Toronto Fashion Week: leopard print and a “model-go-round” at Evan Biddell’s spring/summer 2013 show

Toronto Fashion Week runs from October 22 to 26, in a large—and stylishly appointed—tent at David Pecaut Square. We’re posting full galleries from the buzziest runways. It’s time to forget about the chilly weather and imagine what life (or at least fashion) will be like in spring/summer 2013.

DESIGNER
Evan Biddell

IN A SENTENCE Biddell made his reputation by winning Project Runway Canada in 2007, and cemented it in the five years since with conceptual garments featuring over-the-top silhouettes and eye-popping patterns.

THE SCENE Guests wearing wellies (very atypical fashion week footwear) to protect from the grey weather tracked wet leaves onto the runway—luckily, Rock-It Promo head honcho Debra Goldblatt was around to push them off with her clipboard. There were a couple of departures from the typical runway show format: Biddell opted to start things off with a fashion film (which several guests further down the row craned to see), and then had his models continue to trot up and down the runway in what one fashion writer wittily dubbed a “model-go-round.”

THE COLLECTION Prints are everywhere in this collection, with leopard and pops of purple peacock feathers on maxi dresses, and a bold Andy Warhol-esque pop-art gown with a low cowl neck (plus opera length gloves). Biddell’s voluminous bubble dresses and ball gown seem to defy gravity with elaborate tailoring techniques. He also plays with texture, making use of fringe, green velvet and sheer black lace overlays.

BEST PIECES The dress with an exposed zipper back, sheer black overlay and the same bubbly silhouette seen throughout the collection is a perfect party frock. We also love the low-backed leopard and peacock print dress with long sleeves, which is tastefully revealing.