On Sunday the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) officially opened the doors of the TIFF Bell Lightbox to the public. The TIFF Bell Lightbox is a five-storey, multi-purpose complex designed by architectural firm KPMB containing: five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, office space, a bistro, a restaurant, a lounge and a condominium tower.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox is the first of its kind, being the only film festival in the world to have a permanent year-round home, and I had the pleasure of helping out the TIFF press office with the opening ceremony of the building.

It’s truly a beautiful space, merging the practicality of operating year-round film programs, events and exhibitions in one aesthetically pleasing and inclusive place. The architecture inside and out is clean, spacious and modern.

I was able to capture just a few photos of the momentous day, complete with a chaotic media scrum – my pictures definitely don’t do the building justice, you’ll have to visit the space for yourself to get a real feel. My favourite photo is seeing the media stationed just outside the doors of the TIFF Bell Lightbox prior to the official ribbon cutting.

The following quote from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities captures the way I characterize 2009; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness...”

Perhaps the Dickens quote is a little dramatic, but it best describes how I feel about this past year and what I went through. Here’s a brief look in order:

Lowlight of 2009:

• Being laid off – Yup, this tops the list as the lowlight of the year. I can now say the phrase, “I was laid off” to family, friends  and sometimes to complete strangers without flinching, feeling embarrassment, shame or inadequacy.

Highlights of 2009:

• Volunteering at Luminato
• Rediscovering my love for fashion
• Starting this blog
• Reconnecting with old friends
• Working at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
• Welcoming my nephew into the world and into the family (he is now three-months old)
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s S/S 2010 shows and events
• Meeting and establishing a whole new network of supporters and friends

I mention these personal events in my life openly on The Souls of My Shoes (and in previous entries) not looking for sympathy, but to share with you what fuelled me to start this blog, maintain it and how it initially served as a life raft and is now a vehicle for my ideas, love of fashion and writing. Funnily enough, the good outweighs the bad exponentially in the above list. I’m very thankful for the opportunities and people I’ve met along the way, as well as the support received from my family, friends and readers which has and continues to be uplifting and heart warming.

Here’s a working list of what I look forward to in 2010:

• Finding and landing a full-time job
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s fall/winter 2010 collections in March
• Continuing to create interesting and thoughtful content for The Souls of My Shoes

Like Karl Lagerfeld wrote in the pictured tweet, I look forward to setting ablaze the past and creating positive change and fresh starts for 2010. Happy New Year.

TIFF ended just five days ago and I still can’t believe how quickly the Festival came and went, but as they say time flies when you’re having fun thanks to the wonderful TIFF09 press office. Words really can’t express how blessed and thankful I am to have had the opportunity to work with these people who I now call my friends.

The days following TIFF were spent gaining some much needed rest, but now I’m back and I’ve provided a short recap of days seven to 10 of the Festival.

Highlights of TIFF days seven to ten:

• Movies I saw: Bitch Slap, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, The Double Hour (La Doppia Ora) and The Young Victoria
• Attended my first Midnight Madness screening at the Ryerson Theatre where I saw the film Bitch Slap. I can describe the atmosphere like a mathematical equation. Male university students + a hot female movie cast  (TNA) = hormonal screaming men
• Celebrity sightings: Julie Christie, Bill Nighy, Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow, Chuck D. (Public Enemy), Clive Owen, Michael Moore, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Werner Herzog, Jack White and Meg White.
• Missed celebrity sightings: Colin Farrell with U2 on the red carpet for the film Ondine.
• Fashion moments at TIFF:
  • From heel to flats to heels – I love my heels but having to stand and walk in them for hours takes a toll on the feet – thank goodness for stylish flats (i.e.: my Steve Madden Kazler Ballerina shoes) and quick shoe changes back into heels.
  • Fashion winner: Natalie Portman in a floral print Lanvin dress for the premiere of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits.
  • Fashion maybe/maybe not: Drew Barrymore wearing Alexander McQueen at the Whip It red carpet. This dress is from McQueen’s Resort 2010 collection; I love the dress but I’m not entirely convinced Barrymore pulled it off. I’m still deliberating on this one although the majority of the fashion press feels otherwise.

(Images from: AFP, James Helmer and TIFF)

The first six days of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has gone by very quickly, but I’m having the time of my life working side-by-side with the talented and multicultural members of the TIFF press office hailing from cities such as Paris, Holland, Los Angeles, Osaka and Toronto.

TIFF highlights days one to six:

• Working the red carpets for Good Hair, Tanner Hall, A Single Man and Triage.
• Having the opportunity to see several press conferences: Jennifer’s Body (starring Megan Fox), Up In the Air (starring George Clooney) and Ondine (starring Colin Farrell).
• Meeting some of the best film publicists from around the world
• Meeting George A. Romero and seeing the Toronto zombie walk at Yonge-Dundas Square
• Celebrities sightings (on and off the red carpet): George Clooney, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Tom Ford, Michael Caine, Diane von Furstenburg, Colin Farrell, Colin Firth and Keanu Reeves.
• Fashion moments at TIFF:
  
  • Micha Bruggergosman wearing an absolutely beautiful floor length, silver sequin dress at the TIFF opening night gala.
  • Wearing a huge sweater over my new FCUK Carnation rose dress while working the red carpet during the opening night gala to prevent hypothermia.
  •  Wearing/walking in my high heels shoes all night and then suffering foot pains the next morning.

