Tag: fashion

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Student Life

Unisex top-tier trends for Fall 2019

Photography and editing by Laurence B.D.

As the temperature drops, and with fall officially beginning next week, you may be itching to purchase some new pieces. But with so many trends, how do you choose the right ones? Luckily, we have a guide to the hottest fall trends that anyone can wear and the designers they’re inspired by.

Zebra Is The New Leopard

Seen on the runways of Saint Laurent, Coach, and Proenza Schouler, compared to classic leopard, zebra print is a way cooler print to play around with your fall style. Though it can run the risk of looking tacky, if styled carefully and worn in the right colours, it can look really chic.

If you’re looking for a zebra-printed item that doesn’t scream “zebra print,” avoid black and white. This colourway is high contrast and commands a lot of attention. So to soften up the print, go for zebra that’s camel-coloured or dark beige with black stripes.

Monochrome

Featured in the collections of 3.1 Philip Lim, Nina Ricci, and Brandon Maxwell, monochrome has proven to be a very popular trend. This is no surprise given that it flatters everyone. Wearing a single colour all throughout an outfit elongates and leans out the body, because the eye is not drawn to look to one specific point.

Try experimenting with different neutral-toned outfits. Shades like camel, navy, and creams look really luxe and expensive, especially when worn from head to toe. If you’re not afraid of colour, go for deep purple or even forest green monochrome looks.

Square-Toed Boots

Featured on the Fall 2019 runway collections of Proenza Schouler, Chloe, and Maison Margiela, square-toed boots are a fresh new take on the must-have basic boot in everyone’s fall wardrobes.

Incorporating a pair of square-toed boots will instantly give your outfit an updated look to the 70s style. Also, square-toed boots are the perfect complement to an already androgynous-looking outfit, as the blunt, angular shape of the boot is almost reminiscent of the shape of men’s square-toed dress shoes.

Cardigans

We saw the reintegration of cardigans into the fashion trend cycle last season, and designers like Coach, Chanel, and Max Mara incorporated oversized, chunky-knit cardigans in their Fall 2019 collections.

This “grandpa-chic” style of cardigan is still in style but has also evolved to include cropped silhouettes made in thinner knits. Cardigans are a key piece to have in your fall wardrobe for a few reasons: not only are they practical and provide warmth, but they’re also great for layering, which is one of the easiest styling tricks to adding depth and dimension to any outfit.

Statement Shoulders

From jumpsuits to dresses, blouses, and blazers, statement shoulders have been spotted in the shows of designers like Ulla Johnson, Isabel Marant, and Alexander McQueen. While this trend has reached the fall season with full force, it has slowly been building momentum for the past six months.

Incorporating the statement shoulder trend is one of the simplest ways to add drama to an outfit while applying minimal effort. The best and easiest piece to use is a blazer with volume and padding at the shoulders. This will broaden your upper body, giving you a cool, oversized look that will flatter anyone who wears it.

Bucket Hats

Thanks to major design house Christian Dior, who heavily featured this trend in their Fall 2019 runway show, the concept of the bucket hat was completely renewed.

Maintaining the traditional shape and style of the bucket hat, Dior swapped out the cotton or canvas material traditionally used and, instead, opted for alternative materials like leather, plaid, denim, and other textured and printed fabrics.

Bucket hats are the perfect option if you’re looking for an alternative to a beanie but with a little flare. They’re also great because they can pretty much be styled with any outfit, as long as the fabric complements whatever tone you’re setting for your look.

Leather

Designers like Ferragamo, N°21, and Hermes are some of the many that have featured leather pieces or entire leather looks in their Fall 2019 collections.

From black button-up shirts to matching sunset-orange-coloured sets, designers are doing leather differently. They’re going beyond the idea of the classic biker jacket and are really pushing the boundaries when it comes to utilizing this material.

If you want to try out the trend but still want to play it safe, opt for a pair of black faux leather pants. The timeless colour makes them easy to style while maintaining the textural element of leather that will really elevate any fall look.

Plaid

Plaid is making a major return to fashion, with brands like Vivienne Westwood, Christian Dior, and Oscar de la Renta all featuring this trend.

Not only are we seeing plaid, but the options are much more diverse. From tartan to gingham, Prince of Wales check, and other variations like houndstooth, plaid is being designed in limitless colour combinations and different pieces like dresses, trench coats, and midi skirts.

When picking out a plaid piece, invest in a neutral-coloured one with an accent colour running through. The single colour will give you styling flexibility while still allowing your outfit to stand out.

Even though many of these pieces are considered trendy, they’re bound to stick around for many upcoming seasons. So make sure you keep them in your closet, ready for Fall 2020.

 

Photos by Laurence B.D.

