The Greta Constantine ss2012 show last Tuesday was a two-way runway affair as design duo, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong kicked off Rogue Fashion Week in Toronto by presenting their latest collections for Greta Constantine and Ezra Constantine.

Design inspiration (updated October 18): Pickersgill describes the design inspiration for this season's collection as "It started with the idea of a girl dressing like a boy dressing like a girl... But it’s much more than simply gender. We’re fascinated by a collision of contrasts; structure and drapery; light and darkness; frivolity and function."

What I liked: the runway show opened with flowing jersey dresses that Greta Constantine is very well-known for. The colours chosen were vibrant and lively; red, orange, coral and aqua blue had many women in the audience transfixed and calculating on when they’d be able to get their hands on it – including me.

Ezra Constantine’s look for ss2012 held true to its urban roots. The clothes were mainly in black and white with lots of asymmetrical silhouettes.

What I disliked: with regards to the actual runway show, I found it a little confusing in its presentation and flow from collection to collection; clearer definition, some kind of signage or changes in music genre to show the separation of each line would have helped transition the audience to better understand the vision set out for the clothes this season.

Footwear: for the second season in a row, Greta Constantine partnered with ALDO to develop custom-made footwear. The shoes were minimalistic, absent of any embellishment but struck a bold chord with its all white composition, thick ankle straps, tan edging and stacked heels – I eyeballed the height at approximately 10 cm/4 inches.

I'm making a more concerted effort to do more instant blogging while out and about at the fashion events I attend.

This evening I'm lending my support for Greta Constantine's trunk show being held at Danier in Yorkdale Mall. The Greta Constantine SKIN for Danier collection will available to the public starting on August 18, 2011, in select Danier stores. For information about SKIN visit www.danier.com.

This week’s Shoe of the Moment entry is different than my previous posts featuring footwear created by designers for women to wear.

At the preview for SKIN, three mannequins were dressed and situated as the focal point to show off Greta Constantine’s capsule collection for DANIER. After I finished taking pictures of the leather and suede pieces worn by these figures, I happened to look down and noticed the shoes on their feet, and was impressed by the sculptured footwear they wore.

Shoe specifications:

• Outer, plastic or plaster (some kind of synthetic material)
• Colour, white
• Heel height, 4 inches or more

Why I chose this shoe: the function of mannequins is to serve as a nondescript structure to present clothing. The feet of these figures are usually moulded into a classic pump style creating a generic look that can survive being used in a retail environment for long periods of time and through countless outfit and display changes.

In this case, the mannequins at SKIN took me by complete surprise, presenting beautiful clothes as well as simulated-shoes. I love the exaggerated curve of the arch of the foot with the tapered stiletto heel. The flared ankle cuff and cut-outs on the heel create a high fashion effect; footwear you’d see in the runways shows of Vivienne Westwood or Jean Paul Gaultier.

I seriously hope someone makes these into actual shoes; it would make for an interesting pair of for fall/winter 2011.

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

The runway shows of Greta Constantine and Ezra Constantine have a rock star quality about them, partly because the design duo of Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong create an aura of modernism surrounding their clothes, as well as secure strong corporate backing from companies such as ALDO, Audi Downtown and Schwarzkopf Professional.

The show was held in the Audi dealership downtown. The music blared, Audi cars sparkled as you walked throughout the dealership and the vitaminwater flowed freely at the bar to wet everyone’s whistle for the main attraction.

Design inspiration: as per the show notes

• Greta Constantine – the “fall/winter 2011 Greta Constantine collection shapes the uniform for the modern tribe... (for a woman) her wardrobe is a global dialogue, not a battleground between old world and new or east and west. In that way, she is the bridge between past and future.” I’m slightly confused by this description but okay.
• Ezra Constantine – the men’s collection “is designed for today’s urban nomad; a man whose wardrobe fuses elements of both day and night, casual and formal. The collection juxtaposes the duo’s identifiable drapery with the masculinity of structured jackets...”

Greta Constantine fall/winter 2011 collection

What I liked: the outerwear and layered separates really shone for Greta Constantine this season. When comparing their spring/summer and fall/winter lines, hands down fall/winter receives a resounding seal of approval. The duo dug deeper this season showing a larger range in their design abilities by churning out multiple wool capes, kimono style jackets, velvet pants in jewel tones and a four-tiered voluminous beige skirt.

For Ezra, deconstructed minimalism is how I describe the collection. The draping in the men’s collection shows maturity, used sparingly and strategically in the outwear.

Ezra Constantine fall/winter 2011 collection

What I disliked: again, nothing bad to say about both collections; however, I am still stumped on the excerpt used to describe the design inspiration behind the Greta collection.