That’s all for now; it’s time start day seven. Stay tuned because more TIFF highlights are to come.

(Images from Reuters)

I have some good news – I’ve been very fortunate to be working with the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) communications team this year and I love every minute of it. With TIFF only four days away the excitement, focus and intense group effort to have everything ready by September 10^th can be felt in the air and seen on the faces of the staff. Some of my responsibilities entail assisting with events which means a new outfit is required. Naturally, I did what any sensible fashionista would do and went shopping.

I tried on several little black dresses (LBD) at French Connection (FCUK) and was pleasantly surprised at FCUK’s well designed fall/winter 2009 collection. Many dresses were short, sequined or heavily beaded with fleur de lis designs coming in a variety of cuts and styles. Trés chic!

However, there were two dresses that instantly won me over and made me feel giddy like a 13 year-old school girl; they are the Carnation Rose dress and the Delicious Danask with sleeves.

You must be wondering – What dress did Kimberly choose? Did she buy one dress or two? Not one to disappoint I purchased both dresses. Yikes the Visa bill!

Included are pictures of the winning dresses as well as a few others which almost made the final cut.

N.B.: The Souls of My Shoes is now in TIFF mode; therefore, blog posts will be a little sporadic however I will try my best to keep you up-to-date on my activities throughout the Festival.

The second half of 2009 is turning out to be the year that is capturing the fashion industry on film. Using fashion as the subject in movies has all the makings of a good story. Fashion involves the struggle of bringing the creative process of design to fruition by transforming sketches into garments, building an empty space into an arena of style and negotiating the relationships of all the people involved. Those employed in the fashion industry work under strict deadlines to meet the high expectations of their audiences – and remember this happens season after season for years.

The year of fashion on film began with the debut of Valentino: the Last Emperor in July, then The September Issue and now two movies depicting the life and times of fashion designer Coco Chanel. They are titled Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky and Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel).

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky will be making its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which runs from September 10 to 19, 2009. Out of the hundreds of films being shown at TIFF this year, I’m extremely excited to see this movie because it tells the story of two highly creative individuals who have an affair with one another; Coco Chanel the successful and wealthy fashion designer and Igor Stravinsky, the composer/conductor who “doggedly wrestles (with) his musical demons.”

There are currently three films depicting the life of Coco Chanel and another two are said to be on its way; one directed by Daniele Thompson and the other starring Demi Moore which is slated to be her return to the big screen. The number of movies drawing on the story of Chanel is the subject of more films than any other fashion designer in history, making her the favourite focus of filmmakers of the period.

Behind the scenes of Coco Chanel (2008), starring Shirley McLaine and Barbora Bobulova

All three movies tell their own stories about Chanel – her struggles, successes and relationships with men. Audrey Tautou, who plays Chanel in Coco Avant Chanel describes the fashion designer; “Her life is so rich, and her personality so unusual, that the story of her life is far greater than simply being a story of fashion” (The Times) and thus representing the world’s unending fascination with the iconic designer.

Ever since I heard there was a documentary called The September Issue which tells the story of Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and the development of the magazine’s 2007 September edition I’ve become a bit obsessed about when the movie will be screened in Toronto.

After months of seeing news coverage of The September Issue premiering at film festivals around the world, such as Sundance and Edinburgh, they’ve finally announced a release date for Canada… sometime in October 2009. UGH! Why do we have to wait so long. I was hoping the movie would be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year so I could repeat my luck from last year’s attendance of Valentino: The Last Emperor.

In the meantime, we’ll have to satisfy our fashion fixations by keeping up-to-date on the latest news of the film through its pages on Facebook and Twitter, and download ringtones from the movie. Double ugh!

(Video from YouTube)

Last year several friends and I had the opportunity to attend the North American première of Valentino: The Last Emperor during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). This documentary gave viewers the rare glimpse into the personal life and work of famed Italian courtier Valentino Garavani – for me it was an emotional and very moving experience.

At the end of the movie the house lights went up and the crowd was utterly shocked and overwhelmed with emotion to see the icon himself, Mr. Valentino, had attended the première. The audience instantly took to their feet and gave him a standing ovation lasting for several minutes; my hands hurt from clapping and my eyes were tearing up but I didn't care since this was a once in a life time opportunity to be near, let alone in the same building as Mr. Valentino (sigh). To read a little more on the event the Toronto Star covered the movie première in an article here.

For those true fashion lovers if you haven’t had the opportunity, I highly recommend seeing this movie because it will move you and make you love Mr. Valentino even more.

Valentino: The Last Emperor opens today (July 10, 2009), in Canada at:

• Varsity Cineplex, Toronto
• Cinemark Tinseltown, Vancouver
• Cinema Du Parc, Montreal

For other locations please go to the movie’s official site here.

(Video taken from www.valentinomovie.com)