Toronto Fashion Week: Spring 2014 highlights from four Canadian designers who are making waves abroad
Toronto Fashion Week: Spring 2014 highlights from four Canadian designers who are making waves abroad
We look forward to The Shows every season, and not just because the two-night event marks the unofficial start of Toronto Fashion Week. It’s also a rare chance for Canadian designers who’ve moved on to bigger ponds—i.e. New York, London and Paris—to show their collections back in the motherland. And this season’s lineup was especially buzzworthy. It included shows by New York-based Bellavance (whose first-ever collection was snapped up by Opening Ceremony) and Paris-based Calla Haynes, as well as encores from Vancouverite-turned-Londoner Steven Tai and Toronto’s own Jeremy Laing, now a NYFW fixture. Below, the highlights from each collection.
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- Stripes were everywhere in <b>Nolan Bellavance</b> and <b>Ava Hama’</b>s sophomore collection, including this dress, which comprises 144 separate pieces
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Bellavance Spring 2014
- Bellavance Spring 2014
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- The pair of Parsons grads also played with the idea of the robe, using elevated materials like silk to make the shape work as a dress or jacket<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Bellavance Spring 2014
- Bellavance Spring 2014
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- Bellavance and Hama drew inspiration from pioneering American sportswear designer <b>Claire McCardell’</b>s easy, wearable dresses from the 1940s<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Bellavance Spring 2014
- Bellavance Spring 2014
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- Another motif: textiles borrowed<b> </b>from menswear, such as the shirting fabric used to make this skirt. This season also marked the brand’s first major foray into knitwear
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Bellavance Spring 2014
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- A few black and white pieces punctuated the collection’s palette of cornflower blue and blush
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Bellavance Spring 2014
- Bellavance Spring 2014
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- <b>Calla Haynes, </b>a native Torontonian and one of France’s top young designers, channeled early ‘90s California surf culture in her collection of bodysuits, crop tops and baseball caps
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Calla Spring 2014
- Calla Spring 2014
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- Haynes is known for her prints and textiles. Some of this season’s stand-out fabrics included a crinkly ultrasuede and a deep turquoise tweed made out of paper
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Calla Spring 2014
- Calla Spring 2014
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- There were several ladylike skirts—some with a pencil silhouette, some full—paired with crop tops or slouchy sweaters<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Calla Spring 2014
- Calla Spring 2014
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- We loved the references to <b>Body Glove</b>’s iconic one-piece swimsuits, with their signature zippered fronts and scooped backs<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Calla Spring 2014
- Calla Spring 2014
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- Pops of neon green and coral were another overt nod to the ‘90s
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Calla Spring 2014
- Calla Spring 2014
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- This season, <b>Jeremy Laing</b> was also hit by a wave of ‘90s nostalgia, opting for effervescent colours inspired by Malibu, sidewalk chalk and sorbet. The designer collaborated with artist <b>Julia Dault</b> to create th<b>e</b> show-stopping print on this silk dress
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
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- The Toronto native also worked with two other techniques: bonding fabrics together and creating patterns on sheers by burning away sections with acid
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
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- Laing debuted his first-ever shoe collection this season. Working with L.A.-based shoe designer <b>Tiffany Tuttle, </b>he produced five styles, including these chunky wooden platforms
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
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- Laing also delved into menswear for the first time. The print on this jacket was inspired by tiger tail ice cream<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
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- Laing dressed both male and female models in sheer pieces and described most of the garments as unisex—only the sizing designated them as menswear or womenswear<br />
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Jeremy Laing Spring 2013
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- After wowing with his <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/style/designers/2013/03/18/toronto-fashion-week-steven-tai-fall-2013/">mad-scientist experimentation</a> last season, London-based <b>Steven Tai </b>brought another collection full of geek-chic pieces that beg for close-up examination
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
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- The Vancouver native returned to several of the silhouettes from last season, including futuristic-looking oversized sweatshirts and wide-legged pants
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
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- The Central Saint Martins alum was inspired by the artificial bio-domes of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Project">Eden Project</a> in Cornwall, which he explicitly referenced with white, domed baseball caps
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
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- Tai also used a computer to manipulate a photo collage of the Eden Project by Spanish artist <b>Lola Dupre </b>and then silk-screened the result onto his garments
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
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- The smooth gradation of several ombre pieces contrasted with the pixelated look of the silk-screened pieces
- (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
- Steven Tai Spring 2014
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 and Paris-based Calla Haynes, as well as encores from Vancouverite-turned-Londoner Steven Tai and Toronto’s own Jeremy Laing, now a NYFW fixture. Below, the highlights from each collection.
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The fabric for the Jeremy Laing dress (top, second from right) was one of two fabrics Laing designed in collaboration with Julia Dault, a highly sought-after Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based artist.