press releases or anything were made. I was honored he asked me to come by and take a few snaps. His attention to detail is impeccable and I’m just as anxious as anybody else is to see how he'll translate his singular aesthetic to women's wear. The official launch will happen next season when he has his first women's show. This was only a teaser and he just wanted to develop it first. It’s incredibly well made and bespoke is the best word to describe it”

Well there you have it kids, from the megablogger/horse’s mouth himself! Until Fall…

The Latest Babealiciousness from Open Ocean

Oh hey remember when I told you about my friend Sarah Kuhn, and her band of multi talented fashion mega babes? Well, the Brooklyn-based Open Ocean's at it again, with their new video, Sink or Swim, directed by Sarah herself! (There's nothing she can't do. Really...) Anyways, give er a whirl. You'll thank me.

Toronto Takes Spring 2011, Part II

There’s a whole lot of coddling that goes on within the Toronto fashion scene. You know like, “well that was nice… for Toronto” or “she’s not trying to be the next Jean Paul Gaultier”. Maybe it’s actually not coddling, its just delusion. Or that good ole’ Canuck sense of scaredy-cat niceness? Either way, it basically makes me want to vom, and since I’d rather not send out some serious hate vibes on my blog after seeing The Social Network, (maybe I’m a little scaredy-cat myself?), thank god there were some killer shows to end the week on a high note.

The scene’s most notorious macabre draping non-brothers, Mikey and Drew Thomas, held their first official show, featuring quite an expanded collection of black and white (duh) separates that we were left to figure out – in the best way possible – as androgynous models seemed to glide by to creepy murder scene buildup music. The whole thing reminded me of the inner-Thomas-circle, especially one of their best gal pals, Sahar Nooraei, who kills it on asexuality, punk and sophistication all at the same time. My fave pieces were several of the long trompe l’oeil button downs which sewn together with partially hanging layers. The sleeves were in the back AND the front!

Rita Liehebber also showed for the first time during the official schedule, yet maintained a total grassroots feel by opting for a presentation on the runway, rather that parading down it. The sea swept collection of drip dyed tanks, throw-on dresses and holey knit vests were shown alongside yet another of Eva Michon’s videos, which this time featured ghostly reverses of a model’s face, which faded, into one another like a psychedelic trip.

Amanda Lew Kee was by far the biggest surprise hit of the week, who swapped her typical LBD meets Burton aesthetic for a light and airy collection of thinly layered peach and taupe dresses, leather minis and demi-suiting with metal details. Styled with a sky blue pout worn by models, the designer herself as well as friends and supporters, the whole thing had that je ne sais quoi feel that you just know is going to punctuate the season.

Holt Renfrew does Vreeland

Well, who would have thunk it. Holt Renfrew’s kickoff to official Toronto Fashion Week, touted as the week’s most patriotic, began with homage not to the maple leaf, but rather to one of America’s famed style icons, 1960’s Vogue Editor, Diana Vreeland. The show, which featured eight of the country’s hottest labels: Jeremy Laing, Pink Tartan, Mikhael Kale, Denis Gagnon, Line Runway, Smythe, Wayne Clark and Wings & Horns, began with a short film depicting the editrix in all her redredred glory, smoking a ciggie while delineating the future of fashion on her typewriter. The film, directed by Bad Day Magazine Editor, Eva Michon, was largely inspired by Vreeland’s legendary column, Why Don’t You, which featured a series of brilliant (if sometimes slightly insane) witticisms like “why don’t you have a yellow satin bed entirely quilted in butterflies?”

“The original inspiration for the video came from [Holt Renfrew Creative Director] John Gerhardt who has a profound appreciation for the amazing Diana Vreeland. It was incredibly fun to create her character with Fiona Green, who assembled an amazing wardrobe, and Claudine Baltazar, who turned my mother in-law, Francine Grainger into Mrs. Vreeland with the magic of a wig,” says Eva. Pretty wild, I’d say, but as anyone who would know from working with the ingenious (and charming, and debonair, and amazing, and blah blah blah) Gerhardt, the whimsical or bizarre is a natural starting point. “Francine was very easy to direct because she is already a very glamorous and fashionable woman. Her office was very fun to recreate too, my cinematographer, Rob Tagliaferri, and I had never shot so much red in a scene before,” she says. Go Eva! That’s what I say…

Toronto Takes Spring 2011, Part I

Fake Toronto Fashion Week, otherwise known as the week before the officially scheduled shows, kicked this season off with a series of calculated bangs, the biggest of which being The Room at The Bay’s British bonanza, celebrating eight of England’s finest designers, Giles Deacon, Erdem Moralioglu, Charlotte Olympia Dellal, Jonathan Saunders, Mark Fast, Marios Schwab, Mary Katrantzou and Nicholas Kirkwood, last Thursday night. The night, which was surely a thrill for anyone present, was especially titillating for me, considering my downright obsession with these designers! No, really!

I was covering the event for V Magazine (read up, folks!), but even if I hadn’t have been, you better bet that my creepy cornering of each designer one by one to fawn all over their collections, their talent and their general being would have happened anyways. I confessed to Erdem that I cried while style.com-ing his last collection to which he good-naturedly replied by questioning my sanity. Giles and I got to talking about squirrels, which of course, I thought, was an appropriate time to tell him that I had some living in my roof. “You better take care of those nasty buggers,” he said. “They’re vicious!” I had quite a lovely and lengthy chat with Mary Katrantzou, whom I worship like no other. I’d be convinced that we were best pals if I hadn’t been a) stepping on her bag all night and b) constantly alerting her to the fact that she was indeed, Mary Katrantzou. Oh and also! I didn't have smokes for Marios Schwab so what did he do? Found ME some!

