The End of LABEL Clothing

It's with extreme regret that it's come to my attention that LABEL, one of my favourite local design houses (and one of the best Toronto has to offer) is closing it's doors. Robinson and Sydoruk are one of the most talented design teams in Toronto; and we've hailed them before - for their fantastic, urban aesthetic and deep-rooted commitment to sustainability in Fashion. They are a brilliant picture of the talent this city and country have to offer the industry, and it will be incredibly sad to see their iconic line, LABEL, discontinued.

It's unclear whether the team will pursue their own, individual futures within the design world in Toronto come the end of LABEL; but one thing is for certain, their talent will be missed by so many enthusiasts, like myself, who've been nothing but privileged to see the evolution of their work and the evolution of LABEL.

LABEL will be hosting a Closing Sale & Party in light of their decision to disband. It will be an amazing chance for everyone to not only bid farewell to the Fashion House, but to also get your hands on brilliant LABEL merchandise, the likes of which you won't be able to get again! The deals will undoubtedly be insane, with items starting as low as $20 and including pieces from Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 Samples. The sale will be ONE DAY ONLY and will be taking place next Thursday, April 25th, 2013 from 12 NOON - 11:00 pm at Levack Block (88 Ossington Avenue in Toronto). Be there!

Also, if by chance you happen to miss out on this incredible chance to score some rare LABEL gems, be sure to head over to our good friends at Homegrown Boutique! Being huge LABEL lovers and supporters since their beginning, Homegrown has a fine selection on some of the best LABEL pieces to date - they will not last!

Sad to see you go LABEL! Thanks for the awesome.

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A Haute Holiday with Homegrown Boutique & The Thompson!

'Twas a cold winter's night, when all through the town, the fabulous was out - and what about? Fashion no doubt! Ok, quite lame, but it was literally the best I could do! How else could I get your attention for a fantastic Winter event at The Thompson? Oh wait! How about - You're invited to a night of glam! 

Our friends at Homegrown Boutique are hosting what's sure to be a fantastic evening of drinks, friends, holiday fabulous, and fashion, fashion, fashion next Tuesday, December 18th at The Thompson Hotel here in downtown Toronto! Come on by and join us for Haute Holiday; a night of holiday celebration and Winter style featuring some of Homegrown Boutique's fantastic collection of Fall/Winter 2012 pieces! I will definitely be there myself and would love to see you too! Enjoy viewing some of the best designers Canada has to offer in one fabulous location hosted by one of our best local boutiques! 

By RSVP Only! 

Contact: info@homegrownboutique.ca

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We Are Metal Heads! / Fashion Series Magazine + Dylan Dias!

Our good friends over at Fashion Series Magazine continue to produce quality coverage and tasteful publications of rich, Canadian talent every month! Providing readers with an actual, true insight into the industry; Fashion Series is devoted to the bustling and vibrant growing community of Toronto-centric Fashion Talent - from models to moguls in almost every field. Real interviews, real words, and real representation; and not to mention some fabulous Fashion! I am an enormous believer in providing strong support for local talent - in other words, I love this magazine. What they stand for is what I stand for, and I hope together we can elevate the real, local talent that bubbles in this great city of ours.  

If you remember, we recently participated in an Editorial for Frugal Fashion Week this Summer (Le POP!) and were lucky enough to have our spread featured in Fashion Series Volume 3 / URBAN! An exciting treat for us as well as our entire team. And now, to take it just one step further, I was privileged enough to also be featured this month in Fashion Series Volume 6 / EDGE! I not only had my latest Editorial, Metal Head, featured in the iconic magazine, but I was also interviewed as their featured Hairstylist of the Month!

I put together a fantastic team of some of the best people I know. Young, fresh, and full of ideas; we collaborated to create a brooding and sophisticated approach to hair, metal, and darkness in our production, Metal Head. The spread was published in Fashion Series along with an in-depth conversation (with yours truly!) discussing the correlation of hair, beauty, fashion, and Toronto! Click Here to view the Magazine and read my interview online (and to also see some of the other amazing artist features) and view our spread, Metal Head, below!

