BEST OF F.A.T
Five names to know from alternative fashion week
In recent years, Toronto has pushed ahead as the incubator for budding Canadian fashion designers. From the aptly named Toronto Fashion Incubator, a non-profit organization that hosts the popular new labels competition, to the annual Ryerson fashion show with its always impressive turn-out and, for the past six years, F.A.T (or alternative fashion week), a platform for new designers and artists of all kinds in the fashion industry. Front Row Mag was once again at F.A.T, which was held from April 26 to the 29 in downtown Toronto, and we’re happy to report there was lots of talent on display. Naturally some collections were stronger than others, and while not everyone makes it in this business, we have our eye on a few that just might.
Emily Woudenberg showed a lot of potential with her garden party collection of floral patterns and pale colours (think: creams, pinks, corals and light blues). A romantic show with a vintage feel, Woudenberg displayed silks and chiffons, maxi dresses, skirts and lovely draping.
Jessica Clayton followed with an even stronger collection, possibly one of the strongest seen all week. It was clean and impressively cohesive. Softer colours worked in stark contrast with a sharp geometrical print of black lines on white and all pieces were airy and flowing. A cloudy twilight purple and cream dyed fabric was beautiful in long and short frocks. And a mini dress in said print, with a Carven-inspired half-moon cut-out above the chest, was an easy favourite. A very relevant, sellable and wearable collection.
Zoran Dobric stole the show the following evening with a short film directed by Kevin Caners. A xylophone played dreamily in the background as two waiflike beauties in Dobric’s emerald printed tunics played hide and seek in a forest. The fittingly named Moss dress, with its arty gold and green print, looked beautiful in such a natural setting.
The true artist, Breeyn McCarney turned things up a notch on Day 3. Models walked delicately down the runway like paper dolls in McCarney’s stunning creations made of 100 percent white paper. The stiff paper lent itself well to the bold, structured shapes. The intricate folds and tiny floral cut-outs were beautifully lit up with LED lights by Christopher Lewis. McCarney used alternative fashion week’s atmosphere of complete creativity to her advantage. She decided against presenting anything commercial and came out with something better. Appropriately, it was on the day of sustainable and eco fashion at F.A.T. We can’t wait to see what her next wearable collection will look like.
And finally, Heidi Ackerman, an industry favourite before F.A.T. 2011 even began. This year, forward thinking Ackerman teamed up with Lindsay Sinclair to bring a real spectacle to the runway. Their show was prefaced by an eerie and minimalistic video directed by THIRTY9STEPS. The forest imagery slightly confused the crowd before the show began, until Sinclair brought the woods to the runway with the amazing folds of candy ribbon-like wood accessories that adorned Ackerman’s models. They were out of this world like the ethereal, shimmery and futuristic collection, yet the use of materials brought things down to earth. Ackerman showed lots of draped chiffon, silks and micro-mesh, as well as shiny parachute anoracks. The delicately futuristic feel seemed inspired by Toronto’s own Jeremy Laing. And, fittingly, Ackerman walked out in a Laing t-shirt, taking cues from the best—we can’t help but expect great things from this new designer!
By Hayley Brehl
*please note, at time of publication, photos of Heidi Ackerman’s latest collection were unavailable. Looks shown are from Fall 2010.
