H&M debuted its latest collection last week titled the, H&M Conscious Collection. The collection is titled as “conscious,” because every piece is composed of sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled fabrics like linen, wool and hemp in an effort to emphasize the company’s practices of responsible retailing.

The design inspiration of this collection is derived from Swedish folklore using feminine shapes such as an A-line skirt, dark floral prints and cropped beaded jackets. The highlight pieces for me in this collection are the dresses and skirts in the dark floral prints.

As for footwear, the collection carries only two pairs; one is an ankle boot composed of tencel, a biodegradable fabric made of wood pulp, and the other is a platform wedge heel with ankle strap made from 70 per cent linen – my favourite.

The H&M Conscious Collection is available in the following H&M stores: Toronto Eaton Centre, Bloor Street, Yorkdale Mall, Downtown Montreal, The Pacific Centre and Metropolis at Metrotown.

After discovering the works of Dutch designer, Iris van Herpen through a recent “Shoe of the Moment” entry I was fascinated to learn more about her designs and the clothing she creates.

To say I got more than I bargained for would be an understatement, van Herpen is not your average designer but one who is highly experimental and looks to fashion extremism when creating for the feminine form.

Titled, “Escapism” van Herpen’s fall/winter 2011 collection is about “the addiction of (people) constantly escaping reality by digital entertainment” and the “exaggerations and excesses that result of the digital age.”

With all of her designs, van Herpen combines art, technology and futuristic ideas which translate this collection into a vision contradicting widely held notions of clean modernity for the future with that of the bizarre, grotesque and oddly hypnotizing beauty.

Without a doubt most of you will cock your eyebrow as to my choice for featuring van Herpen in this blog post, but I want to remind you that with fashion not every garment on a runway or in a magazine is supposed to conform to what society defines as beautiful. Fashion is fun, exploratory and full of fantasy. So I applaud Iris van Herpen’s ability to dream and think outside of the box.

Last week the Bay’s private label clothing line, MOON celebrated its one year anniversary, launched its first menswear collection and simultaneously showed off its latest women’s pieces for fall/winter 2011.

Designed and developed by the Mimran Group, MOON’s first collection was premièred last August consisting of women’s clothing only and focused on providing business basics; black pants, black sweaters and white collared shirts with limited special pieces to instantly catch the shopping eye.

Above: Tamara and Jordin Mimran being interviewed by Cityline

This time around - one year later - Tamara and Jordin Mimran (sister and brother) with guidance from designer, Alfred Sung took a more fashion-forward approach in designing this season’s collection steering MOON towards classic yet trendy pieces for both sexes.

The men’s collection consists of 32 pieces in neutral colours such as outerwear, dress pants, blazers and an array of sweaters. Noticeable pieces for the new line are a blue tartan blazer ($175) and a camel cardigan ($75).

The evolution of the women’s collection surpasses the men’s with increased colour choice and modern cuts referencing 1960s mod-style. There were quite a few standout pieces with my favourites being the navy blue crochet dress ($89) and skirt ($75), a v-neck gold brocade dress, gold sequin skirt ($89) and a shift-style dress in beige.

In addition to being pleasantly surprised with the women’s collection, I had the opportunity to take a picture with Canadian design legend, Alfred Sung – OMG! I tried hard not to appear in awe of him – this definitely made my night.

Above: me with Canadian design legend, Alfred Sung (I’m trying not to geek-out beside him)

For the past three years, Banana Republic and the AMC television series, “Mad Men” have shared a mutual love affair of fashion and style. Late last week, Banana Republic launched the first “Mad Men” series-inspired collection in collaboration with the show’s Emmy® Award-winning Costume Designer, Janie Bryant.

The collection is comprised of approximately 65 pieces of clothing and accessories for men and women echoing 1960s style, authentic to the series’ DNA. For the ladies, A-line dresses, leopard print accessories, high-waisted skirts and silk tie-neck blouses capture the high style of the period. For the men, charcoal grey suits, knit sweaters and fedora hats channels Don Draper’s suave swagger.

The Banana Republic and “Man Men” collection is now available in store and online at www.bananarepublic.ca.

