LG Fashion Week: Dispatch One

LG Fashion Week kicked off with Project Runway season two winner Sunny Fong's VAWK line. The show took place at the Art Gallery of Ontario and featured raffia necklaces and cut out leather. Fong, continuing the trend set by European designers, chose to use models of all sizes to showcase his clothes.

Then there was the the Holt Renfrew Media Cocktail. It was very well attended and the Canadian fashion elite were there. Jeanne Beker had some fabulous five-inch Miu-Miu shoes and while she loved them, she did say, "Let's see how long they stay on."  Holts was celebrating their "group of seven." No, not art, but seven Canadian designers: Greta Constantine (who showed before fashion week), Denis Gagnon, Lida Baday, Jeremy Laing, Mikhael, Pink Tartan and Smythe. All the designers showed a capsule collection. It was all gorgeous, gorgeous clothes including one fabulous black dress (Greta Constantine) and a white suit (Lida Baday).

Barbara Atkin, Vice President, Fashion Direction for Holt Renfrew and Robin Kay both spoke at the event, but the crowd wasn't paying attention. It was quite rude. 

At the fashion week venue - 1030 King St. West - it was a parade of shine. Hair was shiny, clothes were shiny and sparkly, shoes were high and sparkly and even some faces were shiny (and not from shimmer products). As we were sitting down and waiting for the runway show to start, there was some buzz about a new letter asking for the removal of Robin Kay. That led to a lot of people checking their blackberries and iPhones.  That buzz was silenced by the show - 100 years of Beauty by L'Oreal which featured models wearing looks from every decade from 1900. That was followed by the Stratford Shakespear Festival's "Wear Love Alive" (No, I don't know what that means either.) But the clothes created by designers such as David Dixon, Ross Mayer and Nada were stunning. 

There was an after party, but no after parties this week for me. The decision was made to go home and sleep. You can't stay shiny with a lack of sleep. 

The funniest part of the night was the PETA seal demonstrating outside Holt Renfrew and 1030 King Street West. He was the happiest seal I've ever seen.

Of note: Lucian Matis (also of Project Runway Canada fame) won the first annual Fashion Design Council of Canada's Designer Development Fund.

Related links: 

LG Fashion Week S/S 2010 (updated daily)

(Dress from Sonny Fong's VAWK collection/CP Images)

(Seal courtesy of Kimberly Lyn/The Soul of my shoes. Click to see her pictures from Day one)