Emily Woudenberg & EGO at FAT

Toronto Arts and Fashion Week (FAT) is almost here! 

Taking place this year from April 24th-28th, FAT is an incredible annual event in the city that promotes and encourages local artists; through fashion design, visual art, music, film, and performance, to express their contemporary visions of the season. It is an Arts Festival that is made by artists for artists, and features some of the city's best emerging talent.

One to look out for might be designer Emily Woudenberg, who will be showcasing her new Fall/Winter 2012 Collection at FAT on April 25th this year, entitled EGO. Tickets for all related FAT events are on sale at the Official Website, as well as dates, times, and location information. Be supportive, exciting, inspired, and most importantly, extraordinary! Be a part of Fashion/Art/Toronto!

Teaser Film by Adam Zivo


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Trending! CORAL for Spring 2012

Is Spring here yet? Toronto is still waiting for that warmth to creep in, but before it does, it's probably smart to plan ahead with a little Coral! We've already covered this season's hottest colour, Mint, but that shouldn't discourage anyone from experimenting with other popular colours of the season. Spring has given us a unique mix of pastel and power-pigment hues that range in everything from royal blue to lemon yellow! Neon is in in bold patterns and blocked colour; Coral is a part of that movement.

Coral is the second trending colour of the season. It started with McQueen not too long ago during the famous fashion house's Spring 2012 Collection. Splashes of both pastel and jeweled-toned Corals dominated the runway in everything from floral pumps to billowing dresses. The re-introduction of this tone, which was very popular last season, has sparked an uproar of new, bold designs that have filtered down into the consumerist market from the runways of the world's greatest designers.

Coral is fresh and feminine. It has hints of both pink and orange that give it a uniquely diverse quality. It can be neutralized with warm, beige tones as well as used as a power pigment when made bolder with brighter, more fuchsia tones. Everything from great shoes, to skirts, to slacks, to overcoats, and head-to-toe jumpsuits is fair game when using Coral for Spring! Like Mint, Coral is one of this seasons new faux-neutrals. Partner it with everything from soft oranges and deep pinks to true greens and bright yellows!

Coral and Mint, the two hottest colours of 2012, are also fantastic together! Experiment in new ways by using these Spring faux-neutrals to balance one another in clever, unique ways! A Coral dress grounded with a Mint belt, or fantastic turquoise jewelry accessorized over a Coral blouse are just a couple of easy examples.

Don't fear the pink, embrace Coral this season!

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31 Hour Series by 3.1 Phillip Lim

Phillip Lim makes some of the greatest bags in the world. His leather work is phenomenal, eclectic, and evokes an urban luxury that is ultimate chic. Everything is oversized and on-point; and his superb 31 Minute Clutch/Bag in seasonal white is perhaps my most obsessed over item! A carry-all merged with a clutch, lightly textured leather and silver hardware? Oh, Phillip Lim, you had me at ombré!

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3.1 Phillip Lim Online Boutique LAUNCH!!!

Thanks to the amazing and the awesome JayStrut, I've recently come to know that one of my favourite design houses, 3.1 Phillip Lim, has just launched their Online Boutique! The shop is available worldwide for international orders on some of Phillip Lim's best designs including, but not limited to, his incredible collection of ombré pieces from his Spring/Summer 2012 Men's Collection.

The boutique features Menswear, Womenswear, as well as an Accessories section that includes Lim's famous collection of carry-alls, totes, and leather satchels. I couldn't be more excited for this! Phillip Lim, as anyone who has been reading my blog should now, is one of my favourite young designers in the industry today. His aesthetic is always modern and crisp with classically tailored elements that are uniquely enhanced with subtle and creative characteristics. His clothes are the epitome of modern style and I am just fawning over everything his Online Boutique is offering for the season!

Also, in celebration of the opening of the 3.1 Phillip Lim Online Boutique, the fashion house is offering a special contest that will gift one lucky, and hopefully obsessed, shopper with a $3000 online spree! Fingers crossed on this end!

Shop today at 3.1 Phillip Lim and be fantastic this Spring!

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Trending! MINT for Spring 2012

It's finally here ladies and gents! Spring is dawning on us. Our cool temperatures are finally giving way to double-digits in Celsius, and the sun couldn't be brighter! So, what's this post all about? Trends of course!

Mint is the hottest colour of the season, it's time to embrace that cool, fresh glow! Everything from pastel Mints, to jewel-toned Mints, to more aqua-toned Mints and more blue, ice-toned Mints are all fair game. The colour is a refreshing departure of the sea of neutrals we've been seeing lately from not only many of the Spring collections last year, but as well as the dismal, stark palette of much of Fall/Winter.