Photography / Alyssa Wodabeck assisted by Paula Visco

Wardrobe / Michelle Baboolall of Homegrown Boutique

Makeup / Tiffany Encina

Hair / Dylan Dias

All Jewelry / M.Sexton by Myles Sexton

Featuring Charmaine San Pedro (Velocci) + Cy Speckeen

I am deeply appreciative and so privileged to be featured in Fashion Series. It was an honour not only to create a spread for them with some amazingly creative and wonderful people, but to simply be an active part of the creative fabric of Toronto. We have incredible people here, I am thrilled to be able to work with so many of them. Thank you Fashion Series, and everyone involved, thank you for all you've given me and Toronto.

Dainty Girl's VIP Event at Homegrown!

This past Thursday evening I had the privilege and opportunity to drop by Homegrown Boutique, my favourite little spot on Cumberland, for Dainty Girl's VIP Shopping Party! Creator of Dainty Girl, the stunning Nicole Wilson is a passionate lifestyle blogger for all things Toronto, beauty, fashion, and dainty!

Nicole Wilson of DaintyGirl.Ca

Featuring pieces by incredible local designers like Emily Woudenberg, Sarah Stevenson, Travis Taddeo, and Fredrick Prince; Homegrown + Dainty Girl's VIP party gave readers the chance to purchase retail at a fantastic discounted price while sipping on champagne, trying on clothes, getting their nails done, and of course, eating delicious, dainty treats. DaLish Cosmetics, a locally produced line of beauty products, provided everything from discounted items, to makeup advice, to mini-makeovers! And Bio Seaweed Gel treated all us fabulous guests to complimentary Gel Manicures.

Fredrick Prince Jewelry

Zoran Dobric

I had a wonderful time not only meeting Nicole for more than a brief moment; but also chatting with a great group of trend hoppers, industry execs, fashion lovers, and designers. The evening was lush and another great event to promote and celebrate the local talent (not only in design - but in fashion lifestyle, writing, and product development) in our city.

Melissa of Fredrick Prince & I

Nicole and Michelle, owner of Homegrown Boutique

Congratulations on a wonderful and fun event.

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Fashion Series, Le POP!, and Dylan Dias

Fashion Series, a beautifully composed online publication, just released their latest issue featuring full coverage of our Frugal Fashion Week event, Le POP!

The magazine is a locally produced gem; totally devoted to featuring and exposing emerging industry professionals in the city - from photographers, to designers, to stylists, and bloggers. Consistently, their approach to Fashion is modern and absolutely in taste. Great editorials, thoughtful writing; Fashion as it's meant to be appreciated and distributed, and it's great to see something so on-point come from our city. They often feature local designers who are making a name for themselves; and have chosen to the same for some of our roster at Nyood's Le POP! It was a pleasure to create and to host, but it's just as wonderful to have real people from these great publications take a real interest as well. What a treat! Thank you Fashion Series.

See the latest issue, URBAN, in it's entirety below! Click Expand, or Click Here

Also, this is DylanInTheCity's 100th Post! 
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FFW + Le POP! @ Nyood! Fantastic Event, Great Success!

Well! Our much anticipated event, Le POP!, has come and gone! And what an amazing pleasure it was, in literally every sense of the word. Packed full of so much creativity, Nyood Bar echoed and buzzed with the vitality of everyone attending and participating in our celebration of local fashion! We can only hope that you somehow made it out and joined the party!

Everything from casual clothing to jewelry of majestic quality was hosted as part of Le POP! by artists in and around Toronto. Gems in the city, in the country, and so much fantastic talent! It was an amazing experience for me not only to curate and help host, but to take part in and meet so many great people.

Here are some photos of our event.

We had an amazing turn out! The food was incredible, the music was great, and the company was probably the absolute best. I'd like to thank every artist and business that participated and lent their energy, time, and talent: Emily Woudenberg, Sheri STRanger, Shireen Nadir, Homegrown Boutique, Trend Trunk, Fashion Forward, Killigrew, Leilanni, and Dutch Blonde. I'd also like to thank Gillian Downes, who's not only the name behind Frugal Fashion Week, but also put together everything at Nyood; which leads me to my next big thank you - Nyood Bar. Wow! What an amazing space and what fantastic music and people. A big thanks to Nyood for handling all of us rushing in and out, and providing amazing service the whole day through. An enormous thank you as well to Angela Li, the powerhouse behind our Editorial, and every team member involved therein - Spot 6, Homegrown, Candace French, and Gillian. And I'd also like to thank everyone who was just wonderful enough to show up to the event and deal with me during all this organization and creation. I really do have the greatest friends in the world that just happen to be amazing people and amazing artists all the same. You inspire me everyday, and I am so privileged to know each and every one of you.

