Mozart Unlaced (The Royal Conservatory of Music Gala)

by Daniel R. Wilson

Mozart Unlaced, the fundraising gala for the amazing Royal Conservatory of Music was one of the most fantastic, elegant events this reporter has been to in ages. But also an event that made me feel rather inadequate as a human being.

Sitting in one of the spectacular new concert auditoriums listening to a small child of maybe seven years old - Emma Meinrenken - play the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful violin, one can’t help but remember being that age and doing little more than finger painting. Also I got to hear soprano Ambur Braid who was not only physically beautiful draped in a Gucci wrap dress with a heavy leather shoulder strap but had a stunningly powerful voice. Looks, talent and Gucci; I’d hate her if she didn’t send my little hear aflutter.

The event itself was posh to the nines with flocks of chic ladies and elegant men fluttering around as piano players, violinists, singers, cellists and harpsichordists staged performances in every nook and cranny of the new building. Braised short rib so tender it could be cut with a spoon was served on one floor, pikoras on another and decadent sweets on the main.

The highlight was in the four floor atrium where a dj roosted on a bridge near the glass roof playing beats while a violin player dressed for an Elizabethan ball and an opera signer sang bellow. They did a rendition of I Feel Love by Donna Summer which has also been covered by everyone from Madonna to Goldfrapp, which broke the mold of classical music and went beyond anything I had expected.

The Royal Conservatory of Music is one of the leading musical education institutions in North America and has helped shape talent from all across the world into some of today’s most respected musicians and musical professionals. Visit www.rcmusic.ca for more information about the Royal Conservatory if you yourself know a budding prodigy or just want to show some support.

Bustle for Belvedere for SKETCH

Art, a good cause, free booze and one of Toronto’s most stylish fashion labels = a great party attended by T.Os who’s who.
by Daniel Wilson

Shown from left: Daniel Wilson, Robin Kay, Evan Biddell, Leesa Butler

The Bustle team gathered at the painfully chic Hotel Le Germain to auction off nine Belvedere Vodka commissioned duffle and messenger bags designed by local, independent artists. Proceeds from the auction went to benefit SKETCH, a fantastic organization that helps street involved youth make art.

Ms. Robin Kay sashayed in fashionably late to show some love and festivity with wild hair and a halo (she also brought a wad of cash which she was more than happy to drop for charity).
Leesa Butler of The F-List was wowed by the bag with the cat on it but said “I absolutely do not need another bag!” We talked about usable storage ideas that every fashionista needs like a fish tank coffee table filled with bags. Glen Baxter and I talked about the summer joys of bike riding in The Beaches while designer Evan Biddell and Robin talked shop.

Si Si Penaloza from Woman.ca summed up the collaboration perfectly, “Sean and Ruth (of Bustle) make perfectly accessible and broad-ranging clothing that suits our demographic. Its wonderful how they tap into undiscovered artists and talent.”

The Belvedere cocktails with cranberry and RedBull went down a little to quickly but thankfully the National Post's Shinan Govani was no where in sight to record anything embarrassing.

The bags were commissioned by Belvedere to launch their new IX (pronounced one-x) vodka. The artists – Tommy Matejka, Andy DeCola, Carla Lipkin, Stanzie Tooth, Erica Beyea, Mitchell F. Chan, Jonathan Davis, Mike Laderoute, and Carmine Scioscia – were each given a blank canvas pattern and hot pink paint matching the graffiti on the vodka's opaque black bottle.

Betsy Johnson @ Brant House

By Conor O Brien

A trend-set came out in droves to King Street chic-clubland on March 17, 2009 for a peek at the Betsy Johnson Spring/Summer ’09 collection, held at the Brant House.

Although the show got off to a late start, the crowd was wowed by looks that gave the air of young girls playing dress up in their mothers' closets.

The models skipped and danced their way along the runway in colorful looks as DJ Vivi Diamond tore up the ones and twos to a mix of electro-house and hip-hop. Most of the pieces were centered around “whimsy”, with demure floral prints on electric blues and yellows-making the flowers pop. Asymmetrical waistlines, going as high as the bust and going below the bum made several cameos. The two models that came out in black floral showcasing these two extremes did their best, but the silhouette left something to be desired.

After the show, NYC DJ Princess Superstar gave a stellar, however short performance. Unfortunately the crowd had had their fill of having their knees crushed against the runway, and an exodus ensued before she was really able to bring out the big guns.

All in all, the organizers and show stylist stayed true to Betsy Johnson's fun and fancy free nature, and I for one am looking forward to the next party.

