Day 1 at World MasterCard Fashion Week / Bustle Clothing

Bustle was easily the most energetic, exciting, and best Runway presentation of the night! Known for creating Runway shows that are more like Runway performances, Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow presented a Collection that stood apart from the rest of the Fall Season - bright, exuberant prints and motifs, contrasting layers of texture and shape, and a whimsical play on asymmetrical lines and forms.

We absolutely love Bustle, and their showcase last night at World MasterCard Fashion Week only deepened that love. The play on colours and patterns were so bright and bold; it added so much whimsy to a Fall Season that is typically so serious. The vibrant, cranberry reds, the orthogonal blues, and those amazing trench coats - no one makes a man's trench quite like Bustle. The styling was absolutely perfect; brightly layered textures, jackets that had lines that did more than colour-block, but texture-block; accented with sharply cut chino's, slacks, glossy shoes, and boldly contrasting patterned socks (my favourite part!). I could only assume that socks of that awesomeness would have to be Happy Socks, which is a company that Bustle greatly endorses and clearly loves (we do too!).

It was a unique take on the classic man. Sharply cut suits that were sexy, professional, and charming; but evoked powerful femininity in their colour, motifs, patterns, and forms. It was a newer man; and I'm thrilled, and equally unsurprised, to see Bustle take the lead in Toronto for this re-definition of classic masculine style. Energetic, powerful, colourful, whimsical, charming, fantastic - it's all Bustle! Awesome job.

All credit for the amazing photos to George Pimentel and FLARE.

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The Burberry Effect / Prorsum Womenswear + Menswear, Fall 2013

The Burberry Effect means more than the perfect trench; though, in reality, you could never do better than Burberry if that was your only concern. We're talking the greatest fabric on the planet. We're talking tailoring at a level that's museum-worthy. We're talking consistently re-imagined colours and silhouettes that somehow maintain the same principles of style, class, culture, and identity at the core of it's aesthetic. We're talking refinement, luxury, prestige, and presence all at the same time. Hmm, I guess we are talking about the perfect trench after all, aren't we? Well, look no further than Fall for the 2013 Season; we're talking Burberry Prorsum

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Saint Laurent Paris / Winter 2013 #Menswear

Hello Blogosphere! DylanInTheCity is in the heartbeat of it all - right here in Manhattan, New York this week! Our flight was smooth and quick from the epicenter of Toronto, and we couldn't be more excited for our stay in Gotham. Exploring Manhattan has been a treat so far, and there are hundreds of spots I have yet to discover. Keep it locked right here for Fashion events I may find myself in (as well as Heather Lawton's highly anticipated Fall/Winter 2013 showcase) and keep it locked to my sister-site, DylanInTheWorld, for some of my personal experiences within this fantastic, enigmatic, and majestic city.

Now! Before I become starstruck by my own realization that I'm sitting in a fabulous little suite in Manhattan; let's talk Fashion! The savior himself, Hedi Slimane, recently presented Saint Laurent Paris' fantastic and daring Fall/Winter 2013 Collection at Paris Fashion Week. The minute I laid my eyes on this Collection  I absolutely lost it - I'm obsessed and oh so thankful! Slimane really is the new re-interpretation of YSL and the core of his dream; newness. Slimane is presenting a freshness for men much like Yves himself did for women, in a sense. Androgyny, over-sized shapes, femininity and obtusely carved forms dominate Slimane's showcase for Saint Laurent Paris. Billowing scarves, ripped denim of a 90's era boy, and Gotham-esque capes solidify an aesthetic that is not only urban and daring, but uniquely feminine. Androgyny with a sting of strength and boldness; Slimane's aesthetic carries serious power; it's a very strong identity and extremely characteristic - I couldn't help but fall totally in love with it. I've spoken about how I feel about androgyny in Fashion before, and how important I think it is. It's wonderful to see Slimane, the creative leader behind one of the most iconic High Fashion Houses in the World, take that idea, that ideaology, and push it.

A brilliant presentation. I want everything. Thank you for redefining YSL into something neoteric yet again Mr. Slimane!

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3.1 Phillip Lim / Fall 2013 Menswear

One of my favourite modern designers shines even brighter this Season with his slick, textured, and urban Fall 2013 Menswear Collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Epic, which has easily become synonymous with the brilliant Phillip Lim himself, is all I can say about this fantastic presentation. The rich, black, glossy, over-sized knitwear(esque?) pieces are my absolute obsession this Season! I absolutely love the idea of using a traditionally chic medium, like Leather, and using it to create super modern, ultra trendy pieces that are beyond the traditional, classic silhouettes they are normally associated with. The black on black on black is fierce! The blocked pants, both in colour and texture, are so hot it drives me nuts! The entire aesthetic is so high quality but so effortless and urban at the same time; it's almost like Street Style meets High Fashion with en edge of vintage revolt.

Phillip Lim's Fall 2013 Menswear Collection presents a dark, androgynous, and sexy aesthetic that is ultra mod in a youthful light; futuristic Menswear on the streets of an artistic, cosmopolitan hub. Everything about it is totally on-point that I wish I could own a single piece of every outfit presented, from beginning to end. Best!

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3.1 Phillip Lim Spring 2013 Menswear

Phillip Lim continues to be my dream designer. His taste for simplicity and modern form is a style essence  that I greatly associate with. He is consistently the designer who closest embodies what I believe I'd come to create had I a Collection of my own. There's no shortage of brilliance here. Softly-layered coats, over-sized dress shirts, and white on white on beige. Mmm, I could never miss a power pigment wearing any of these; not to mention those fantastic trousers! The Fashion World's obsession with ombré has given way to bold, orthogonal patterns, graphic printing, and textural overlay. Taste, taste, taste; and those bags! I'm swooning Mr. Lim, I'm swooning.

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Andrea Pompilio Spring/Summer 2013

In Florence, Andrea Pompilio's Spring 2013 is an exuberant display of blocked pastels and powerful structure. Schoolboy-chic meets Calvin Klein-Americana! To me, this Collection, though in obvious inspiration from our current season, takes bold masculinity to a fantastic and fabulous level. The overlaying blocks of colour, the hints of shine, and the dramatic, over-sized luggage is to die for. It is a totally and brilliantly composed amalgamation of this season's hottest looks; from Versace to Phillip Lim. But I have to say, I'm partial to the carry-alls - did you see the giant, neon yellow tote?! Yes, please!

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