Our event was a hit! Le POP! may even be featured in an online publication sometime soon. Local fashion, local news, local coverage? Now that's pretty fierce. We hope you enjoyed not only our small event but the rest of Frugal Fashion Week as well Toronto.

Much love,

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3, 2, 1...POP! Frugal Fashion Week is Here!

The secret is out! Frugal Fashion Week is finally upon us! Are you excited? We are! Over the years this Fashion Event has grown in success and size thanks to Gillian Downes' tireless effort and her love of all things fabulous, affordable, and most certainly local.

Tomorrow is our Le POP! celebration at Nyood! Local designers and artists will be gracing the restaurant floor with one-of-a-kind pieces that include jewelry, clothing, accessories, and more in an impromptu Pop-up Shop on Queen West! We will be OPEN to the PUBLIC and offering walkers-by and brunch-goers alike the chance to peruse, try-on, and even purchase these fantastic designer pieces! So come on by and support local fashion!

Le POP! features an in-house brunch to those eager to get a delicious meal in with their shopping. Call ahead at Nyood Bar to make reservations or purchase a brunch ticket online! If you don't feel like the eggs and benny or the mimosa, that's fine too! Come by anyways and take a look at our fabulous shop.

Le POP! will feature:

Emily Woudenberg

Leilanni

Dylan Dias

Sheri STRanger

Shireen Nadir

Homegrown Boutique

Dutch Blonde

Killigrew

S. Wesley Harris

Can't wait to see you there!

Le POP! Brunch & Boutique

Saturday, July 28th, 2012 from 11:00am - 4:00pm @ Nyood Restaurant & Bar

1096 Queen Street West

Toronto, Ontario

M6J 1H9

(416) 466-1888

Buy a Brunch Ticket!

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Homegrown Boutique 1st Anniversary @ Epique

I had the privilege and pleasure of attending Homegrown Boutique's fabulous and private Anniversary Event at Epique Lounge this past Thursday in Yorkville. It was intimate, inviting, yummy, and everyone looked fantastic. We had candy, cookies, great drinks, and even the opportunity to see some of Homegrown's beautiful dresses on display.

Homegrown is exactly what it implies; a wonderful boutique in celebration of Canadian talent. Owner Michelle, who is a total sweetheart and a fantastic woman, consciously houses Canadian designers new and old, upcoming and established, in a blaze of taste. She represents not only the immense amount of talent in this city, in this country; but also distributors who actually care about supporting local fashion.

Homegrown Boutique carries a variety of fantastic Canadian designers including Emily Woudenberg, Anu Raina, Denis Gagnon, Zoran Dobric, Melissa Népton + many others. Stop by and check them out at 16 Cumberland Street, Lower Level, M4W 1J5 in Toronto, and get your hands on some brilliant local gems for the season.

Happy Anniversary Homegrown Boutique! 

Here's to many more years of fabulous dreams and fabulous success.

Michelle + Homegrown will also be participating in our upcoming local fashion showcase, Le POP! at Nyood! Everything from one-of-a-kind, hand-made accessories to designer clothing will be available for purchase in our impromptu Pop-Up Shop on Queen West. Support local talent and pop by!

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Official Release! FFW/Le POP! Editorial Campaign

I talked about our exciting project, Le POP!, as part of Frugal Fashion Week not too long ago here! As part of the design team behind the showcase, I also helped arrange an Editorial shoot throughout the streets of Toronto as way of promoting the designers involved as well as the event itself.

Opting for a voyeur-esque take on traditional Editorial, Angela Li and I came up with an aesthetic that boasted un-posed softness; an urban celebration of youthfulness and an homage to street style through Toronto's diverse neighbourhoods of West Queen West and Kensington Market. Bold prints, bright colours, and iconic hardware dominate our looks this season. View the campaign in its entirety below.

Photography by Angela Li 

Styled by Michelle Baboolall 

Makeup by Candace French 

Hair by Dylan Dias

Featuring Jessica S. and Kayla of Spot 6 Management

Featuring pieces by Emily Woudenberg, Shireen Nadir, Sheri STRanger, S. Wesley Harris, Killigrew, Dutch Blonde, and Denis Gagon + select pieces by Homegrown Boutique.

Come by Nyood Bar for Le POP! on Saturday, July 28th to get your hands on some of these one-of-a-kind, brilliant pieces - and support local design!

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