White is still very much in season this year, as is black, but adding details of Mint in contrasting and complimentary elements could take your everyday look from seasonal to spotlight stunner. Add a heel of Mint, a bag, or a skirt to balance out the neutral elements of your outfit. Personally, I love seeing it in statement pieces; like a skinny pant in full Mint, a chunky heel, or an oversized carry-all. However, you can also be more subtle in your Mint choices! Mint jewelry can easily become a great faux-neutral that will pop with almost any jewel-toned blouse. It's also a fantastic colour for powerful accessories like a wrap scarf or a bold, turquoise ring!

Mint is also extremely versatile. It's naive to think that it can't be partnered with other hues in bold patterns, because Mint itself is a hue that can be found in hundreds of variations. So what's the problem with mixing Mint with Mint? None I say! Spring is about catharsis and liberation, explore your colour options! A pale, pastel-tinted Mint pump can still look totally fantastic with a bolder, jewel-toned Mint skirt. A light, aqua-tinted Mint scarf partnered with a bright, blue-toned Mint purse? Why not!

Spring is not just about embracing colours as they are, it's about playing with them. What colours work with your skin? What colours work together? And how can you make bold statements out of signature pieces? Take your time this season girls; just embracing the new and the exciting is a testament to your character and your ability to be at the forefront! Leave a lasting impression this season by using Mint as a staple in your wardrobe palette.

3.1 Phillip Lim // Men's Fall 2012

...the most inspired Men's Collection of the entire season, in my opinion. Phillip Lim, of 3.1 Phillip Lim, has been consistently incredible season after season. But perhaps I'm biased, because Lim seems to embrace an aesthetic that is also my opinion of ultimate style; so I've come to recognize his work as the epitome of such. However, regardless of what I think, anyone who has any semblance of knowledge in this industry will agree that Lim's superior forms; in taste, simplicity, and uniqueness, is almost unmatched in the Men's world. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2012 Men's Runway Show from 3.1PhillipLim on Vimeo.

Razor cut and bold, Phillip Lim continues to make some of the most beautiful outerwear I've ever seen. Crisp whites that anchor sugary accents of turquoise and blue (spring colours!), as well as deep aubergines and scarlets (not unlike the palette of his Women's Collection of the same season) dominate this year. His knitwear is simple in texture and colour, but bolder and more interesting in shape. His leather vests are cut like trenches, but are shoulder-fitted to perfection; while the smallest details, like his elongated, wrap belts and bright red shoes, take the entire aesthetic to a whole new, creative level.

The thing about Lim that amazes me the most is his ability to create. Season after season, from Fall to Spring, from Men's to Women's, Lim manages to spearhead trends with incredible accuracy all while maintaining the ripest expression of his style. He manages to take classic, simple shapes that have worked and will always work, because they are eternal, and just tweak them in the slightest manner, and yet, unexpectedly so. A transparent mesh of mint over an overcoat, a textural vest over a trench, or a graphic pattern into an exaggerated clutch - made for women, adopted for men (I love it!).

Phillip Lim continues to change Men's fashion while maintaining it's powerful integrity. He creates pieces with lastability though they are creative-looking; new but old, in a sense, all the while celebrating his version of what style is. Because of this, and because of his uncanny ability to tie in palettes, shapes, and textures to create a fantastic unity between his Men's and Women's trends, he is unlike any other designer in the industry. Mr. Lim, you had me at ombré <3

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Ezra Constantine Fall/Winter 2012 (50th Post!)

Ezra Constantine has, for a while, been a huge inspiration for me. Not only is the line headed by the brilliant Canadian talents of Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill (famously known for their powerhouse and main line, Greta Constantine) but it evokes a new silhouette, every season, for evolving menswear.

Feminine-inspired shapes and cuts add a new sense of movement to once rigid forms - rounded shoulders, a flowing torso, an oversized neckline; but are grounded by dark elements like textural leather, black, and metal. The result is a celebration of movement in a man that is no less masculine nor powerful, though it embraces feminine-inspired details. I find this incredibly interesting, intriguing, and liberating. It is not only refreshing to see in the men's fashion world, especially in the western world, but it is refreshing to see it come from Toronto.

Ezra Constatine is a prime example of the talent that sits in this country and, especially, in this city. There is serious potential coming out of new designers blossoming in a Canadian market that deserves more attention from it's Canadian consumers and distributors. Talent is more than execution, it is also vision, and Ezra, since it's early beginnings, has evoked nothing short of great vision. Wong and Pickersgill continue to be at the forefront of a changing industry and an evolving aesthetic with fierce potential.

Also, in slightly unrelated news, this is my 50th post for DylanInTheCity! Celebrate, Like, Share! Thanks!

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