Toronto World MasterCard Fashion Week Day 1

The excitement and energy of World Mastercard Fashion Week is most buzzy and lively on the first day. The sights in the tents are fresh, your feet are only mildly killing you, and the exhaustion and hangovers haven’t set in yet. The supremely well curated collections didn’t hurt, either. Here’s the lowdown on the shows from day one.

MIKHAEL KALE
Mikhael Kale, the Canadian Toronto-based designer is set to the launch this season of World MasterCard Fashion Week. For his fall/winter 2014 collection, Kale was inspired by the art of folding napkins which was incorporated into his collection full of bright colours and prints as well as detailed embellishments.

Music: Poppy, upbeat house mashups; (Travis caught a tune by The Cool Kids) underground, base-thumpings tunes
Mood: Cheerful
Models: Blank, slow to walk the studio cycle
Makeup: Light makeup overall, with shiny highlighted cheekbones for razor sharp standout bone structure
Hair: Slicked back sides contrasted a pushed back and piled high front style, complete with loosely tousled lengths
Colours: Bright, juicy pink; emerald green
Textiles and Textures: Silk organaza, cable knit, cashmere
Patterns: Tie dye-esque, but more modern
Favourite Look: Cropped mint cashmere studded moto jacket
Overall Feel: Whimsical, playful

VAWK
VAWK returns to World MasterCard Fashion Week with its highly anticipated fall/winter 2014 collection, “1,001 Nights”. For this collection, creative director Sunny Fong was inspired by the collision of classical and modern, blended with the luxury of Dubai and the organic style of ‘90s street fashion.

Music: MIA and similarly head-bobbing bangers
Mood: 90’s, etheral, streetwear
Models: Diverse in size (for a runway), plus a memorable prosthetic-legged man model in a wig!
Makeup: Bold black lids that winged out to frame eyes with a blackout almond-shape
Hair: Pin straight with a one inch band of hair across foreheads
Colours: Black, black, and more black
Textiles and Textures: Croc-embossed leather, wool, jersey-looking cotton, sequins, lace
Patterns: A delicate, nearly undetectable floral pattern on some of the lace; otherwise, all solids
Favourite Look: Fox fur chevron sweatshirt
Overall Feel: Minimal, sleek

BEAUFILLE
Beaufille, from the sister team Chloe and Parris Gordon, closely examines the ideas of uniform, unity, and code within clothing and accessories for fall/winter 2014. While closely studying various forms of gangs and tribes, the collection was created to communicate these ideas. Custom prints, hardware, jewelry and silhouettes all work together to convey this message. 

Music: 90’s Golden Era hip-hop – essentially Travis’ iPod
Mood: Badass bitches looking sharp
Models: Chill, rocking backwards embellished baseball caps
Makeup: Lightened brows, a light dusting of bronzer
Hair: Loose and languid yet polished
Colours: Dusty rose, grey, navy
Textiles and Textures: studs, pleats, high-shine
Patterns: All-over graphics, jacquered weaves
Favourite Look: Black leather moto jacket with a faintly stitched floral pattern
Overall Feel: What you wish you dressed like in the 90’s, made even cooler today

LINE Knitwear
From designers John Muscat and Jennifer Wells, LINE Knitwear’s fall/winter 2014 collection is geared toward the modern, urban woman with style. Inspired by nature’s textures and palette, LINE’s head-to-toe looks will focus on the contrast between dramatic proportions and luxurious textures.

Music: Bouncy, dreamy tunes
Mood: Fun, flirty, chic
Models: Saunterers; they know they got it
Makeup: Fuchsia lips; creamy, silvery lids
Hair: Deep side parts and slicked back on one side
Colours: Berry, pink, dove grey, navy, white, mint
Textiles and Textures: super soft-looking mohair, sheer lace
Patterns: croc-looking patterned tops and dresses
Favourite Look: Every single pair of micro-shorts: silk and angular, soft mohair and high-rise, with contrasting piping… I want them ALL!
Overall Feel: Sexy, stylish and sophisticated

SID NEIGUM
Sid Neigum’s fall/winter 2014 collection is based on packaging design. It’s about transforming two dimensional to three dimensional. This is achieved through laser cutting, and mathematical pattern design.

Music: A live, incredibly talented string quartet; eerie and haunting
Mood: Dark but not sad; more so serious and sombre
Models: Honed their skills to achieve a ghost-like float
Makeup: A super simple black eyeliner flick on an otherwise bare face
Hair: Deep Slicked middle parts with lengths looped into low buns; elastics covered with hair wrapped around them
Colours: Black, white, burnt orange, brown, muted berry; a very autumnal palette
Textiles and Textures: Oragami-like from stiff and structured pieces; fluid and flowing
Patterns: mostly none, but a few allover brick-like block patterned-pieces floated down the runway
Favourite Look: A head to to liquid-gold look, featuring a super high-slitted skirt/dress, topped with a pleated and pinched close-fitting 360°-encapsulating cape with a high neck 
Overall Feel: Avant-garde, with lots of laser-cutting, big volume, and McQueen armadillo-esque booties