Last week was a whirlwind of events, launches, parties, and anniversary celebrations. In the midst of it all was Toronto’s Arts & Fashion Week (FAT). I nearly ran myself into a coma trying to attend everything, but it was well worth it because FAT showcased some seriously incredible and unique style, art, and design. Creating a list of just five top moments from the four-day festival was a tough order. 

1. A Kick-Ass Opening Dance Number

Karey Shinn‘s Cosmetic Green show kicked off FAT and holy crap it was a spectacle! Shinn sent four female models sashaying down the catwalk to a slow jam, followed four ladies in flowy spring dresses fluttering along to a more upbeat song. While they posed at the runway’s edge, two males started stomping to a pulsating beat. On and on it went, with  over twenty models dancing their way down the runway and back up again. The audience couldn’t help but tap their feet, heads, and hands to the rapidly changing beats.

2. B.E. Shields Shows Twice

After her first show on Tuesday, Toronto-based designer Theresa Ibbetson made everyone think they were suffering from deja vu again on Wednesday. Ibbelston took advantage of each day’s theme; she showed a line inspired by the isolated outdoors for Tuesday’s LANDscapes, followed by dark, art-deco structured looks for Wednesday’s CITYscapes. Tuesday’s line was full of warm earth tones, while Wednesday’s was an endless sea of black.

3. Texture at Angela Sum

I surely wasn’t the only one at Angela Sum’s show who had to stop myself from reaching out to touch her pieces. Everything from strings, fur, knits, cotton, chiffon, scales, yarn, and even rubble made an appearance. Sum’s collection was inspired by all things snow and was an experimentation of textures and fabrics. Her colour palette was mostly whites and neutrals with splashes of neon yellow and soft rose.  

4. The Birth 

Don’t worry, at no point during FAT did any pregnant woman actually feel the need to bear down and push. The Birth was the title of a fashion film by Ozer (just one name, like Cher)– an animation artist turned commercial director. A nondescript box levitates in the air in a small blue room. All at once, we witness the box ‘giving birth’ to a model. Ozer was inspired by animal reproduction. “Some animals, giraffes for example, give birth standing on all fours and the calf tumbles onto the ground,” says Ozer. “As the baby comes out, we see also other organic elements, like maternal cord, placenta etc. and when the baby is half way out, the image is very dramatic. I wanted to interpret this documentary visual for the sleek world of fashion.”

5. LBD Replaced by LWD

 Photos courtesy of Vasko Photography

Designers Jessica van Enckevort and Alexandra Wilson were sick of little black dresses, so they created their own bridal/eveningwear line Little.White.Dress., which shows only – you guessed it – white dresses. Silhouettes from the 1950’s meet a decidedly new age approach to eco-friendly clothes.  Little.White.Dress.’s style challenges sustainable clothing’s shapless, boring rap with sexy and elegant hand-crafted dresses from a variety of alternative fabrics. All white, but oh-so-green.

Special Mention: Purple. Feathered. Eyelashes.

This wasn’t a look from the runway, but on the eyelids of a young lady that sat directly across from me. After a few embarrassing attempts to take undercover photos, I was finally invited to get up close and personal to snap a proper pic. I did get in trouble for walking over the catwalk to get said photo, but it was totally worth it. 

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Bianca Teixeira writes about style for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @BeeLauraTee.

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