I should add to this little blurby that I was not, contrary to the way it may seem, inebriated beyond repair. I was simply a little bubbled with a whole lot of wow wow wow stimulation! You believe me, right?

Earlier that night, I stopped by Ashley Rowe’s psychedelic themed presentation, which featured pairs of blissfully dazed models gliding around a candle lit bathtub against a dimly lit smoke-like projection. Like the most intense version of any day camp pastime, Rowe had tie dyed long and loose sweatshirts, t-shirts and dresses in a kaleidoscope of rainbow colours. Having gone through my own reappearing hippie phase earlier this year, I was shall we say, grooving off of Rowe’s overall vibe.

Not to be overshadowed, Philip Sparks made quite a few ladies smile with their eyes (get it? Tyra?) on Wednesday, when he launched his first foray into womenswear. Hip hip hooray! Appearing alongside his signature menswear, the mini collection was quite the literal translation of how the Sparks man would dress if he was a women: peppy, polished and punctuated with punches of laid back plaid. Perching vintage umbrellas at their shoulders, I couldn’t help but think that one of the models was going to break out in her rendition of Debbie Reynolds in Singin’ in the Rain. Full of well crafted and wearable pieces, Sparks’ first kick at the womenswear can gave the appearance of an already well oiled machine. Bravo!

Take Me to the Ballet Russes!

If I could pick any time period to live in, save for the sixties of course, it'd be Paris from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. To my mind, never has there been such an intermingling of creative forces all at the same time! Just think about it for a sec... within the span of 30 or so years, everyone from Schiaparelli to Cocteau, Matisse, Breton, Delaunay, Dali, Sartre and Man Ray (there are like 100 major movements to cover here) inhabited the same coffee houses, sidewalks, cinemas... the mere fantasy of it blows my mind. Just one of my favourite things going on in that span of time, was Sergei Diaghilev's famed Ballet Russes.

Completely revolutionary at the time, the vibrant, zig-zagging shots of colour and movement that encompassed everything from fauvism to cubism are still the most fascinating of any major company (that I know of at least!) Sets by Matisse and Picasso! Costumes by Chanel! Music by Stravinsky, Satie and my personal fave Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune! And let's not forget about the revolutionary dancing... Nijinsky playing both male and female leads, masturbating on stage, being ditched for Léonide Massine in Diaghilev's jealousy! Jesus, right?

The V&A just opened an exhibit on the Ballet, Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, which if you live in London, I’m sure you know all about! There will be some of the costumes, photos and drops that you see here plus loads more. I’m MAJOR jeals… so let a girl know how it is, will ya? For a sneak peek of the exhibit, check out the video below! For those of you who won't be able to make it, like this poor soul... check out the amazing documentary done a few years back, Ballet Russes which follows the trajectory of the group's history as well as features archived footage and interview with the groups youngest members (though most were only present for the Balanchine era). It's truly a delight.

Mariacarla's High Fashion Frolick

I lied when I said I’d never lift stuff off of other sites just for the sake of it. The truth is that I want to do it every time I check Nowness, which if you don’t know is probably the strongest most varied, unique and interesting sites out there today. No really, like the only place you can go to see something that you really won’t see anything else! Well anyways, Luca Guadagino and Alessio Bolzoni shot these images of Mariacarla Boscono frolicking around the gardens of a heritage home in the English countryside in the wears of Miu Miu, Chris Kane, YSL and blah blah blah. In short, I really really dig em.

Got Cardi?

There are some things that you want and there are some things that you need. As most of us fashion-inclined gals would know best, those two variables rarely meet. Well, lookey here! Meet Cardigan, the lovelier than lovely Brooklyn-based line of cozy knit umm… cardigans, designed by former Michael Kors and Derek Lam knitwear designer, Lynne Hiriak! Totes practical, riiiiiiight? As you might as well guess from the aesthetics of the aforementioned designers as well as the cool beach vid above, Lynne’s style is all about classic Americana: clean and simple with an element of luxe.

In case I’ve whet your appetite that you need to have one of Lynne’s creations like RIGHT NOW, head on over to the brand spanking new Cardigan online store and shop away! Feel free to stare at the male model while you’re there. I sure did (I swear he is a dead ringer for a boy I used to umm… know)

Art Attack: Opening Ceremony x Richard Saja

Opening Ceremony's latest design collab is actually not with a designer at all, rather it's with the amazing Brooklyn-based artist, Richard Saja. Known for his far-from-buby-like embroideries, Saja takes 1700's French printed toile and transforms the typically rococo scenery into vibrant graffitiesque visions. Essentially, he's re-painting the picture, post-milleniall style. For the collab, OC took Saja's designs and made them into rockin limited-edition Keds. If you ask me, Saja's work deserves quite a larger canvas, but hey, as long as you ain't stepping in puddles...

Let's all live dystopian... Aesthetically speaking

I reviewed the just-released film, Never Let Me Go, for V Magazine during TIFF. As you can read for yourself, I didn't like it all that much. Even though it starred two of my absolute faves, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, (I actually yelped when I found out they would be working together again), I found the film to be slightly vapid. I know it was intentional, but let's just say I shed nary a tear while watching them die. Anyways, getting back to the point. If this movie didn't involve tradge, death and robotic ends, I would want to live in it forever. Doesn't it look like an amazingly warm and fuzzy Gap ad? Like a trend forecast for everything you want to wear for the rest of your life?

If I didn't already ruin the film for you, read my real review!