Information and images courtesy of Banana Republic

The team at Mark’s always comes up with neat ways to present their latest collections. Last summer they revealed their wares in a creative runway show involving audience participation and the use of props, such as water guns to test the durability of their products – see here.

This year a styling challenge was issued to invitees with the guts to test their skills against other like-minded fashion focused individuals, using pieces from Mark’s fall/winter 2011 collection.

Before we got the chance to put our skills to the test, the product and design team at Mark’s took us through their latest offerings, the additions and enhancements to their clothes. The items they were most proud of is their yoga gear; t-shirt, pants and sweaters all pill and fade resistant, and reasonably priced.

Yoga t-shirt, $29.99 (not pictured above)
Yoga Bhakti full zip jacket, $59.99
Modern flare basic nylon spandex yoga pant, $39.99

My only disappointment with Mark’s yoga line is that the t-shirt and the pants are not composed of wet-dry material. Hot yoga is a growing practice and when shopping for new gear this is a feature I look for, one that can stand up to sweaty poses in a 118˚F studio.

Mark’s styling challenge

The Mark’s styling challenge was a fun and interactive way to touch and work with the fall collection. Initially, I was planning to style the female model but a few other media got the jump on me and snapped up the best pieces from the clothing rack. With options limited I switched genders, as in decided to dress the male model instead, which ended up being a good thing because I got to, err work with him (wink, wink).

Unfortunately, in the end, when it came down to judging the various outfits I lost by two votes – better luck next time for me. Below, I’ve included Mark’s complete fall look book so you can get a better idea of the range of pieces being offered this season.

Mark’s fall 2011 look book

Gallery #1: pictures #1-6 by Rannie Turingan. Galleries #2 and #3 courtesy of Mark’s.

Not too long ago Dr. Martens was a footwear company I rarely (if at all) paid attention to, but this March my mind was changed when I was reintroduced to the brand and saw some of its fashion forward styles for women here. So you can imagine when I received an invite to preview Dr. Martens’s fall/winter 2011 collection I was eager to see what new styles they have coming out this season.

In its latest collection, Dr. Martens focuses on refining and updating existing shoe styles in its repertoire, as well as adding to it by looking back on its English heritage. I noticed, in this collection, the designs are more sophisticated and daring, experimenting with new styles and materials.

For example, the men’s brogues are more elegant and refined to suit the corporate business men. On multiple Dr. Martens shoes, for both sexes, the shape of the toe is slender and less wide, and patterned materials such as Paisley and the British flag adorn the interior.

Finishes on the outer like waxed canvas and a new line of vegan-friendly materials, in classic Dr. Martens styles, provide alternative options for those people who don’t like wearing leather and are eco-conscious.

My favourite selections from Dr. Martens’s fall/winter 2011 collection

I was so happy to see lots of styles in this collection that caters to women who (like me) favour feminine designs with the option of choosing between high heels or flats. Two styles I’m strongly attracted to are the Zita and Sovereign shoes.

According to the product description, the Zita is derived from 1980s British sub-culture with a high fashion appeal. Its stacked heel and gold eyelets really bring an element of lady-like elegance to the Dr. Martens brand that’s been absent from its selection in previous years.

My second favourite shoe is the Sovereign whose design channels equestrian-style riding boots with its fine upper stitching and colours choices in tan and black. The Sovereign comes up to the knee and offers flexibility on the calf with its nylon side panels.

I’ve only captured a small portion of Dr. Martens’s latest offerings so be sure to visit their website and store around mid-August to see the full product line up.

Images gallery #2 courtesy of Dr. Martens

It’s no secret that I have a great fondness for Camilla Skovgaard’s footwear designs and upon seeing her pre-fall 2011 collection I pretty much want the entire lot – the high heels in fact, although she does provide flats as an alternative, but you know my preference lies with the heel. Therefore, for this week’s Shoe of the Moment I’ve decided to show a few select designs from Skovgaard’s latest collection.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer – leather and suede
• Colours – black, burgundy, cream grey, navy, silver, etc.
• Heel height, various sizing

Why I chose this shoe: the reason I’ve decided to not focus on one shoe from this collection is that the colour choices of burgundy, grey and navy are rich and sumptuous for the fall season. The cut-outs in Skovgaard’s shoes compliment each individual design and can be worn with any outfit.