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Student Life

Fashion Preview welcomes local designers

Coquette en Soie’s collection features silky dresses with vibrant colours. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

The fashion runway show is expanding fashion in Canada and internationally

Supporting and facilitating the visibility of Montreal fashion designers on a national and international scale is the goal of Fashion Preview. For its eighth edition, the event gathered over 2,000 visitors from Oct. 17 to 19.   “Fashion Preview, in its three days of parades and presentations of collections, allows us to discover the talents of tomorrow and to understand, through their work, the culture and the esthetics of the young people of Montreal,” said journalist Elisabeth Clauss from the magazine Elle Belgique.

To support the local industry, each edition of Fashion Preview is a thematic runway show featuring the latest creations of students from local fashion programs at Cégep Marie-Victorin, École des sciences de la gestion de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG-UQAM) and LaSalle College. “The idea behind Fashion Preview is to showcase the work of up-and-coming fashion designers,” said Marie-Eve Faust, a professor at UQAM’s fashion school.

Oscar Mendoza’s models gathering at the end of his runway show. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

On Oct. 18, Fashion Preview hosted four runway shows featuring the collections of local brands, including Oneself, Coquette en Soie, Oscar Mendoza and Helmer. Oneself presented an elegant collection that approached women’s femininity with naivety and youthfulness. “It’s inspired by the 70s. It’s the contrast between the young adult and the mature adult,” said Sophie Cardinal, the designer of Oneself. “Even though, as women, we grow up, we still have this inner child within us. In this collection, I tried to point towards that aspect of women.”

This was the designer’s third collection for Oneself, and Cardinal is already anticipating a flair of colour for her upcoming summer collection. “The colours will be brighter because I find that Montreal is lacking in that area,” she said, adding that colours such as red, green and purple will be trending next summer. “I’m currently inspired by the sun and its tones. Everything that is rainbow-like and flashy because it’s in style these days.”

A model from Sonia Cardinal’s Oneself collection. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

The core of Cardinal’s designs are inspired by vintage styles. “Three quarters of my wardrobe is vintage clothing so it’s important for me to have that touch in my collections,” she said. According to Cardinal, featuring her collection at Fashion Preview took a lot of preparation. “Doing it alone, it was a lot of work, but the team here at Fashion Preview are very attentionate,” she said. For the show, Cardinal was given the freedom to choose models who fit her brand image and develop a connection with them before the event.

“It differs from the old stereotypes of mannequin girls that don’t speak or show any emotions,” she said. “Here, I was able to establish different relationships with people and be able to be open to different body types, nationalities and personalities.”

One of the models for Oneself, Fatou Alhya Diagne, told The Concordian about her experience modelling for Fashion Preview. “I already did fashion shows previously, but this was my first official one with press and media,” she said. “It was interesting to see how Oneself’s adapted diversity to their collection.” “Every time I do a show, it reminds me of how important it is to create platforms of representation in order to showcase unity and diversity of people of colour and our communities to the larger fashion industry,” Diagne said. “I’m happy that I was able to be part of this whole fashion show and to have a view of the industry from a closer perspective.”

Fashion Preview also featured several pop-up shops attendees could visit during the show’s intermissions. One of the stands featured the handmade jewelry brand Bijoux Pepine. Founder and designer Perrine Marez is already selling her jewelry in 25 stores across Canada after just one year of designing jewelry full-time. “I want to have jewelry that is made by sand, pigments and spices,” she said. According to Marez, her inspirations come from architecture, graphic art and ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, Chinese and Aztecs. “My inspiration makes me more open to the world. It reflects my clientele that are more international,” she said.

The second runway show featured a collection of silk dresses by Montreal brand Coquette en Soie. The dresses were elegant and feminine with lots of bold colours. According to the designer, Marie-Josée Mercil, her collection respects the fair trade industry by supporting independent silk producers. Her inspiration for bold colours and creative designs stems from her years spent traveling the world.

Oscar Mendoza, a former UQAM fashion student, also presented his new collection at Fashion Preview. “My collections are the story of a dream, created in a place where reality touches the surreal,” he explained. “I try to metamorphose feelings into shapes, into textures, into ideas that will decorate people’s behaviour or be the expression tool for people’s personas.” “What is fashion for but an instrument to demonstrate who we are, to excel our own self-expression to surpass us and show the world the strong opinions we have,” Mendoza added.

Helmer’s interactive closing runway show featured men wearing sombreros. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

Photos by Sandra Hercegova

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Student Life

When doodles become your own fashion designs

Daniel Vigny-Pau poses with a few of his T-shirts. Photo by Daniel Vigny-Pau

Concordia student and founder of Heure de Sieste T-shirt brand discusses his creative process

It’s abstract, awry, and mangled—yet you can still recognize what it is. Tristan has an ear replaced by a face, Noah has a mouth instead of an eye, and Mathilde is two-faced with a mouth where her heart should be. Tristan, Noah and Mathilde are screen printed T-shirts from the online store Heure de Sieste.

At 20 years old, Daniel Vigny-Pau, a second-year computer science student at Concordia, launched his own clothing line in September. It’s called Heure de Sieste, and it all started because Vigny-Pau was bored in a CEGEP physics class.

