The best-dressed guests at a swanky dinner honouring Elton John

On May 9, honorary Canadian Elton John was in town to receive one of the country’s highest distinctions: the Glenn Gould Prize, a lifetime achievement award that also counts Leonard Cohen and Oscar Peterson among its distinguished alumni. In a lively ceremony hosted by Will & Grace actor Eric McCormack, musicians like Sarah McLachlan, Jeremy Dutcher, the Beaches and Diana Krall performed emotional tributes to the Rocket Man. While accepting the prize, John held up the bronze statuette and quipped, “Years ago, I’d be doing cocaine off of this.” The evening before, an exclusive group of 150 of the city’s most glamorous citizens gathered at Estiatorio Milos in appropriately shiny outfits to toast John’s multi-platinum seven-decade career. We were there to select the best-dressed guests of the evening.

Eric McCormack, actor

“I’m wearing black suede boots that I bought in London. The jacket is a very cool piece I got from John Varvatos last year. I was planning on wearing a nice light suit, then I remembered that southern Ontario doesn’t get warm until July. I actually bought the jacket last year for an event with Bernie Taupin, so it’s come full circle.”

Susan Farrow Hutcheson, volunteer

“I bought this dress at 100% Silk on Dupont. It’s by the designer Julia Heuer—they have her whole collection there. I chose this one because I thought, This looks like an Elton John dress. It’s very over the top. The silhouette is interesting and bold—plus it has pockets.”

Colleen Hixenbaugh, tour manager, and her husband, Ron Sexsmith, musician

Colleen: “It’s fun to have an excuse to dress up and put on a little colour. As a tour manager, I usually look like a ninja in head-to-toe black. I went for rock ’n’ roll casual chic. I’m wearing one of Ron’s old jackets that he doesn’t wear anymore, so I stole it. My shoes are Converse—they finally got the memo that us old folks from the original Converse generation need arch support.”

Ron: “Colleen bought this jacket for me. I really don’t know how to dress. I’m not a fashionista. I was really excited to wear a different pair of pants, but when I arrived yesterday, I realized I left them at home, so I had to go out and buy new pants.”

Suzie Lanthier, lawyer

“My entire outfit is thrifted. The inspiration was a velvet jacket, for Elton John, which I embellished with vintage brooches, including a music note. I actually found the sparkly silver loafers at a thrift store last year, and they reminded me of Elton John at the time, so I knew I had to wear them to this event. I paired it all with a taffeta skirt.”

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Shirley Kouri, caterer

“I’m wearing a dress that was custom-made for me by Toronto designer Narces. I buy a lot of their dresses. I haven’t had the opportunity to wear it yet, and I figured this was the perfect occasion. I’m still getting used to the ostrich feathers. They’re very light and thankfully haven’t gotten in my way yet.”

Sue Conder, fitness instructor

“This dress is very comfortable. It looks fancy, but it’s very easy to wear. I had to pick something sparkly because Elton always razzles and dazzles. The last time I wore it was actually to Elton’s AIDS foundation’s Oscars party. My shoes are INC, and they’re surprisingly comfortable too. "

Christopher Randall, vice-president of marketing and promotion for Zoomer Radio

“I was the president of the Elton John fan club for seven years. I was going to go all out and wear glasses, but I thought that would be a little tacky. This is my Elton John jacket. I bought it at a Halloween party store on Spadina. I have a matching bow tie, but I decided the outfit didn’t need it. I wore this to an Elton John tribute show at Meridian Hall several years ago—that time I wore the glasses.”

Dana Levy, periodontist

“I normally dress very conservative, but because it’s Elton John, I wanted to go flamboyant tonight. This sequin skirt is from Zara. I’m a picky shopper, but I have a great stylist, my daughter, and she told me to get this skirt. My shoes are Gucci, which I’ve had for many years. They’re timeless.”

Erin Borgfjord, director of marketing

“I rented this dress at Fitzroy two hours ago. My boyfriend is sponsoring the event, and when I realized we were going to be sitting at the same table as Elton John, I had to upgrade my dress. The woman who helped me was an opera singer who loves Glenn Gould, so she convinced me to wear gold.”

Nil Köksal, co-host of As It Happens

“It’s actually a top and skirt made from green sequins by a brand called Saint Art, which I learned about online. I had to take it to a tailor because everything I own needs to be altered. The lavender cape is by Marina Moscone. I almost didn’t wear it, but I’m glad I did given the chilly weather. I felt a bit like an alien wearing it when I was walking down Wellington Street on my way here.”

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Peter Senst, president at CBRE, and Heather Senst, psychotherapist

Heather: “I got this shirt at an Elton John concert probably a decade ago. I love Elton—my very first 45 was by Elton John, and to this day ‘Crocodile Rock’ is probably one of the only songs I know all the words to. I wanted to look like a rock star.”

Avril Helbig, director of development at the Glenn Gould Foundation

“When I was trying to find a dress for the occasion, nothing really appealed to me, so I just pieced together some vintage stuff. The shoes are Fluevogs—they were a gift from my kids. I knew there would be a lot of people in spectacular dresses here, so I chose white to reflect a little bit of the light.”