Fashion Week | The Conveyor Belt - A Fashion and Lifestyle Journal

Japanspiration

I’m off to the Yukon in a few short days to hole myself up in a cabin and knit the bulk of the next larry. collection, and attempting to stuff my brain with as much as I can before I surrender to the wilderness about Whitehorse. Japan Fashion Week just went down and, fantastically far out hair-do’s aside, there were lots of interesting design elements that registered on my radar:

I love this boy-scout scarf by Trove.

Intensely hot braided/knit scarf by In-Process by Hall/Ohara. It looks to be of varying widths, and for a split second could almost be mistaken for a very long hybrid of hair/yarn wrapped around her body.

Kamishima Chinami neck adornments. And see what I mean about the hair? I think I had at least one Barbie that ended up similarly coiffed after a botched haircut resulting from my imaginative experiments as a pre-teen hair stylist.

Somarta. Thrills with frills.

Gut’s Dynamite Cabarets. The hardware is a little country-western, which I don’t like all too much aesthetically but still have some latent appreciation for. And the fringe, oohhhh the fringe (positive inflection on the ‘oohhhh’). I know it’s like 3 seasons old but who the f cares.

Entoptic. I feel like I’ve done a gazillion sketches and visualizations of this type of loose weave, and began to experiment with this in the ‘Art of Giving‘ pieces I made for the Grace-Gallery charity show using re-purposed textiles from Our Social Fabric back in December 2009, but this is a brilliant execution of the type of look I am going for in my next endeavours with weaving.

Published by Terri on March 30, 2010 in Fashion. 0 Comments

London, London, Here I Come

fairmont lounge, YVR

I wish I could tell you I was going for London Fashion Week. But a flurry of other forces are taking me to the UK, and sadly I will miss out on the last couple days of runway shows entirely.

I have, however, seemed to become a master at the art of packing. My suitcase and garment bag are ready to rock: the outfits are planned with an assortment of corresponding footwear (Pour la Victoire gladiator heels, Farylrobin black riding boots, vintage brown weave boots, vintage brown sandals, and b/w snakeskin slingbacks), and the accessories packed.

One strategic method I always follow when traveling is to wear biggest, heaviest garments on the plane – so I am waddling up to the gate wearing my black boots, long sleeve striped shirt, navy blazer, obakki triangle scarf, and of course a larry. I think I could even squeeze another layer in there without looking like I’m smuggling a rubber tire around my waist. My packing team (yes you need a team to model for…plus wine, and yahtzee is the reward when you’re finished) was joking that I could always try walking through security with shoes on my hands if there wasn’t sufficient room in my suitcase. I wonder if they’d object? (update: my luggage just clocked in at 22.5 kilos – just shy of the 23 limit!).

I hope to be uploading some videos and quick blog posts during my trip, perhaps even some London style shots. When I visited Wales a few years ago the street style was treacherous, so we shall see how fashion is faring now in that part of the world. I’m sure L-town won’t disappoint.

Any suggestions on not-t0-be-missed activities in the city? Favourite restaurants/drinking holes? I will also be spending half my trip down on the South West coast, and the second half in London proper.

Tally ho!

Published by Terri on September 20, 2009 in Lifestyle. 1 Comment

Project Runway Canada: Updates, Predictions, Discontent

First let’s get the discontent out of the way. I must admit I am generally pretty disappointed with the crew of designers the producers rounded up for Season 2 of Project Runway Canada. After being blown away on multiple occasions last year, I grudgingly admit that there were few designs that garnered much more than a second glance this time around.

Of course, there are a few sidebars: I think Kim is an amazing designer, but the only challenge that really showcased her particular talents was the Design House / YSL outfit. Jessica and Sunny are obviously quite skilled in construction, but the former has no design innovation and the latter makes clothes for 50 year old women who want to look 35 again. Genevieve churns out beautiful pieces when she stays comfortably within her niche – think Grecian goddess with lots of drapes and floppy sandals. Nothing memorable to say about anyone else.

Clearly, Sunny is going to win it. Jason can’t compete and Jessica, like I said, can’t actually design. She’d make an excellent seamstress, though.

The last two episodes were filmed over a week ago in Toronto, and the winner has been selected after the final 3 unveiled their designs during LG Fashion Week. I will watch the next 2 eps, but only because I ‘have’ to – I can pretty much guarantee I’ll be moaning and groaning throughout the finale, like a stubborn 5 year old being forced to finish her vegetables pineapple. If Project Runway Canada were a 3 course meal, we would have gotten through the bland first two courses only to discover that – surprise! – there’s no dessert and you might as well just go home now. You would have gotten indigestion anyway.