He started doodling in a notebook “trying to see how [to] distort people’s bodies or add random body parts to different places,” he said. That same notebook became Vigny-Pau’s sketchbook by the end of the year. He would stay up until 2 a.m. drawing if he was feeling down or in a bad mood.

Last year, Vigny-Pau looked into launching his own line of T-shirts with his designs. Yet he thought it was “too complicated and expensive” so he didn’t pursue it further. He continued drawing, though, and turned his personal Instagram into a fashion-focused account. That’s when his follower count went from 300 to over 1,000.

Streetwear clothing really encompasses Vigny-Pau’s personal style, especially brands like Comme des Garçons and Undercover. Even his biography on Instagram reads “I like clothes.”

Last spring, Vigny-Pau was motivated by friends and family to bring his designs to life. A friend asked him at a house party: “When are you going to do something in fashion?” Yet, it wasn’t until he teamed up with his current business partner, who wanted to remain anonymous, that Vigny-Pau’s idea started becoming reality.

His partner, who is in his first year of business school, has connections with manufacturers in Asia and takes care of the behind-the-scenes aspect of the business. For his part, Vigny-Pau takes care of the website and the brand’s social media platforms. Coincidentally, a week before he created the website, Vigny-Pau learned how to use HTML in a web programming class at Concordia, which helped him design the website he wanted.

A portrait of Daniel Vigny-Pau, the founder of the Montreal T-shirt brand Heure De Sieste. Photo by Sandra Hercegova.

“A lot of people nowadays have their own brands, but I wanted to do something different,” he said. “I’d like to think that these drawings are unique and not something people have seen before.” He described the T-shirts as minimalist, since the graphics are in black or white, yet bold due to the compelling design on them.

Vigny-Pau said someone once told him his designs look demonic. While he understands this description, what he sees are illustrations that are simply distorted and twisted. “I like to start with a face because they are so interesting, there is so much you can do with it,” he explained. The smaller features of the face are what he distorts—like drawing another face where an ear should be. He designs each illustration in one sitting in pencil. If he messes up, he said he finds a way to make it work because it’s not meant to look real. He never uses an eraser. “I let it come to me when I draw it,” Vigny-Pau said about his artistic process.

When Vigny-Pau was coming up with a name for the brand, he felt a French name would be best since it’s a Montreal brand. As he was scrolling through proverbs and French expressions, Heure de Sieste stood out to him. Vigny-Pau said he felt it was relevant, as most his drawings come from late-night sketching sessions right before bed. Sleep is also associated with nightmares, which is one of the vibes he goes for when designing the shirts. The logo is simple because his focus is less on the brand’s name and more on the graphics themselves.

Even though he’s a computer science student, Vigny-Pau always had an artistic side growing up. “I play piano, I did a lot of arts in high school,” he said. So creating and having this clothing line is a fun way to keep his artistic side active while in university. One of his drawings is even featured on the album cover of Out Here, a mixtape by his friend, Paul Ha.

The T-shirts for sale right now are available in a limited quantity, which Vigny-Pau said is a way to keep the clothing unique. He also intends to introduce more apparel to keep the line alive.

Heure de Sieste has a lot of plans for the future. Vigny-Pau said he hopes to release hoodies or perhaps even coach jackets with a print on the back. In the meantime, he has learned that it takes a lot of effort and time to turn a drawing into the custom-made T-shirts he sells to customers. Even once he has the first sample of the T-shirt ready, Vigny-Pau explained that the process isn’t over—there’s usually some tweaking before finalizing it, which he said takes patience.

Heure de Sieste’s winter collection will be released in December and will feature jumpers. “I want to finish my degree,” Vigny-Pau said. “ I like programming, but [the clothing line] is a fun thing to have on the side. I really want to see where it goes.”

Check out what Heure de Sieste has to offer by visiting http://www.heuredesieste.com.

Categories
Student Life

Exploring underground vintage pop-up shops

Shopping at the Good Vibes Vintage Pop-Up Shop. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Founding member of Psychic City offers a wide range of vintage clothing at affordable prices

In the basement of a building in the Plateau Mont Royal, down a staircase lined with handwritten signs and graffiti on the walls, once a month you’ll find the vintage pop-up shop Good Vibes.

The home for this underground fashion haven is Psychic City, a multidisciplinary arts venue that hosts music, fashion, comedy and film events. One of the venue’s founding members, Paulina Pietruczuk, previously studied fashion design

 

“Fashion has always been a passion of mine, especially thrifting, recycling clothing and being green,” she said. When her friend suggested she arrange a vintage pop-up shop, Pietruczuk went for it. The most recent shop was open on Sept. 21 from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Psychic City will also be playing host to screenings of Hocus Pocus for Halloween and concerts, to name a few of its upcoming events.

