/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Style

Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls

By Kevin Naulls
Copy link
Tania Martins is among Toronto’s hottest (Image: Supplied by Tania Martins)

Here at The Goods, we’re constantly trying to identify the hidden gems and big stars that make Toronto a competitive style centre. Turns out, there are quite a few of them. Beginning today, we’re generating a Hot List of all the mavens, tastemakers, designers, hopefuls and stalwarts who are worth watching. Today’s fiery inaugural personality is Tania Martins, designer for Pink Cobra and co-owner of Queen West’s Carte Blanche. See our full profile and gallery below.

Like any hard-working Torontonian, Martins is vulnerable—we assume to smog, apathy and the northwest corner of Queen and Bathurst—and she puts that into her designs, inspired by a series of contradictions: fragile yet fearless, feminine yet masculine and provocative yet discreet. Pink Cobra’s fall/winter 2011 collection is what really got us talking, because, well, it’s just sexy. Yes, a woman can wear a top with braided arms, pair a pleated skirt with a navel-baring top, and even wear the most fitted black dress that shows off every last body curve (well, if she’s comfortable with it).

Pink Cobra has no real style boundaries, and the woman who wears it shouldn’t either. It’s the collection’s unfettered sexuality and international resonance (Martins has a mass of private clients in London) that made us think other designers need to shape up or be damned forever, making matronly clothes for ladies who lunch (truly a noble profession, but it isn’t a game changer). There are other, lesser cobras in the world, but we’re happy ours is pink.

Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins lets her Pink Cobra charm Toronto’s coolest girls
Tania Martins is among Toronto’s hottest (Image: Supplied by Tania Martins)

Hot List, our compendium of Toronto stylemakers to watch, appears regularly on The Goods. See the full collection as we check in with more of Toronto’s hottest.

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Big Stories

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar
Deep Dives

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar

Inside the Latest Issue

Inside the Latest Issue

The April issue of Toronto Life features the anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.