City shows off its sense of style in blaze of colours and mass of stripes Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Wonder+Fashion+what+where/36

There were many wonders, in every sense of the word, at Montreal Fashion Week, which wrapped Thursday night with a blaze of colour in a trend show orchestrated by the ever-stylish stylist and designer known as Yso.

Now, with the plastic covering the catwalk at Bonsecours Market in the recycling bin, and the hundreds of spectators out of their harems, sequins and five-inch stack heels -or basic blacks, here are some questions, answers and bits of colour from the frontlines (not the blue, red and coral variety), but about phenoms like the lioness model, the mini-blogger and the billionaire.

Why?

The early question that emerged as Montreal Fashion Week opened, showing collections for next spring and summer, was a profound why.

The easy answer to the industry question is that the shows are held to create buzz, round up buyers from out of town and support an industry -and various levels of government pitched in $340,000 for this 19th edition organized by Sensation Mode and much more in long-term projects -that has had its manufacturing base decimated and is facing fierce international competition.

I met a buyer from London, Melanie Trevett, who also writes for Britain's fashion trade magazine Drapers, and heard about a German buyer scooping up lines.

Trevett praised Montreal style, saying it was her secret source for great fashion. She loved Helmer's couture collection and bought the entire Barila line for her shop, she said. And she filled a suitcase with Denis Gagnon's line for Bedo, just for herself.

"It was commercial, it was inspiring, it was flirty, it was fun yet sophisticated,'' she said of the line by Sabrina Barila with her sister Claudia, the former model and wife of Cirque de Soleil billionaire Guy Laliberte. "For me, it covers all the market. And the quality is second to none."

That's the storybook quote on any fashion story, one those government officials want to hear.

But the "why" question seems to fall on deaf ears when mediocre or very bad clothes go down a runway. It's fine and well to give young lines a chance, but what about the reputation of Montreal Fashion Week, and hence, Montreal style? Any out-of-town buyers or media will not be impressed.

Wonders

The why question moves to wonder on many levels. There is the wonder of the fashion kind, as in Denis Gagnon -who celebrated his 10th anniversary in business with a cocktail party -Oh, how the Hungaria bubbly flowed! Gagnon will show his spring line and a retrospective at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on Oct. 18. That's quite remarkable: his exhibition falls between the Yves Saint Laurent show there two years ago and next summer's Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective.

There is the wonder of Helmer, spending 120 hours-plus on a glass-couture outfit with Jean-Marie Giguere, cutting and polishing glass tubes, smoothing down broken bottles attached to a bolero and painting the still-dangerous edges gold.

His over-the-top underwater theme included net hats, giant waves of blue tulle, chiming glass tubes, and a pretty sea creature fabric in pink, all evoking the ocean. Some of it was wearable, but the show was an exercise in art and craft. Beauty? Some, for sure, as when a white lace-trimmed ruffle dress had mauve sea anemone appliques. But, overall, the craft overwhelmed the clothes.

Marie Saint Pierre is in her way our own wonder, keeping it simple this season and opening the week with a stripped-down installation at her atelier. The clothes, in tune with today's minimalist current, were also stripped down, with none of the ruffled pleats for which she is known but with the stark architectural cuts that are also her signature, embellished with a swirled or disc applique here and there.

Who?

The designers who show at fashion week tend to target a young clientele, and there are good reasons for that, one of which is the price point: younger people who spend less don't demand the finest quality fabric, and many designers can't afford to buy it or order enough quantity from the top European mills. Also, there is an emerging niche market: call it green, ethical or localista. These young consumers may shun international cheap-chic emporiums, even if it costs a bit more, for what they consider the right and ecological way to shop.

Interbike Fashion Show 'Ready to Ride'

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA (BRAIN)—Interbike\'s third installment of its fashion show, newly named “Ready to Ride,” will showcase a broader spectrum of cycling fashion and have two presentations during Interbike 2010, held at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas, September 22 – 24, 2010.

“The casual cycling apparel category has continued to grow along with the growth in transportation, urban and utility cycling,\" said Rich Kelly, Interbike marketing manager. \"With many influences and trends coming from outside of the mainstream bike industry, the fashion show aims to showcase the latest styles, brands and apparel to the industry. The success of our fashion show has drawn fashion designers and apparel and bike companies to Interbike whose influence reaches beyond bike shops, and we want this year’s fashion show to convey that.”

Ready-to-Ride will feature stylish clothing, bikes and accessories for a broad audience of cyclists that suit high-fashion to recreation styles and urban to family needs. Interbike is once again partnering with Momentum Magazine to curate the selections for the show.