The rented space has a cozy, ambient vibe. It’s lit by yellow and colourful fairy lights that nicely complemented the art on the walls. According to Pietruczuk, the space has been home to artistic events for many years. Before becoming an arts venue, the space was used primarily as a practice space for many local bands. However, its purpose recently shifted to emphasize providing a safe place for artists to be creative, whether it’s playing music, sculpting or painting.

Vintage jeans for only $3 a pair. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

On the day that Good Vibes opened its doors, clothing racks filled with different styles, fabrics and textures lined the room. Garments ranged from furry and oversized to tight and silky. Old, wooden chairs surrounded the clothing racks with a black leather couch placed right in the middle. Vintage denim pieces were neatly laid out on a table. A few recognizable brands, like Adidas, Beyonce’s Ivy Park and even a Toronto Raptors jersey, could be spotted in perfect condition, on sale.

One shopper, Hannah Clifford, changed into the pink culotte pants she found at the pop-up as soon as she bought them. She said she has been invested in thrifting for the past eight years because it’s cheaper than shopping at mainstream retailers. She added that she always finds quality second-hand clothing at these types of shops. “The special thing about thrifting personal collections that are on sale is that you get to see a memoir of [the seller’s] mood and their style,” Clifford said.

Clothes weren’t the only items available either. Spread out over one table was an array of handcrafted jewellry by Montreal-based Rufina Ip. Everything from bracelets to chokers to necklaces could be found in a variety of colours, ranging from pinks and oranges to black and blues.

A burgundy velvet quilted bomber jacket with embroidery styled by Alexa Rhynd. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Anyone is welcome to sell their clothing at Good Vibes, according to Pietruczuk. This is why Montrealer Alexa Rhynd was able add some of her clothing to the collection just a few days before the shop opened. She said the clothing she brought were items she was ready to let go of and pass on to a new owner.

Rhynd also included a few pieces she had spiced up herself, such as a burgundy velvet quilted bomber jacket. The garment’s deep red is now complemented by a wall embroidery piece sewn on the back which features a beautiful design bordered with gold. She was also selling a pair of painted jeans. “This is the very beginning,” Rhynd said about her attempts at enhancing clothing. “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but I’ve already changed a lot.”

Thrifting and buying second-hand clothing can be a great way to recycle your wardrobe and be more green, Pietruczuk added. “Why not do it while enjoying music in a creative space,” she said.

For more information about Psychic City and a list of its upcoming events, visit the venue’s Facebook page.

Categories
Student Life

Comme Toi: A brand for all to rock

Comme Toi co-founders Shelbie Huard (left) and Riaz Oozeer (right). Photo by Nicole Proano

 Two Montreal students started a fashion project to help the city’s homeless

The fashion industry can be an elitist industry. But 23-year-old Concordia student Riaz Oozeer and 24-year-old McGill student Shelbie Huard are attempting to break that stereotype with their apparel project, Comme Toi.

Comme Toi is a fashion line that sells minimalist T-shirts and toques. For every piece someone buys from Comme Toi, the brand sets another one aside to be given to a homeless person in Montreal.

The fashion-humanitarian project is only a few months old, but the small team of two has already donated over 80 pieces of apparel to the city’s homeless community. Oozeer, a second-year liberal arts student, was inspired to start this project when he began noticing just how many homeless people inhabit the city’s streets. Upon walking the same streets daily, he observed that the streets were home for many.

The project’s name directly translates to “like you,” and encapsulates the heart and mission of Comme Toi—the belief that all people are equal and should therefore be treated as such, according to the co-founders.

Oozeer said he encourages customers to go hand out the second item themselves. Huard believes this exchange is an important part of the process for customers.

“I think that is really meaningful, just having that interaction,” said Huard, who is an anthropology and Hispanic studies student.

According to Oozeer, about half of Comme Toi’s customers have personally handed out the second item. Oozeer and Huard explained that many customers are aware that homelessness is an issue, but many choose not to interact with it.

“I think [the homeless] are painted in a negative [light] a lot,” said Huard.  “But that’s not the reality.”

Oozeer said he tells customers who are about to give away a T-shirt, “Don’t be stressed. It’s someone like you.”

The idea behind the brand is that the act of giving away an article of clothing instigates an interaction with someone living on the streets and, according to the co-founders, the reaction on both ends has been positive every time.

According to the co-founders, Comme Toi’s main goal is to unite people through fashion. “Fashion has big authority over people,” said Oozeer. Comme Toi seeks to bridge the emotional and physical gap between the homeless and the general public.

“That’s something I find really interesting [about the project],” said Huard.  “Because fashion is usually something that separates people but we use it in a different way.”

The duo said they have big ideas for the brand—they want to see their project reach out to more marginalized groups, such as the city’s refugees.

For Oozeer, Comme Toi is a small step towards fixing one of the world’s biggest issues. “We’re thinking of going to the moon because we’re destroying everything on our planet. What are we going to do there? Destroy it again and keep going? No, you’ve got to fix [things] here,” said Oozeer, with passion and conviction in his voice.