If you are in the Toronto area this Friday, April 3, check out Brandon R. Dwyer’s Fall/Winter collection, featuring gowns and “skillfully crafted separates.” The launch is invite-only, so get yourself invited by RSVP’ing to andrew[at]brandonrdwyer.com – and let me know how it goes.

Kim and I just got through Vancouver Fashion Week, where we wore a lot of her designs while taking in the shows front and centre, and she’s definitely hit her stride design-wise. Drop her a line by visiting her website and get your own original gear while the gettin’s good.

Published by Terri on April 1, 2009 in Fashion. 3 Comments

Vancouver Fashion Week FW09 Set to Begin

Kris Krug photo from VFW’s SS08 Roca Wear show

It’s that time of year again, as Vancouver Fashion Week prepares to kick off with an opening gala tomorrow night at Leone. This year’s schedule looks promising with numerous designers new to the Vancouver fashion scene; it will be good to see some fresh talent, and I’m optimistic that the quality and appeal will be vastly improved from last season’s showings.

VFW has graduated from the small confines of the Chapel and a brief stint in a dusty wood factory (an admirable concept that didn’t quite translate into an environment conducive to fashion) to the large open Storyeum space. I’m quite excited to see how this venue is transformed for the shows.

The closing gala will be held in the Storyeum space on Sunday evening, and VFW has partnered with the Junos to bring you the official afterparty with lots of celebs and musicians – this promises to be an epic evening, to be sure.

I’m all booked at Blo blow dry bar to ensure I’ve got big and fabulous hair (I’m thinking heavy on the curls) for the opening and closing galas, and set to wear a little black dress from Obakki’s spring/summer collection tomorrow. Outfit for Sunday festivities still TBD.

Check out the VFW show and after party schedule here. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s shows, but aim to be at pretty much all of them.

Hope to see you there!

Published by Terri on March 24, 2009 in Fashion. 0 Comments

Ports 1961 FW09 Runway Highlights From NYFW

All photographs by Kris Krug.

One of the shows I was most looking forward to during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was the Ports 1961 show, and I thought it delivered. Held in the Promenade tent, the show was well attended and ended up having to turn away numerous standees. I had a great view from a second row aisle seat, and noticed that there were microphones set up for live music.

The Red Baratt Festival!, led by Sunny Jain, is a dhol ‘n’ brass band playing music derived from traditional Punjabi Bhangra and “paying homage to the traditional colonial marching bands found in India.” Made a great backdrop to the collection, which was inspired by India’s Mughal Dynasty and Persian princess Nur Jahan, who was renowned for her beauty, artistic talents, and political bearing.

Pieces featured ornate detailing, masculine tailoring and a multitude of rich layers and dynamic drapes, resulting in a range of both form fitting and flowing shapes. The colour palette was positively regal and jewel-inspired, with subdued hues of green, white and grey punctuated by deep reds, oranges, pinks and blues.

Dynamic layering:

This dress was the show’s finale piece, the detailing was so beautiful up close:

Did I mention I also loved the hair? Thick, voluminous and wavy curls loosely braided down the back. The makeup was also very simple and natural. Kris got this lovely shot backstage:

Published by Terri on March 2, 2009 in Fashion. 0 Comments

Erin Fetherson FW09 NYFW Runway Presentation

Crossposted from Stylefinds, written by Shallom Johnson

Erin Fetherston’s new collection is quite a departure from previous seasons. After the floaty, feminine elegance of her spring 2009 collection, this came as quite a surprise to myself and many of the other attendees. Like gothic little dolls, the models walked the catwalk in bows, sombre expressions and odd headpieces – some reminiscent of toy-soldier helmets, some looking more like a miniature version of Donnie Darko’s mad bunny. The color palette was mainly black, burgundy and pastel florals, evoking a rather dark innocence. As in many other shows this season, bows were everywhere – in this case either small and satiny or large and crusted with jewels. Hemlines were for the most part short and heels were vertiginous, adding to the Tim Burton doll-like effect.

While I liked some of the pieces in the collection, I felt that overall it was rather disappointing. I am a big fan of the darker side of fashion, however this left me rather nonplussed. Here are a couple of my favorite looks, and a couple that I felt should have been left on the drawing board:

The aforementioned Donnie-Darko-bunny hats:

Creepy little doll. I actually really like this jacket: