Sunny Fong debuts Vawk and Vawkkin fall/winter 2012 at Toronto Fashion Week

Sunny Fong is long past his Project Runway Canada days—his line Vawk has been around since 2004—so it’s nice to see him branch out with a new collection. He premiered his new line, Vawkkin, along with Vawk at a runway show yesterday afternoon at Toronto Fashion Week. Stacey McKenzie kept it casual (well, for her) in a black sequined blazer and faded jeans, while singer Kreesha Turner (who, like McKenzie, has been a big Toronto fashion cheerleader this season) scurried straight to her front-row seat.

Click here to see Vawk and Vawkkin fall/winter 2012 »

Vawk showed first, with a theme Fong dubbed “sci-fi samurai.”  We’re not sure what exactly was sci-fi about the collection, besides the styling by Tricia Hall (models wore latex headdresses), but there was an obvious samurai influence, which we saw in wide sleeves on a black blazer, dresses (including a kimono-style one) tied with obi belts and outfit names like “Last Samurai gown” and “Kimono blazer.” We loved Fong’s aubergine fabric (in a silk dress and long gown) and a cashmere and leather coat with fur trim, which formed architectural rectangles on the jacket. But our favourite look was the closer: a low-cut sequined floor-length dress with a gauzy lining in the slit. We liked the idea of the leather “tattoos” (cut-outs pasted atop mesh fabric and sewn into gowns), but the execution looked sloppy—it bunched and folded with the zipper as the model walked away.

Next up was Vawkkin, which Fong says is geared towards young professionals. The outfits would certainly be appropriate for the office—wool jackets, pantsuits, a black trench—but with oversized folds and barely any skin showing, they came off a bit matronly and even dowdy—more for a chic 50-something than a woman in her 20s or 30s.

This season, Fong must have given the models lower shoes or something, because there were no near falls (as in the past two seasons). We do love a model pileup, but a good show will suffice in a pinch.