Due to popular demand, there will be two installments of Ready to Ride on Wednesday, September 22 and Thursday, September 23 at 3:30 p.m. on the main show floor in the Urban Lounge.

Those designers and brands interested contributing their products to Ready-to-Ride should complete the product submission form at www.interbike.com/submitfashion2010 and send it with a lo-res photo to Mia Kohout at mia@momentumplanet.com by September 3, 2010.

Teen girls make friends, learn fashion tips

Seven girls gathered Tuesday afternoon in an open room on the second floor of the Carolyn E. Wylie Center in Riverside. They were all teens with a similar problem -- they don't have many friends and needed some tips on interacting with other teen girls.
The group was participating in the second meeting of the Wylie Center's pilot program "Capable Girls Group," which began its first four-week session last Tuesday.
The social group for girls between 13 and 17 provides a safe, structured environment for youths with developmental delays to expand their friendship network and learn normal teen activities such as fashion, makeup, dance and situational etiquette.
The girls participating in Tuesday's activities came from Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Lisa Dryan, director of mental health for the Wylie Center, organized the program, in which her 13-year-old daughter Cecilia has been participating.
"I wanted my daughter to be in something and nothing existed," Dryan said. "That's one of the wonderful things about Wylie: I can think like a parent and create a program like this one."

eBay launches a fashion-focused iPhone app

Online auction site eBay just can't stop releasing iPhone apps. Its latest is eBay Fashion, which focuses on new, designer, branded and vintage clothes and shoes available on the site.

It's a free app, and includes impressive search features to find items that have been listed on eBay, including the ability to then share them on Twitter, Facebook and email.

However, there are other features to let you dive deeper into what's available, including eBay's Fashion Vault which offers fixed-price clothing and offers on designer brands. There's also a Closet section (pictured) where you can mix and match items found on eBay into outfits.

This is all good, yet there's one problem for us Brits. eBay Fashion is available in the UK App Store, but right now only shows item prices in dollars - and indeed, appears to be focused on items located in the US. Once it's localised, it'll be much more useful on this side of the Atlantic.

Crossbody bags give fashion, function and free hands

She’s clutching her toddler’s hand with phone pressed to her ear or finger-scrolling through e-mail while carrying too many packages. Now, she doesn’t have to worry about carrying her fab, fashionable handbag, too.

The crossbody bag, sporting a long strap and worn across the body, is suddenly everywhere. The bags are practical, stylish and, with offerings at every price from two digits to four, highly accessible.

“The business is definitely on fire right now,” says Brooke Scott, fashion director of handbags and accessories at Bloomingdale’s.

“Everybody needs to be hands-free,” she says. “We’re all girls on the go, trying to juggle a lot of different things. This allows you to be a little bit more liberated.”

The crossbody or messenger bag has come back into fashion in the past few years amid the growing popularity of the hard-to-put-down smartphone. The bags are popular, even outselling traditional handbags last year, according to market research firm the NPD Group.

“The idea of not having to carry an old-fashioned ladylike handbag in your hand by the handles is really appealing,” says Linda Wells, editor in chief of Allure. “People want more function in their fashion and not just frivolity. They want fashion to perform a basic service.”

The style is derived from the bags bike messengers wore and the utilitarian fashions of the late 1970s and early 1980s, explains Ellen Goldstein-Lynch, chairwoman of the accessories design department at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. They have popped up sporadically since then, made mostly by low- to moderate-level companies, she says.

Now, though, they are also offered by high-end designers like Ferragamo and Hermes. “It’s the first time it’s been brought back with a lot of style,” Goldstein-Lynch says.

A mention of the style may conjure images of the crossbody bags by LeSportsac, which introduced them in 1982 and still sells them today. Known for its lightweight nylon bags with whimsical prints, the company’s Kasey — a rectangular crossbody bag with the iconic three zippered pockets — is a top-seller worldwide, says D’Arcy Jensen, the company’s chief creative director.

While its north-south rectangular shape is popular among other designers and manufacturers, the crop of today’s crossbody bags has grown to include satchels, drawstring bags and hobos. They are sized from large down to mini and are crafted in soft, smooth leather along with metallic and patent leather. There’s also casual canvas.

Some are fashionably dressed up with studs and hardware, while others are simpler and refined, better able to withstand fads. Wells favors the structured, non-embellished versions in neutrals. “They have a very classic look to them because they’re so low key,” she says.