Contact in T.O

by Daniel Wilson


Caitlin Cronenberg was the belle of the ball at CONTACT photography festival fundraiser recently at the Burroughs Building. As the guest artist of the party she was showing dresses she sewed herself (with some admitted difficulty), printed with her photographs of Canadian women in the arts. The photographs were part of a project created in designer Rosemarie Umetsu’s basement where local figures in the arts played dress up and climbed in a eight by three foot wooden cage built by Cronenberg and dressed with fabric. The results were fabulous and as powerful as the women in the photos. Visit www.caitlincronenberg.com as soon as you can.



Continuing with the obvious photography theme of the event, famed local photographers Alex vs Alex created a mini photo studio where guests got the chance to be styled by the incomparable Kealan Sullivan of 69 Vintage and shot by AlexvsAlex (www.alexvsalex.com). As people mingled, the photos were projected on one of the walls and everyone waited anxiously to see how fierce they looked.




And with a handful of very noticeable exceptions the guests did look fierce. Toronto dj superstar and single name celeb Vaneska looked ravishing in a vintage print dress bought just that day. Fritz Helder and The Phantoms prowled the party like a gang of wildcats escaped from Karl Lagerfeld’s personal zoo. Kealan breezed through the party as effortlessly as always making everyone question why they weren’t wearing what she was and if they could ever possibly look as good in it. The celebrity wattage was upped by the early appearance of one of my art heros David Cronenberg, looking every bit A Director.



Thanks to Morad Affifi for pulling off a fantastic event that may have been the pre-Fashion Week break from hibernation this city needed. It was so refreshing to see people out and dressed up again, recession be damned.

For more information and details on the 2009 CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival, May 1-31, visit www.contactphoto.com

More Masquerade for United Way

Photos by Coko Galore


Conveniently held after Halloween, the Rouge Masquerade ball, a fundraiser for United Way, was held at The Suites on 1 King St West.

Guests in black and red donned feathers and masks - yet even at a masquerade ball, the most interesting looks were created with the shoes, belts, earrings and ties.

Sustainable Style Show & Green Gala

by Daniel Wilson


Maybe it was the weather or maybe, somehow, the green is the new black message still has not totally caught on. Whatever the reason, season’s Sustainable Style Show event held in The Fermenting Cellar of Toronto’s Distillery District was poorly attended. Those too scared of the rain to venture out missed Susie Love’s amazing new jewellery line made from recycled leather; Kealan Sullivan of 69 Vintage’s typically amazing finds (that woman has an eye most stylists would kill for), and great fall pieces from the recycled fashion matriarch, Preloved.


Photos (n8n media group) Jason Meyers & Liz West | designs by Evan Biddell and Nada Yousif

Fortunately for organizers, the Green Gala, held in the evening was sold out! Ten of Canada’s top fashion designers were featured - each creating 3 outfits made from sustainable fabrics that were then modelled by local celebs including City TV’s Anne Mroczkowski and Liz West; The Hills After Party host Jessi Cruikshank and Fashion Television’s Mary Kitchen.

The entire show was produced with an effort to lighten the eco-footprint - plates and cups are biodegradable, local organic floral arrangements were used and bottled water was not allowed into the events, which themselves were powered by Bullfrog Power using LED lights. Models' hair was styled with a zero electricity policy and make-up artists were from Green Beauty, representing eco-friendly make-up artists and stylists in Toronto.

Fashion sCares and Diva's Dare!

Fashion Cares, an event to raise money for HIV/AIDS research, awareness and patient care takes a horrific turn this Halloween, transmorgified into Fashion SCares. Leave it to the fashion and gay communities to transform the sterile Toronto Convention Center into a masquerading orgy of fun. While some people (who will remain nameless!) do NOT dress up for the event, many partiers sport costumes that rival the gorgeous display of designs on the runway. (In one of the more bizarre aspects of the evening, designers were not identified with their clothes).

Dressed as “The Swan Who Gets Killed in the First Act of Swan Lake” (shown left with Carolee Custus), I'm delighted to discover the National Ballet is among the evening's performers. Stripped down to their whites, they pirouette across boundaries between classical and downright raunchy dance with playful, orgiastic mastery. Various performers do their best to rock the fashion crowd, yet highbrows (some at $10,000 tables), and the plebs standing in bone crushing heels, remain subdued. What does it take Toronto?!

It takes a Diva dressed in a glittering yellow bata de cola dress, draped with a sun-yellow fur-trimmed cape that makes Liberace look like he shopped at the Gap. It takes a 72 year old Diva with a body that makes me look like a candidate for Type 2 diabetes. Oh yes – Dame Shirley Bassey flies from England to make a gala appearance at Fashion SCares. Before she is through the second chorus of her classic “Goldfinger” roses start flying through the air like American rockets in Kabul. By the end of her performance the stage is red with them. Even the Ladies Who Lunch are dancing on their Pradas, and gay and straight men alike are drooling enthusiastically.