You can become part of the movement by donating to Comme Toi or by buying a product at their website.

Categories
Student Life

Humans of Concordia: Jack Beaumont

Toronto-born design student, Jack Beaumont. Photo by Elisa Barbier

A first-year design student making clothes, the sustainable and eco-friendly way

Alexander McQueen’s controversial designs sparked Jack Beaumont’s passion for fashion at a young age. This passion quickly turned to action and, at the age of seven, they started sewing.

Beaumont’s brand, Conatus, officially launched two years ago when the designer was 17 years old.

The idea: to manufacture sustainable clothing. “I realized that the planet is sick and, in order to help it heal itself, we need to work on sustainability,” said Beaumont. Now 19, Beaumont is a first-year design student at Concordia.

Conatus is unique, focusing on using sustainable fabrics and dyes for its clothing. “When it comes to fashion, there are already too many people that are doing fashion unsustainably,” said Beaumont. “Eco-fashion is really the only way we can go in 2016.”

Beaumont was born in Toronto and moved to Vancouver in 2002. They finally settled down in Vernon, B.C. in 2009, where they still live when they are not staying in residence during the school year.  Beaumont said growing up identifying as non-binary was hard.

“When I was in Vancouver, the harassment got to a point where there were no other options but to relocate,” said Beaumont. Through the brand, however, Beaumont was able to create a kind of “shell” from the bullying. They said expressing themselves through fashion helped them stay strong.

Beaumont also aims to create clothing that acts as a shell—making the person wearing the garment feel strong and protected but, most importantly, themselves. “There is that fine balance between the strength and rigidity but also the fragility and the softness [of the frabrics],” said Beaumont.

Before Beaumont began producing clothes, they extensively researched and taught themselves about fabrics, dyes and different methods of production using organic fabrics. “When I was formulating [dyes], I researched some of the traditional and contemporary methods of dyeing,” said Beaumont. Black walnut became one of their favourites products to derive dye from.  Beaumont produces their clothes from their home in Vernon, B.C.

The designer described Conatus as avant-garde—an innovative and extravagant type of fashion. “People admire the brand as it is, but some couldn’t see themselves wearing a lot of it, as it very conceptual,” said Beaumont. The pieces they make have a modern haute-couture look to them.  A lot of the clothing is sleek, clean, monochromatic and not too fitted.

Beaumont hopes that they can eventually bring Conatus to a less niche clientele, with more wearable pieces.

“I hope that it is something that Concordia can teach me—sort of being able to take your own spin on a design and make it somehow wearable and sellable,” said Beaumont.

The young designer and their brand have slowly garnered worldwide attention, thanks to their social media platforms, through which Beaumont posts and sells most of their merchandise.

The clients, mostly individuals concerned with the environment, contact Beaumont directly through social media, or through their website that is temporarily down. From there, they discuss the details of the piece, including size and colour.  If the client is based in Vernon, the order is hand delivered.

One of the designer’s ideas for a future project is to take silk fibres and replicate them through a 3D printer or use a vat of genetically-modified bacteria to have them produce a garment formed from bacterial structures.

While Beaumont plans to re-launch their website in the near future, for now, you can find their  portfolio on Tumblr under “jackbeaumontportfolio.”

Categories
Arts

Fall fashion: Turning your own style into a trend

Graphic by Valeria Cori-Manocchio.

A few fashion tips to let your “personality” style shine through this fall season

Developing a personal style seems easy enough. It begins by pairing that shirt you saw plastered all over Instagram with your favourite pair of distressed skinny jeans, and slipping into those pearly-white Adidas running shoes—until you step outside and realize you can’t tell yourself apart from the five other people wearing the exact same outfit.

Don’t panic or sprint to the nearest fast-fashion outlet for the latest piece you’ll wear once. Instead, think about what you would wear if trends weren’t constantly changing— if you could embody your personality in an outfit. What would you choose to wear if you were to express elements of your personality through your clothes?

Here are some ideas of how to transform fleeting fall fashion into autumn celebrations of self.

1. Self-expression doesn’t have to break the bank

“If [a piece] is $300 or $5, it might not always fit right,” says Laura Endacott, a fine arts professor who teaches fashion history at Concordia. To minimize expensive clothing costs, Endacott says having items tailored to fit properly is sometimes overlooked, but necessary to maximize a wardrobe. “You can buy [clothes] and spruce them up [by] tailoring them to [your] body type,” she says. Endacott also encourages the ecological and typically cheaper concept of thrifting.

2.  Fashion or Function? The choice is yours

According to Endacott, “the body is the sight for many things.” Someone’s personal style may be expressive of the current values of their time or linked to an activist movement—like the hippie, flower power years of the 1960s to the 1970s punk age.

