Last Thursday, Canadian designer Breeyn McCarney presented her first independent fashion show titled Hard-Boiled Wonderland. For fall/winter 2010, McCarney draws inspiration from a variety of sources: a photographic project by Yves March and Romain Meffre called “The Ruins of Detroit;” artwork by Sam Weber and Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s novel from which her collection is named.

What ties all these inspirations together is the sociological and cultural breakdown of large cities and ideas, and McCarney’s fascination with “finding beauty in despair – to take something that is rather bleak, and make something inspiring.”

For me, McCarney’s collection symbolizes a return to the organic; a moment in time where the world embodied a more simplistic and closer relationship to nature. This is emphasized in the materials used in this collection, as well as in all of her designs which is 100 per cent all natural fibre fabrics, such as wool, cotton, silk and reclaimed fur/fur purchased from trappers.

The colour palette for Hard-Boiled Wonderland is predominantly grey with highlights of soft pinks, white and brown, and when combined evokes a romantic and ethereal look. The models’ hair (styled by Greg May Hair Architects) also contributes to this vision with its teased and tussled look.

My favourite part of this collection is the knit-wear, particularly the grey knit wrap and the over-sized pink sweater which looks extremely soft and delicate.

Guests

Show images: Karon Liu

Videographer: Jennifer Wigg, Editor: Ian Flett