Photo of Fritz Helder and The Phantoms by Tommy Ton @ jakandjil.com

While it is a night to party, revelers are reminded the epidemic is still in full swing. More children are orphaned by AIDS in Africa than children in the USA are in school. Here's to Fashion SCares for all their great work in fighting this disease! And remember - whatever the season, condoms are always in style – perhaps the only accessory we really can't live without. Check out the Condom Shack on Queen for excellent service and a range of latex-free condoms.


It took A LOT of people behind the scenes to transform the giant Convention Centre into a gala-worthy themed-scene. For interviews, check out Carolyn's TFI blog with words by Manny Machado, Decor Designer and others.

LG Fashion Fusion - WRAP

Celeb stylist HOST for the evening, Phillip Bloch with designer Lucian Matis


FDCC Chair Joe Mimran (in his slippers:) with FDCC President Robin Kay (in Lucian Matis)

LG Electronics Canada, Toronto fashion's newest BIG sponsor, went all out for L'Oreal Fashion Week's finale with a grand fete that brought the fashion industry, actors & performers, and lucky ticket winners together in style!

For its closing party, LG flew in Maroon 5 for an intimate concert (people outside in the cold got to watch the show through a see-through wall AND giant projection screen set up in Nathan Phillips Square)! The fashion show included designers such as Greta Constantine, Mikhael Kale, and Wayne Clark. Other highlights of the night include presentations by top international design students, Agent Provacateur and Canadian swimwear designer, Shan.


Hot tights of the week


Fashion Television's Jeanne Beker | SHAN models show off the lates LG phones

In Fashion delivers an extensive L'Oreal Fashion Week and Fashion Fusion recap Sunday, November 9 at 5 p.m. ET on CTV; followed at 5:30 p.m. ET with FashionTelevision Presents: LG Fashion Fusion; a full episode of FT dedicated to Fashion Fusion showcasing all of the evening's highlights.

Toronto Urban Fashion Week? Call for Designers

Apparently, July 31 to August 4, 2008 there will be a Urban Fashion Week thing happening in Toronto which conveniently coincides with the Caribana Festival.

From what I could discover (which is not much), this is actually three days of club shows and parties showcasing urban lines to potentially a massive market celebrating Caribana, to be held at The Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown, 1 Blue Jay Way. Hope to keep you posted!

* Casting for Local Models/ Designers
Time / Date: 7pm – 9pm, Wed July 16, 08
Location: Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown Ballroom

It’s cute, but does it have to be so creepy?

by Daniel Wilson

This was my main thought about "contemporary crafts" this past Saturday as I bustled in from the blowing snow and slippery streets of Queen St West into the over-heated, yet cozy second floor of the Gladstone Hotel for M.A.D.E - the Modern Art and Design Exhibition.

At the entrance hung, festively with cheer, an assortment of head-bumpingly low ceramic objects representing the work of several of the creepy crafters. Pink balls with gaping mouths and single animal antlers hung from fishing line over the gathered shoppers.

Much of the work would give anyone, even over the age of majority, nightmares for Christmas. If all this sounds cynical, it’s not meant to. The arts and crafts on sale were wonderful and often whimsical, but there seems to be a strong trend among crafters to make creepy art.

Alex Boisjoli’s witty ceramic potatoes poke fun at the uselessness of many decorative objects. Alex’s dismembered ceramic doll heads mounted like deer are rather disturbing and the mounted pieces that have deer heads have human fingers instead of antlers.
Lesley Anne Green’s pieces at first could be cute, until you look closely at the gnarled teeth of the snowman heads and the alarming grimace of the girl on a bike. Her work is fun, detailed and well executed, but again, not the kind of thing one should buy for a child or an elderly person prone to heart problems.

In the Magic Pony section of the show stood a doll dressed in a black Victorian gown that inexplicably had a strange owl head and reminded me of Virginia Woolf, and on a tiny shelf of it’s own was a innocent looking pen and ink drawing of a happy little person carving and eating slices of a happy looking walrus creature.

So I ask the crafting community, what’s wrong? Why are you trying to give us nightmares? Some have suggested it is in response to the growing scariness of the world, much like horror movies. One Gladstone employee said, “crafting is scary, the crafts should scare people too.” Another friend said simply, “creepy sells.”

Northbound Fetish

Last Saturday, Toronto's naughtiest community gathered at the Docks for the annual Northbound Leather Fetish party. Rather than the usual fashion show, clothes were modelled in wild performances! From leather to rubber, silks and velvet - sensuous textures rubbed against flesh (well maybe there was quite a bit of rubbing going on). Forbidden fantasies were brought to life in a massive dungeon, fully equipped with strict mistresses, and adoring submissives. The staff at Northbound Leather are ultimate professionals - knowledgable and discreet, you'll find what you're looking for at Toronto's premier fetish boutique.

Photos courtesy of Rolyn Chambers