Emily Woudenberg / PARAGON Preview Party + Look Book!

I had the privilege of attending Emily Woudenberg's exciting Preview Party for her latest jewelry Collection, Paragon, last week in downtown Toronto. We spoke about it here. The party was casual, fun, and full of fashion enthusiasts from all over to gaze and gawk at some of Woudenberg's best pieces yet!

Emily Woudenberg is one of our favourite local designers in the city. Always exciting, always fresh, and always creating bold pieces (whether through clothing or jewelry) in a new, vibrant way. We've featured her many times on DylanInTheCity before, and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

Paragon featured a variety of colourful, iridescent, and bold jewelry that was androgynous and extremely wearable despite it's powerful aesthetic. Presented on a brightly lit and impressively constructed pyramid table; the brilliant opalite of many of the pieces caught the glimmer of the light and created streams of subtle rainbows across the white surface - allowing us to fully appreciate the majesty of the stone. The beauty of the jewelry is unparalleled and we couldn't be happier for Emily.

Brilliant and beautiful! Carcia and Telly of It'sMusicFashionLife and Michelle of Homegrown Boutique.

I had a fantastic time at the party. Chatting up with bloggers, photographers, beauty professionals, and many other notables in the industry! And with the release of Paragon's Preview comes the release of the exciting Look Book as well! As we mentioned before, I had the opportunity to participate in the creation of Emily Woudenberg's Paragon Campaign! Check out these great images created by our fantastic design team!

Photography / Sylwia Bobryk

Videography / Justin Arjune

Makeup / Erin Heather

Hair / Dylan Dias

Featuring / Alice Liu & Benjamin Edward

There are many more Fashion events to follow this month! Fashion Week, Spring Collections, and everything in between is constantly being live covered by yours truly on both Instagram and Twitter. Join our network and keep up-to-date on all the fabulous!

▲D

Emily Woudenberg / PARAGON

Our favourite local designer Emily Woudenberg is putting together the finishing pieces on her latest fabulous venture; PARAGON. Unique, bold, and full of statement pieces; in true Woudenberg fashion, PARAGON is a celebration and modern re-interpretation of The Art Deco Movement of the 20's. Strong, geometric shapes, bright colours, and materials that include copper, opalite, and silver are just some of the brilliance to expect once the full Collection is released.

I had the privilege of working with not only Emily herself, but a fantastic design team that she put together to help produce the Official Look Book photo shoot of PARAGON. Needless to say, the shoot went brilliantly; helmed by photographer Sylwia Bobryk and videographer Justine Arjune. Here's a preview of what to expect from PARAGON:

Join myself as well as the Woudenberg team at an Official Preview Party on Monday, October 15th from 4pm-7pm at Nyood Bar to see the full video as well as a true glimpse into the world of Emily Woudenberg and PARAGON.

▲D

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.

▲D

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! 
Please show your support for the fabulous of Toronto and LIKE the Facebook Page.
Follow Me on Instagram.
Follow Me on Twitter.
Subscribe to Facebook.

♥▲D

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,

▲D

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!

▲D

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!

▲D

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!

▲D