Can Arthur Mendonça make patent leather glamorous and sexy for fall/winter 2012?

Though Arthur Mendonça’s show was at 4 p.m. on a Friday of a very long Toronto Fashion Week, his team of cheerleaders, like Pink Tartan’s Kimberley Newport-Mimran (with daughter Jacqui in tow), Stacey McKenzie (who had a near wardrobe malfunction in a low-cut blazer), the Bay’s Nicholas Mellamphy and a late-arriving Jully Black (who had to have the front row squish in to accommodate her), all came to check out this season’s wares.

Click here to see Arthur Mendonça’s complete fall/winter 2012 collection »

Mendonça’s collection featured patent leather fairly consistently, seen in magenta and cognac trench coats, a silk crepe de Chine gown with patent accents on the chest, pants, tops and llama wool jackets—although we thought the Mendonça woman would never be the type to shop at Yonge Street sex shop Seduction, the high gloss stockings and gloves models wore were certainly sourced from there. Our favourite looks were soft llama wool jackets that looked like fur, lacy dresses in floral prints that looked almost like slips, and an acid yellow knee-length dress with full sleeves. We thought the pink, silvery hue seen on some full dresses was a bit too much (more suited to attending prom in 1983), but it worked much better as an accent, split up on a dress with a black bodice, and a long plum-coloured evening gown. Mendonça’s effortlessly glamorous style has always been sexy, and now, it’s a little bit shiny too.