Footwear: by far the shoes at the Greta show were thee most interesting, unique and eye-catching throughout the entire fashion weeks. ALDO partnered with the label to create a collection of footwear exclusively for the fall/winter 2011 runway show. “The collection of four styles boasts rich, Orient-inspired fabrics and completes the designers’ vision of the modern tribe from head to toe.” In other words, I give this collaboration a resounding two stiletto shoes up.

Image galleries #1 and #2 courtesy of Greta Constantine and Erza Constantine.

Of all the designers showing independent of LG Fashion Week and its organizing body, the Fashion Design Council of Canada, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine know how to draw the hype and a large crowd to their shows season after season. In addition, they do know how to keep people waiting impatiently in a crowded and cramped show space.

However, they are the very few designers who can be quickly forgiven with a runway show that opened with supermodel, Coco Rocha and a collection of Grecian inspired garments highlighting their signature use of jersey and draping technique.

The colour palette for spring/summer 2011 is largely in earth tones, but is punctuated with several fiery red dresses which caught the attention of the crowd and are my favourite pieces.

Also inserted into the runway show were a few garments from their menswear label, Ezra Constantine which gave off an edgy and deconstructed feel – half naked and good looking men are always a plus for me.

Photo credit: Peter Balinski

Lions and tigers and seals, oh my! Seals you say? What does that have to do with LG Fashion Week? Last night, at the Holt Renfrew Media Cocktail and at the opening festivities of Fashion Week two PETA protestors stood outside each venue handing out pamphlets. One was outfitted in a seal costume, happily waving and posing for pictures – very few (including me) took their efforts seriously to upstage the evening.

5:30 p.m. Holt Renfrew Media Cocktail

Despite the seal, last night was full of fun, laughter and Canadian style. Holt Renfrew and the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) flexed its powerful fashion muscle by gathering together designers, media, fashion bloggers and sponsors in Holt’s Bloor Street store for its annual media cocktail party.

Speeches by Barbara Atkin, vice president and fashion director for Holt Renfrew, and Robin Kay, president of the FDCC kicked off the evening, followed by a mini fashion show featuring seven of Canada’s top design houses. They are: Greta Constantine, Denis Gagnon, Lida Baday, Jeremy Laing, Mikhael Kale, Pink Tartan and Smythe.

Dubbed the new “Group of Seven” by Kay, these very talented designers showcased capsules of their spring/summer 2010 (S/S 2010) collections. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes saw their expertly designed garments. The cut, colour and style of each collection presented made me swell with pride – this is Canadian talent and fashion that should be celebrated 365 days of the year, around the globe and in every store in the country.

Two collections I was drawn to were Denis Gagnon and Greta Constantine. The design duo of Greta Constantine (Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong) presented four pieces from their S/S 2010 collection. My favourite was a white dress with a sharply cut deep v-front.

As for Denis Gagnon, well I think he and I need to become best friends. This was the first time I had the opportunity to see his clothing in real life, and it blew me away. Seeing only four pieces of his latest collection showed his talent for detail, and expert handling of cloth such as jersey, leather and zippers. A standout piece from Gagnon’s line was a leather jacket with zipper detailing along the cuffs, neckline and hem. Edgy and genius! Take note of Gagnon’s custom-designed Aldo shoes which received a lot of attention during his presentation at Montreal Fashion Week (see Fashionmagazine.com for more information).

Personal highlights of the evening was having the pleasure of finally meeting two of Canada’s top fashion bloggers, Anita Clarke of I Want I Got and Danielle Meder of Final Fashion, as well as reconnecting with an old friend from university, Monica Mei who is the designer of Aime; I’m so proud of her accomplishments and I will definitely be attending her show this Thursday.

9:00 p.m. On the runway... at LG Fashion Week (1030 King Street West)

Now over to LG Fashion Week’s new home in Liberty Village where Lucian Matis was announced the winner of the FDCC Designer Development Fund followed by two fashion shows, 100 years of Beauty by L’Oreal Paris and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival “Wear Love Alive.”

The first show, 100 years of Beauty by L’Oréal Paris, opened with an opera singer and then chronicled fashion trends and beauty throughout the ages. It was quite beautiful and artfully presented showcasing garments on the runway from each decade starting from the year 1900 and ending at 2010.

Stratford Shakespeare Festival “Wear Love Alive” presented a runway show full of drama, elegance and sophistication. The costumes from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival utilized a variety of cloth including feathers, fur and lace that added a feeling of sumptuousness to the garments. Topping off the end of the show was a group of male models strutting down the runway. Be still my beating heart!

Now I’m onto day two of LG Fashion Week, stay tuned.

Photos taken by Kimberly Lyn.