The bags can be worn several ways: Some can be carried by the handles or worn on the shoulder, others make the leap from day to evening, or with the strap detached, some can be used as an organizer for essentials to be dropped into a larger bag. They can also be worn hanging low from the shoulder.

“That’s the beauty of the crossbody strap. It gives the wearer a lot of options,” says Bloomingdale’s Scott. “There’s inherent value to buying a bag that takes you multiple places.”

Sales of crossbody bags rose an estimated 7 percent across the country for the year ending in February, while purchases of traditional handbags rose 1 percent, according to NPD.

Fashion watchers expect the style to have staying power.

“Without a doubt they are going to gain popularity,” Allure’s Wells says. “This is just the beginning of the trend.”

The City Review: Fashion Week Flubs

Fashion Week. It comes just once in a blue moon, or once every couple of weeks if you're on The City. Last night's episode provided some good drama during it, at least.

For Whitney Port, career opportunities just seem to fall in her lap. After suffering some setbacks in recent weeks, she scored a huge meeting with Maybelline cosmetics.

As our celebrity gossip site points out in its recap of The City, there are few hurdles an aspiring fashionista can't overcome with the weight of a TV network behind her.

Sure, she's good, and sure, she's as appealing personally as she is on the eyes. But are we expected to believe things come this easy in the world of fashion? We don't.

Shockingly (and by shockingly, we mean not at all shockingly), Whit scores an invitation to Miami's Fashion Week next! Naturally, sidekick Roxy Olin will accompany her.

The world of high fashion is just so glamorous and attainable!
To be fair, Whitney at least acts like she cares about her job, unlike Roxy ... or more appropriately, Olivia Palermo. That girl is nothing short of a complete disaster.

Will it finally come back to bite her, though? MTV has seemingly given her a Get Out of Jail Free Card to play at Elle on any occasion she pleases this whole season.

Her luck seemingly never runs out ... or does it? Last night, Louise Roe, a seemingly perfect British transplant, stepped in and usurped some of her responsibilities.

Naturally, this being Olivia, the bar was set so low, Louise had no choice but to amaze Joe and Erin, possibly leading toward the long-awaited dismissal of Olivia.

We know Erin has wanted her gone from day one, but will the higher-ups at Elle finally pull the plug on all their free press from MTV and get rid of this total hack?

If there were a shred of realism in the show, they would, but that's a big if, so we're guessing it's not gonna happen. If it did, though, that would be a good twist.

For all its good qualities, The City needs to prove it's about women trying to make it in fashion, not just advertising for fashion. Sometimes it's just a giant shill.

Olivia can't possibly be employed at a magazine of that stature. It just wouldn't happen. Whitney has made great strides, but her success is debatable at best.

Oh, and in a hilarious, Hills-esque twist, Louise dated Freddie Fackelmayer, a.k.a. Whitney's orange-tanned fake boyfriend from last season. What a small world.

Madonna’s daughter in fashion business

Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes, has caused quite the Web chatter these days. Between her collaboration on a clothing line with mama M and Macy’s and her shot to fashionista stardom, people seem to think she’s on the path to becoming a model, singer, actress and/or blogosphere fixture. Well, German magazine Quality has picked up on this little trender and graced her image (surely a paparazzi still, not an actual photographed picture) on their July issue, and with it we wonder, in the great game of magazine cover subjects, does a teen of a pop star really sell? Maybe it piques curiosity…or maybe she’s just big in Europe. What do you think of Lourdes’ cover debut?

Copycat Fashion

I accessed my Facebook account after a ten day break, and the status updates gave me a crash course on what I missed while on holiday. Besides the tragic news about the plane, rail and bus disasters in India, I learnt that Kites, the movie is an utter waste of Rs 200, and temperatures in Delhi hovered around 44 degrees. But the biggest news on my Contacts List was the opening of Zara, the high fashion store at Delhi’s Select Citywalk mall. “Zara India Rocks!” screamed one excited update and “Cheapest Zara in the world opens in India” said another.

For the uninitiated, Zara is a Spanish clothing brand that specialises in copying the latest catwalk lines, way faster and probably better than the original labels can sell them. Maybe in some exalted circles it isn’t really cool to be seen sporting a Zara label, but hey, if it’s good enough for Sienna Miller and Lara Dutta, it’s good enough for most of us. In Europe, among the high street labels, the craze these days is for celebrity-designed, celebrity look-alike fashion: take H&M, a label that Kate Moss and Madonna design for. But Zara relies on a bunch of anonymous 25-year-olds straight out of design school to churn out a pretty fantastic product, not original maybe, but who cares as long as it looks good?