However, not everyone is looking to make a bold statement with the way they dress. Endacott acknowledges fashion as a celebration of self, but also a functional medium, depending on personal preferences. In other words, you could streamline your wardrobe into a collection of functional pieces, as long as you enjoy what you are wearing.

As a communications student at Concordia, the founder of the menswear fashion blog, Style Attorney, and the owner of a custom made suit business, Claudiu Pascalau advocates a reductive eye when it comes to selecting clothing.

“Less is more in fashion,” says Pascalau. He describes personal style as a “way of expressing yourself,” and an interaction with the rest of the public and their tastes. As a menswear blogger, he finds himself in the same predicament many of us do: seeing many different styles that he wouldn’t necessarily wear to express himself, but can appreciate.

3. Don’t forget about classic items that have left us with lasting impressions

Pascalau encourages everyone to find brands or styles they never get tired of wearing. By taking the time to discover the multitude of clothing, footwear and accessories available, you’ll soon find your method to manage quick-changing fashion trends.

Endacott advocates building up a wardrobe with classics that have remained in style since their inception, like the little black dress and well-tailored pieces. Pascalau also suggests going for solid colours and good-quality jeans, so when the infamous ‘I have nothing to wear’ mood strikes, you’re well equipped with basic pieces.

Categories
Opinions

Exploring Montreal’s doomed fashion scene

Image from page 45 of Strawbridge & Clothier's quarterly - 1882.

Why our beloved city is falling behind in terms of glamour and fashion

The last Montreal Fashion Week was in 2014, which is strange given that Montreal is generally considered one of the most fashionable cities in North America. Why?

“It’s time to rethink the format of the presentation of fashion,” said Chantal Durivage of Sensation Mode in an interview with The Montreal Gazette. She said the necessity of “showing clothing six months in advance of the selling season, as traditional fashion weeks do, is being questioned everywhere given the instant information on the web.” However, Montreal’s independent designers have not all necessarily caught up with today’s technological demands.

According to The Globe and Mail, independent retailers have failed to corner the online market, in a day and age where it can make or break your success as a business.

According to the same article, Pierre-Benoit Duham, the owner of Montreal luxury men’s boutique Clusier, said, “We’ve always had a web presence. It drives more traffic to the store.”

Other independent designers might benefit from following Dunham’s lead. Having an online presence would allow them to reach more young people, who are the future of fashion in Montreal. It would also allow them to reach an audience outside of the city, and hopefully re-establish Montreal as a fashionable city.

There are many stylish individuals in this metropolis, but those with a true sense of personal style are difficult to come by. It’s very hard to ignore the commercialization of the clothing industry, with chains like H&M, Aritzia and Forever 21 popping up around the world.

In my opinion, fashion should be personal. Your outfit should scream you, no matter who you are. It seems as though many people in Montreal, although well-dressed, follow a basic formula for the perfect minimalist outfit. This leaves everyone looking like a sporty chic army. I think that social media, and the rise of lifestyle bloggers are a few of the reasons.

Bloggers tend to fall under an umbrella of minimalist (think American Apparel) or “boho” (think Urban Outfitters, or Anthropologie) style. Since these bloggers are seen as inspirational, their fans tend to want to look like them— sometimes exactly like them— rather than just drawing inspiration and reinterpreting it to reflect their own style.

When popular bloggers post photos of their outfits, they usually list where each item was purchased. So now everyone who reads these blogs can run out to H&M, and buy the same dress or shirt.

It is up to us, as young people, to support independent designers financially, not only for the sake of each of our personal and unique style, but for the sake of Montreal’s fashion future.

Categories
Student Life

Humans of Concordia: Sandrine Vaillancourt

Photo by Ana Hernandez

Communications and cultural studies student by day, fashionista blogger by night

At the age of 13, Sandrine Vaillancourt started a personal project, and kept it a secret for a few months. Today, that project is far from a secret.

When Vaillancourt started her blog, “I am Sandrine”, it was simply a hobby. Now, at age 19, the communications and cultural studies major has 2,000 views per article, and major fashion brands knocking on her door, wanting to collaborate with her.

Vaillancourt first got into blogging when her mentor, Audrée Archambault, a Montreal-based blogger, encouraged her to write a teen column on Archambault’s blog, “Elle M.”  “She really inspired me and introduced me to everyone [in the industry],” said Vaillancourt.

Vaillancourt decided to start her own fashion blog, and most of her friends were doing the same. However, unlike most of her friends, she was able to keep hers going longer than a month. Over time, her blog evolved from being French, to bilingual, to strictly English, as most of her readers are anglophone.

This pastime of hers became life-changing. “I was already into fashion but never showed my outfits on the blog. I just posted pictures of the clothes I liked. I was too shy at the time, especially because I was so young,” said Vaillancourt. The more “I Am Sandrine”’s audience expanded, the more her confidence and communication skills grew.  Today, she is often invited to a variety of events where she is surrounded by people in the fashion and blogging industry.  Vaillancourt said it was “intimidating but also inspiring” at first. She was now part of the world she had been looking in on for years.