Images from Camilla Skovgaard’s Facebook page

Yesterday, H&M announced its next long awaited designer collaboration on the heels of its successful partnership with Lanvin last autumn. For fall 2011, the retailer has partnered with the house of Versace to produce a collection consisting of approximately 40 pieces for women, 20 pieces for men, accessories and some house wares, such as pillows and linens.

Designed by Creative Director, Donatella Versace, this collection will derive its look and feel from the brand’s heritage steeped in glamour and sexiness, and will be composed of leather, prints, studs and bold colours.

From the video above and the sketches shown, the women’s collection will be comprised of mostly body-con dresses, while the men’s collection will exhibit sharp tailoring and slimming silhouettes.

The H&M x Versace collection will be available starting November 17 in about 300 stores worldwide and online.

Furthermore, Donatella Versace has designed a pre-spring collection for H&M “which will be exclusively available in countries with H&M on-line sales from January 19, 2012.” Just imagine how short the hemlines will be on those dresses – tiny!

H&M x Versace fall 2011 collaboration sneak preview

Video and images courtesy of H&M

DANIER, Canada’s premier leather manufacturer and retailer, has been knee deep in upping their fashion forward repertoire with designer collaborations for their fall/winter 2011 collection, showing their LOVE of LEATHER. Collaborations with knit wear designer, Mark Fast; a partnership with Fashion Director, George Antonopoulos to create a line called OBJECT and a capsule collection with Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine, named “SKIN” – all will wet the stylish palettes of their customers.

I’m a long-time and loyal DANIER customer, to hear of all of these wonderful and fun collaborations set my fashion senses on fire and quite possible my credit card if I’m not careful.

Greta Constantine's SKIN for DANIER

I had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the SKIN during its preview. SKIN is a small capsule collection of six tightly curated pieces ranging in price from $399 for a sleeveless bolero to $999 for an asymmetrical, draped coat with rounded back.

The colour palette leans towards darker and rich earth tones such as black, eggplant and walnut in lamb leather and suede. One piece I’m particularly fond of is the black, lamb leather kimono style coat; it’s extremely soft and supple, the type of coat you can just throw on and know you’ll always look fabulous in.

On the creation of SKIN Kirk and Stephen said "We sought to find a happy medium between fashion and function; to offer silhouettes that were appealing to the eye and still flattering on a variety of different body types."

SKIN will be available for purchase to the public in 20 DANIER stores nationally, as well as online at DANIER.com by mid-August.

OBJECT by George Antonopoulos for DANIER

O-M-G I want this entire collection! Does that last sentence give you a hint of how I feel about OBJECT? It’s absolutely divine.

Designed by George Antonopoulos, OBJECT is a sleek line looking to incorporate leather into your everyday wardrobe by bringing the fabric from its mainly outdoor use to the indoors. This body conscious line looks to enhance the feminine form, seeking to do away with the bulky sweaters women often favour during the cold winter months.

A button down shirt with leather detailing on dual breast pockets and a loose fitting jersey shirt with leather sleeves are sophisticated and easy pieces you can instantly envision yourself in.

Mark Fast and DANIER

In March I wrote a blog entry reviewing Mark Fast’s collaboration with DANIER for his fall/winter 2011 collection. What we saw on Fast’s runway is his characteristic revealing knits with equally revealing leather pieces which provided a different dimension to his work.

The retail version of the Fast and DANIER collaboration is toned down with leather pieces more suitable for crossing over into the Canadian market. It’s a small capsule collection composed of seven looks, four indoor and three outerwear pieces all in black.

What’s carried over from the runway collection are a pair high-waisted leather pants and detailing, such as leather laces on the arms of a jacket and on the front of a knee-length dress. The one thing missing to complete this collection and identify it as something from Mark Fast is the presence of his signature knits.

Image gallery #3 and #4 courtesy of DANIER