Bustle puts on a hopping show with Rick Mercer, Shinan Govani and Stacy McKenzie

Bustle puts on a hopping show with Rick Mercer, Shinan Govani and Stacy McKenzie

Rick Mercer on the catwalk for the Bustle show (Photo by Jenna Marie Wakani)

Who says Canadians don’t appreciate their own celebs? With cameos from Rick Mercer, gossip columnist Shinan Govani and model Stacey McKenzie, last night’s Bustle show was the highlight of the evening.

Set up on the Bustle runway was a large wicker lounge chair, a drink cart, bar and barbecues. Govani tended bar, with Mercer behind the barbecue. What fun, we thought, and then remembered that we were there to look at the clothes.

Though it was an Ontario lake scene projected onto the back wall, the Hamptons was the clear reference. We watched the male models strutting in preppy shorts and blazers but were distracted by a bikini-clad McKenzie wheeling the drink cart down the runway and handing caesars to front-row spectators. At one point, she licked a celery stalk and popped it into the mouth of an unsuspecting man. Funny, yes, but what about the clothes? There were polos and shorts, cardigans and plaid shirts, all in saturated hues of raspberry, purple, red and teal with pops of white. The blazers were oh-so Chuck Bass (in a good way), and the hoodies were very American Apparel (in a boring way).

As a finale, Mercer and McKenzie stomped down the aisle together. After his turn at the end of the catwalk, Mercer removed his blazer and flung it over the shoulder. The room squealed, and designers Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow received a standing ovation—and believe us, it wasn’t for the clothes.

See photos of the entire collection below.