When I arrived at Andrew Richards Designs for the first night of “the shOws,” the one thing on my mind was why such a blatant typo had made its way into the name of the event. The shOws was a posh affair, but the name looked like it was typed by either a preteen using MSN Messenger in 2003, or someone who had mistaken the event for a witch house band.
What could the capital “O” in the middle of the shOws possibly stand for? The “O” could have had to do with any of the following:
- The shape of the incredible gourmet donuts served up by Paulette’s Original Donuts and Chicken (913 Queen St. E.), in heavenly flavours like Blueberry Balsamic and Pumpkin Spice.
- “O” is for ombre hair, a trend still going strong among the showgoers
- “O” is for the shape of bellybuttons, which were practically a design element of Tanya Taylor’s midriff-heavy show.
- “O” is for one, the total number of black models in both Tanya Taylor and Jean-Pierre Braganza’s runway presentations. Tanya Taylor’s runway also featured one asian model, compared to a big old zero (or “0”) for Jean-Pierre Braganza.
Tanya Taylor showed her S/S 2013 collection earlier this year in September at the Museum of Modern Art, as part of New York Fashion Week. The vibe of the collection was cotton candy business school, typified by a bubblegum pink blazer and tailored trousers that would not look out of place on Elle Woods of Legally Blonde. The A-line skirts harkened back to a different early 00’s feminine icon: Carrie Bradshaw. Swishy A-line skirts have not enjoyed popularity since the Golden age of Sex and the City, and Tanya Taylor seems more than ready to embrace the look.
Jean-Pierre Braganza‘s show appeared to be an homage to graphic design from the late ‘80s, all bright turquoise and geometric shapes. Dresses and tops were spliced using black lines, colour blocking and asymmetrical shapes, and looked like pastel versions of Yves Saint Laurent’s famous Piet Mondrian dress from the 1960s. The penguin-like collars in the collection were cute, but not enough to distract me from noticing how strikingly bad the clothing fit. All of the jumpsuits and pants had a look of unintentional saggy crotch, and hemlines dragged on the floor even on preternaturally tall models wearing five-inch heels.
All images by Steve Alkok____
Isabel Slone is a Toronto-based fashion blogger and writer. Follow her on Twitter at @isabelslone.
For more, follow us on Twitter @TorontoStandard and subscribe to our newsletter.