Her expanding network of contacts in the Montreal fashion industry introduced her to new friends, as well as new collaboration opportunities. Today, she teams up with Montreal designers like Noemiah and Mimi Hammer.  Vaillancourt said these collaborations are not only good for her blog’s content, but also a great way to promote the local economy.

The blog has helped her improve her editing and design skills, but Vaillancourt said it has also helped her grow as an individual. She said the experience has taught her how to say no to certain projects and collaborations, especially to brands that don’t fit her vision. The blogger describes her style as a mix between Scandinavian fashion and Kate Middleton’s style, as it is minimalistic, but with delicate detailing.

Thanks to her blog, Vaillancourt has worked with big names like Lole, Aritzia, Coach and Nars. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Over the years, the fashionista has worked with big names like Lole, Aritzia, Coach and Nars.  The content of her blog varies from tips on how to wear frills, to more personal diary-like entries. Her guideline for organizing her thoughts is that there is no guideline. She recently wrote an article titled “I’m Not Apologizing Anymore,” in which she discussed learning not to apologize for being herself, or for her style.  “It’s my blog so I don’t have to please anyone,” said Vaillancourt. Even when Vaillancourt was mocked at times by fellow students in high school, she kept her head up, following what she wanted to do, and talking about the things that she enjoys.

Her story comes full circle with a young girl who was inspired by Vaillancourt to start a blog of her own. “She’s been reading my blog since the beginning and asked me to give her tips on starting her own blog a couple of years later,” said Vaillancourt. “It’s also really nice to recognize familiar usernames from Instagram that have been with me for the past six years.”

Categories
Student Life

Three students, one simple vision

Imran Wasaralli (left), Alex Beaupre (middle) and Verain Kapoor (right) are the men behind Infinity Designs. Photos courtesy of Infinity Designs

Start-up company, Infinity Designs provides basic fashion essentials for a good cause

Two freshmen at Concordia and a student from Syracuse University are the brains behind Infinity Designs, a start-up company that aims to make a difference by providing people with simple fashion essentials, all while donating to a good cause.

The start-up company currently sells two products: a beaded bracelet and a sleek nero water bottle. Ten per cent of all of their profits go to water.org, an organization that provides water for people in countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

“When we shop, it’s hard to find a good brand that focuses on quality, fitting and pricing so we decided to take things into our own hands,” said 21-year-old co-founder, Imran Wasaralli. “We also have a strong desire to promote the idea that other businesses can help by donating to charitable organizations.”

Wasaralli and co-founder Verain Kapoor, 21, are both studying finance at Concordia. The third co-founder, Alex Beaupre, 20, is pursuing a degree in marketing at Syracuse University. The three men met at John Abbott College, where they were all pursuing a diploma in business administration. Realizing they shared a passion for fashion and making a difference, they decided to team up and create Infinity Designs, which launched on Aug. 4.

For Wasaralli, it was important to give back to a charity that provides people with basic necessities such as water.  “Water is a daily essential for humans to survive, and knowing that there are millions of people out there that currently don’t have access to safe and clean water is very upsetting,” said Wasaralli.

The company’s logo, as well as the name “Infinity Designs” are all inspired by the mission of the three students. According to Wasaralli, the “polygonal infinity sign” logo is simple so it can easily fit on any of their products, while the emphasis on the colour blue is to signify the contributions to water.org. Wasaralli said that the company is called “Infinity Designs” because the ultimate goal is to provide an “infinite” water supply to those in need.

Photo Infinity Designs Instagram: Infinity Designs gives 10 per cent of its profits to water.org.

To complement the launch of the brand, the three students created a social media marketing campaign called “MyID,” which stands for “My Infinity Designs.” The concept is simple: anybody can take a picture of themselves wearing an Infinity Designs product and use the hashtag “MyID” to spread the word.  “Seeing as though our customers are the ones helping us make a difference in this world by making a purchase, we felt as though the hashtag ‘MyID’ would create a personal connection to Infinity Designs and make them feel [like] an influential part of the brand,” said Kapoor.  “Our end goal through our online marketing is to create a brand that people can trust and are proud of,” added Beaupre.

The company is currently being run out of Kapoor’s basement, which has been turned into a makeshift warehouse. Kapoor and Wasaralli can often be found driving around the West Island, making their own deliveries to people who are close by.  The three men believe it is important to create these personal connections with their customers, and that it is something they will continue to put emphasis on as they expand their brand.

“We want to continue to develop and launch new accessories that our customers are proud to wear,” said Beaupre. “We want to do this while always sticking to our main focus and goal of helping others in need.”

Check the brand out on their website.

Categories
Arts

Timelessness never looked so good

Photo by Marilyn Aitken

Eleganza exhibit makes fashion history a page in everyone’s book

Displaying beautifully crafted clothing and accessories is easy—the real challenge is telling a story that resonates with everyone, regardless of their interest in fashion.

