I've been going to Toronto Fashion Week for 5 years since it was at the Liberty Grand and front rows were often supplemented with event staff to make shows look more full than they were.  It took us practical Canadians a few seasons to warm up to fashion that wasn't imported and bedecked with our favourite European logos. Now Canadian Designers are starting to get some of the recognition they deserve, and that means bigger Fashion Week turnouts than ever.  

This season saw some great newbies and another collection from some of our favourite Project Runway alumni, Evan Biddel, Lucian Matis and Carlie Wong.  While we weren't able to see all of the shows (including NADA, David Dixon and Lundstrom), we saw enough to form a few opinions.

My personal faves were Joeffer Caoc and Lucian Matis.  Though I will always love my Andy The-Anh, I wasn't as on board with this collection as I normally am.  It mostly had to do with the shiny green Mom Pants and matching blouse and a whole lot of bling and embellishments that made me a little tired. I kept thinking, "yes but how would I clean that?"  Tights with rhinestones  would befuddle even the best dry cleaning Wizard.  Still, the shapes, workmanship and beautiful styling were enough to keep me (mostly) happy.


Joe Fresh suggested we swap our usual warm and whoolies for unitards next fall.  The knit onesie pictured here might be appealing if it had footed feet and came in size 9months.  Still, Joe makes the best socks of my life and so I forgive.  And I loved the huge scarves and black and white gingham bag.   Some question if Joe Fresh should even have a runway show at Fashion Week, but Joe Mimran is a major Canadian retailer, no?  And then there is the small matter of him being the chair of FDCC, that whole business with Alfred Sung, Club Monaco, Caban, Pink Tartan and so forth.


Carlie Wong had gorgeous hair and makeup and I liked how she combined silver with gold accessories.  For the most part her clothes are easy to wear and therefore easy to love, however I wasn't too keen on the one sleeved silver number with the scrunchie waist and the gold rose print that dominated the collection.




The one collection I still haven't decided on yet is Evan Biddel.  What do you think?  I do like those open back hoodies but he showed them last year for the Project Runway finale.  He's definitely popular with the crowd but I just don't know.

To help you decide, check out more of our pictures from LG Fashionweek Fall '09 here

I also highly recommend you check out Anita's article on BlogTO about NADA and the gorgeous pictures.

By: Ali de Bold