Freezing temperatures couldn’t keep fashion followers away from David Pecaut Square last night. Braving the blizzard for the first night of World Mastercard Fashion Week, they entered the tents shivering and sighing and shaking their furs like cats in a snowy backyard. They loved fashion enough to attend, but not enough to prevent them from complaining about winter’s last stand. The ones I felt bad for were the hardworking volunteers. I asked one if she felt cold in only her Fashion Week t-shirt. Her smile disappeared.
“You have no idea,” she whispered. “Luckily, we’ve learned where all the warm spots are so we keep running back to them.”
“Next year the organizers should consider World Mastercard Fashion Week hoodies,” I suggested.
Luckily Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow of Bustle Clothing had a journey planned. Not an exotic African safari, alas–that was last season. This time we crossed the pond to London, England. This wasn’t modern day Britain of austerity measures and Duchess Kate. Rather, the designers drew inspiration from ‘Swinging London’ of the 1960’s.
In practical terms, this meant breaking all the rules of men’s suits. The show started with a two-toned jacket of polka dots. After that, the patterns never stopped. Polka dots, large and small, were followed by paisley, pin stripes, checks, and florals that resembled old-fashioned wallpaper. Many combinations of jackets, vests, and pants incorporated three or four of these clashing designs in different mishmashes. It was as though Hewson and Promislow were testing how many loud patterns one look can handle. The patterns even dripped down to floral footwear. On one model, I spotted blue leopard print socks.
Socks were unavoidable as many pairs of trousers were cut far above the ankle, echoed by extremely short-sleeved jackets. Many pairs of pants had drop crotches and were equally baggy in the back. The only unconventional cut that really worked for me were trench coats that ended at the waist.
Breaking the rules is one of the ways fashion moves forward, but doing so should challenge the viewer to adjust their vision and embrace new ideas. At the very least it should look cool. The collection went down well with many in the crowd, but I know that if I bought a Bustle jacket, I would prefer not to look like I got the wrong size.
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Max Mosher writes about style for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @max_mosher_.
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