Cherry Blossom; Notice Sunny Fong (PRC Winner) and Jessica Biffi (PRC Runner-up) in the front row?

Long overdue but what can I say, I wanted this entry to be a part of the new Toronto Styles concept.

Dee and I went to Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week for the first time (for the both of us) and we loved it! The Fermenting Cellar at the Distillery District was a “cool” venue; very appropriate for FAT and its cause. The view of the runway wasn’t exactly the greatest for everyone. LG Fashion Week has televisions all around the room and displays the catwalk during each show, which is what FAT needed to do. They had the televisions, but they were used for video installments by local artists, which were great, don’t get me wrong, but the TVs could have showed the collection during each set and show the video installments before, during breaks and after each show. Just a thought.

Nonetheless, we had a great time. The environment was great and everyone was nice and friendly. If we weren’t so into our TS transformation topic, I’m sure we could have easily approached people without getting attitude in return - a vibe that LG Fashion Week doesn’t necessarily have.

To the collections themselves, let me just tell you it wasn’t just a catwalk of clothing. Some of the designs came down with their models dancing, giving away alcohol shots, acting, etc, etc and we loved it all. It’s not so serious and it really showed personality. At FAT, size and height is not an issue and you can see that with their selection of models. FAT is an open stage and each designer took full advantage of it.

The theme of the day was PLANET. This calls for organic materials, recycled materials, and support of the cause.

The shows were scheduled for 7pm and we got to the venue around 7:40pm thinking we missed the first set but lucky us, the show had just started.

Romandin by Cristina Sabaiduc

Many thanks to Dee for taking the pictures!

Zuzanium, ANIKA, andal-lopez, Worth. By David C. Wigley, Amanda Rose, Cherry Blossom, Romandin by Cristina Sabaiduc, and Deadly Nightshades were all a part of the first and second set. Instead of writing about each designer (sorry!), I am going to focus on the third set because it was my favourite.

Paper People Clothing; Elizaveta Yankelovich aka Kameleph
The watermarks annoy me but they were the only ones that had the shots I wanted.
Canada Digital

Paper People Clothing
It started off the set with models that resembled founder and designer of Paper People Clothing, Jennifer Fukushima - dreadlocks and “pointy” glasses. Her line is made from recycled clothing and eco-friendly material. There was a model who drank a bunch of shots like a champ before she gave some away to the audience. At the end, a bride model died and all the models came out with candles to revive her.

Elizaveta Yankelovich aka Kameleph
Topless models wearing tutu’s and huge neck pieces made from recycled materials. There were some interesting pieces, specifically this doll house neck place. It reminded me of something I used to have. I thought this collection was fun and girly, but in the end when they came and danced around, it was kind of orgy-like. But what do I know about orgies?

Meet My Art By Baby Steinberg
Canada Digital

Meet My Art By Baby Steinberg
These dresses made from recycled materials (cell phone cases, teddy bears, umbrellas, shredded paper, etc) carrying on the planet theme. I wasn’t a big fan of this collection simply because of the designs, but they looked like a lot of work went into them. I mean, shredded paper dress? But in reference to the teddy bear skirt and the cell phone case dress, are they all really recycled material or…?

Too Hot Too Wet Too Dangerous: By Karey Shinn
Canada Digital

Too Hot Too Wet Too Dangerous: By Karey Shinn
Okay, hands down this must have been everyone’s favourite performance collection of the night and what a way to end the night. Sure, the first section had a lot of posing but whatever, the show was so creative and I loved every bit of it. The show was cut up in three sections: Too Hot, Too Wet and Too Dangerous. Too Hot probably had the idea of global warming which melts the ice bergs and the polar bears (who came out to dance) are in trouble. Too Wet had these two models dancing around in rain coats. The melting of the ice bergs causes floods, thus the land is now too wet. Finally, Too Dangerous had these male and female dancers in construction gear. Maybe the flooding reached the electrical poles and zaps and kills everyone. Hence, too dangerous. -=)

All in all, it was a great experience and you’ll definitely see us at next year’s Toronto Alternative Fashion Week (hopefully for the whole week).

Related Posts:

• 442 McAdam F/W 2010
• Dare to Wear Love at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week
• LG Fashion Week Spring 2009 Flash Back