Toronto Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012: Greta Constantine and LOVAS
LOVAS Fall/Winter 2012
Wesley Badanjak, the talented designer behind clothing brand LOVAS, has the business of fashion down pat. He has become widely known throughout the Canadian fashion scene for his wearable, well-made, tailored designs in an industry where ‘safe’ and ‘sellable’ are four-letter-words.
For his fall/winter 2012 collection, Badanjak presented a diverse collection of office-friendly separates, outerwear and modest cocktail dresses and gowns that oftentimes seem inspired by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s though Badanjak cites Brenda from Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood as his inspiration.
Badanjak left no fabric stone unturned and python-printed chiffon shared the runway with ombre tweed, cobweb knits, sequined fabric, chenille jersey and crepe de Chine in black, cobalt blue, grey and a deep burgundy. But despite all the colour and fabric excitement the collection fell a little flat for me. While Wesley’s knowledge and application of fashion business acumen is great for sales it often comes at the expense of creativity and excitement. The parade of cobalt, burgundy, grey and black felt repetitive instead of cohesive and the clothes felt more like something you have to buy to adhere to your office’s business casual dress code and less like pieces you buy with enthusiasm and wear with glee.
With that being said there were a few standout pieces including an ombre tweed skirt suit and a cobalt python-printed chiffon shirt.
Greta Constantine Fall/Winter 2012
One of the advantages of being a fashion writer is the ability to witness the growth and evolution of a brand first-hand (even if it is just from the sidelines) and I’ve been lucky enough to witness the journey of Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine. I’ve seen Grecian-inspired jersey dresses and gold lamé jumpsuits and for the fall/winter 2012 collection the evolution continues.
The pair’s most recent fashion show opened with a kaleidoscopic parade of jewel-toned colour (which was a welcome respite from the usual all-black everything palette of the fall fashion season). A racially diverse selection of models marched out wearing trousers and light turtlenecks in head-to-toe shades of cobalt, navy, Kelly green, bright red and winter white with matching nubbly knit cowls and vests made by the talented Dylan Uscher.
The Jersey Boys, as the Canadian fashion industry has dubbed Kirk and Stephen, expanded on their trademark draped jersey dresses and included full-skirted skate dresses with exposed backs, body-con dresses that hugged curves and gave peeks of skin and mini dresses with strong shoulders. The duo seemed to be playing with contrasts and the materials – including soft knitwear and edgy leather – reflected that duality.
“We’re presenting our own vision of femininity,” Pickersgill told Spiro Mandylor of It’s All Style to Me. “It’s tougher, darker, and in some ways menacing. While the silhouettes are more severe in some respects, a prettiness runs through the collection.”
Greta Constantine is a clothing brand in motion and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.
Septembre Anderson is a passionate journalist, blogger and fashion
enthusiast who lives, works and shops in Toronto, ON. Her work has
appeared on FASHIONMagazine.com, FILLERMagazine.com, HuffingtonPost.ca,
and in Sway magazine. Read her posts every Wednesday on Slice.ca.
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