I suppose it’s not a bad thing that spring is taking its sweet time getting here, because last month’s Toronto Fashion Week Fall 2014 shows feel as relevant as ever. Even if I am getting quite fed up with my winter clothes, I wouldn’t mind wrapping myself in some covet-worthy leather jackets, beautiful printed dresses, and fuzzy mohair sweaters that I saw on the runways in March. This season, thanks to Best Buy Canada and VIVA Beauty from Best Buy, I was fully prepared for the craziness of fashion week – my survival kit included a fancy Canon DSLR camera, complete with a brand new SD card, and some beauty goodies to get me through the week looking fresh – it was a lifesaver! This season, I also didn’t attempt being in several places at the same time, but selected a few days and a few designers to support, and I have to say that it really worked out well for me. I didn’t feel as burnt out as usual, and I still got to see and shoot some amazing Canadian designers at work.

One of the highlights of my week was Beaufille. The latest collection from Chloe and Parris Gordon was full of standout pieces worthy of a good catfight. Loose silhouettes, paired with cleverly placed slits and hook-and-eye embellishments, embossed leather and of course the piece that stole my heart – the red moto jacket of my dreams – it was all very wearable, modern, and oozed the cool factor. Definitely my favourite collection from the Canadian sisters. The only thing I hate about this is the fact that I’ll have to wait forever (6-8 months) to get my hands on my fave pieces.

As usual, the Joe Fresh show was complete and utter mayhem. Even without a top model headliner, the show was packed, with people spilling out of their seats, and for good reason too. Once again, Joe Mimran showed a collection of affordable pieces that still managed to get hearts racing, and that will pretty soon be available not only in Canada and the US, but in 23 other countries worldwide! Not too shabby for a brand that began at a grocery store, non?

But despite the big expansion news, Joe Fresh Fall 2014 collection was as Canadian as they come, what with a ton of cute jackets (wool, moto, puffers, you name it!), intarsia sweaters, and faux fur dominating most of the looks. But perhaps because winter and I, we are done professionally, my personal faves were the lovely dresses printed with ethereal images of landscapes and nature. Once these hit the stores, be prepared to fight me for them. Elbows up, ladies!

Pink Tartan Fall 2014 was another collection quite heavily influenced by Canadian winters. While Kim Newport-Mimran stuck to her signature ladylike aesthetic, she mixed in a few unexpected patterns and fabrics, making this one of my favourite Pink Tartan collections ever (with the exception of this one).

The collection was very “glam cocktail hour at the chalet”, what with cozy intarsia sweaters, black and red buffalo check, fur stoles, and ginormous fur mittens, mixed with full skirts, metallic dresses, and leather pants. Practical and chic? I would like one of each, please and thank you.

Always a personal favourite, Mackage Fall 2014 show definitely did not disappoint. With scattered faux maple leafs lining the runway, the models rocked some of the best outerwear pieces I’ve seen all week. Clearly, co-creative directors of the brand Elisa Dahan and Eran Elfassy know what Canadians both want and need from their winter wares – style and function, and boy did they deliver!

Fur trims, quilted leather everything, pops of fuchsia, Black Watch tartan pieces, oh my! It was unfair how good everything looked…and also quite dangerous for my wallet. And don’t even get me started on their bags! Simply put…this collection was the bomb-dot-com.

More after the jump!

[Read more…]