Eleganza: Italian Fashion from 1945 to Today, presented by the McCord Museum, is an inspiring journey that transports viewers from the post-World War II birth of Italian fashion to the nation’s contemporary haute couture. Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Eleganza demonstrates every component of Italy’s multi-faceted fashion history. Milanese silk, Florentine leather, Biella wool and diverse sewing techniques passed down from dressmaker to apprentice come together in fantastically constructed garments, shoes and accessories.

The exhibit also documents the pivotal moments in which the work of Italian dressmakers, textile workers and designers made waves around the world. Dresses displayed at the country’s first international fashion atelier, held in Florence’s Salla Bianca (White Hall) at Palazzo Pitti in July of 1952, are nothing short of a vintage fashion dream. Their hand-constructed full skirts and expertly cinched waists embody the 1950s, but they are still wearable—even in today’s age of crop tops and boyfriend jeans.

Eleganza pays tribute to the Hollywood films shot on location in Rome’s Cinecittà studios during the 1960s, featuring garments from movies like War and Peace. Other pieces from the fashion industry’s major events, including the 1967 New York Black and White Ball, are exactly as elegant as you would imagine: flowy, floor-length ensembles covered in stylish beading and precious diamanté.

The Italy-meets-America space also exhibits a noticeable shift from costume to casual, or better yet, from couture to ready-to-wear. Minimalist, sporty pieces like a 1969 black and white jumpsuit as well as a bold-patterned legging and tunic combo capture modern elements of Italian fashion that are still seen on today’s runways.

Ambling from room to room, admiring the variety of clothing from the feminine silhouettes of the 1950s to the wild, shoulder-padded 1980s and the familiar haute couture of the 2000s, it’s easy to picture yourself wearing the garments out of the exhibit to your next party. That’s the ultimate allure of Eleganza and its story of Italian fashion— nothing is truly ‘out of style,’ especially when it’s been handcrafted. The timelessness of each article, along with the sheer time and effort put into constructing the garment, entices everyone from fashionistas who adore making a statement, to minimalists who prefer a simple, clean-cut look. 

The final room features a runway packed with couture ensembles. A fantastically embroidered floral gown by Giambattista Valli is poised beside a luminous Sicilian mosaic-like midi dress by Dolce & Gabbana. Viewers are surrounded by opulence, but can appreciate the various ways in which the craftsmanship of the earliest Italian dressmakers has continued to influence the country’s contemporary brands.  

 There is a looming issue that the exhibition rightly addresses. As the globalized world continues to outsource work, the fashion industry finds itself doing the same. Soon, ‘Made in Italy’ labels will be a rarity. Amidst the rooms of gorgeous gown, shoes and accessories, viewers are forced to consider the future of Italian fashion as its roots in handmade craftsmanship slowly disappear.  

Eleganza: Italian Fashion from 1945 to Today is open to the public until Sept. 25, 2016. For more information visit the McCord Museum website.

Categories
Arts

Fashion: your own personal art

From off the runway and into the closet, fashion is a powerful art form

Choosing what to wear has been a lifelong struggle for most people, but for some, getting dressed is a form of art. Whether it’s subconscious or not, a person chooses what they wear carefully. They may only search out little gems in second hand stores or only buy things off the runway. Some colours may make a person look sallow, or a pattern may be too busy. This is similar to the way a painter chooses the colours for a painting’s background in order for it to best complement the subject. It can be a meticulous process.

Just like different styles of art, fashion has many different forms of its own. From classic to haute couture, each design is always part of a bigger picture. Fashion shows display a designer’s work, and all the pieces come together to bring to life the designer’s theme. The theme can be interpreted in as many ways as a Picasso painting. The colours and cuts chosen by the designer are always open to interpretation. Some may wear the skirt as a shirt or others a scarf, but all of the pieces are used to convey a person’s emotions and personality, two things that almost all art is based on. The body of a person is their personal art gallery. Although some people have taken their art galleries to another level.

Everyone’s closets are their own form of an art gallery. While displaying their favourite pieces there is usually a happy medium between organization and chaos. A new trend featuring custom built closets have become a new form of the personal art gallery. Harper’s Bazaar recently featured Kris Jenner’s closet, which is completely dedicated to her Birkin bags. These bags, which are all handcrafted and take over 18 hours to make, are coveted by hand bag enthusiasts worldwide. Costing over $23,000 for a brand new bag, each one is a valuable art piece displayed proudly on its owner’s arm or in their custom-built closet. Some of these closets have their own Instagram accounts and flood fashion-lovers’ Pinterest pages.

Whether or not the closet items were designed in an atelier in Paris, a department store, or an eclectic thrift store, each item was at one point a part of a designers’ vision and dream, and they become a part of every wearer’s personal style and vision. It becomes a part of a person’s own art gallery both at home and when they are wearing it on the street.

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