Glamour girls: Goddess gowns, cocktail dresses, lace rule Day 4 of Fashion Week

TORONTO - The stark white runway may as well have been substituted for a red carpet on Day 4 of Toronto's LG Fashion Week, as designers presented a dazzling array of glamour gowns, cocktail creations and sophisticated separates beckoning for the flashbulbs - or at least a night out on the town.

There was no short supply of smooth silks, rich satins, organzas and tulle in evening wear showcased Thursday, with bows and ruffles continuing their dominance among the flourishes of choice used to amp up creations.

Off the runway, a Montreal-based designer for Rudsak landed on the fast track to fashion victory as the winner of the Via Rail uniform design contest.

Xiao Wei who primarily designs handbags and accessories for the Quebec-based label was awarded $10,000 in Via Rail travel credits. The winning concept will serve as inspiration for the new uniform design, which is slated to be rolled out in 2012.

Romona Keveza: The London, Ont., born, New York-based designer received a warm homecoming as the Canadian success story marked her couture collection's 10th anniversary with a retrospective of her upscale bridal wear and a sampling of her colourful spring collection.

Keveza, whose designs have been worn by actress and singer Queen Latifah and actress Angela Bassett, ratcheted up the colour in her latest evening wear collection. A burst of radiant jewel tones careened down the catwalk in fluttering asymmetrical satin numbers in ruby red and chartreuse, as well as black lace and tulle confections.

Keveza adorned bustlines and waistlines with delicate textured ruching, with flirty petals and rosettes accenting bodices, and more extravagant ruffles cascading along collars and shoulders.

The bridal wear retrospective spanned the style spectrum of wedding day attire, from strapless A-lines, to one-sleeved halters and mermaid, and even infused the occasional colours into the mix, as mint green and soft pink cascading tiered gowns sashayed down the runway.

While New York-based, the company manufactures clothes in Canada, and Keveza felt it important to mark her decade milestone at Toronto's Fashion Week.

"We just thought this would be a wonderful way to celebrate our tenth anniversary because the quality of the workmanship that's done in Canada is really fantastic," she said in a recent interview.

Keveza said she believes the reason the collection resonates with women is that she strikes to create designs that are both timely and timeless.

"When it comes to evening wear and certainly with bridal wear, my goal is that I want a woman to be able to be photographed in a dress whether it's a red carpet dress or a white carpet dress ... and be able to look at her pictures 10 to 15 years from now and say, 'Wow - I could still wear that dress today."'

NADA: Nada Shepherd brought equal parts passion and romanticism to strong designs that fused vintage looks with a classic modernity, maintaining an air of elegance without veering into frothy territory.

Black lace was in ample supply adding subtle texture to white leggings, contrast as sheer overlay and commingling with more fluid satin, most notably on a sharp-shouldered panelled gown with short hem and sweeping train.

Pops of pastels were splashed across the largely black and white collection, in peacock blue shirtdresses with navy piping, bowtie accented cowls and collared shortall jumpers, whose teal and grey floral print resembled a watercolour painting.