It’s easier than ever to fall into a fashion week gossip rut this season. To focus on the politics of on-site vs. off-site shows and the practicalities of spending ten days criss-crossing the city to watch fewer presentations than you’d see during 24 hours in New York, Paris or Milan.
But I’ve always felt that kind of thinking (and reporting) does our designers a disservice. They, after all, are just walking the fashion week path that works best for their audience, their budgets and the way they want to market their collections.
For Chloe Comme Parris‘ Chloe and Parris Gordon, that path led them to The Collections, a series of presentations held last Tuesday and Wednesday on the sixth floor of the Burroughes Building at Queen and Bathurst. Their spring/summer lineup was a lovely, washed out mix of soft trench coats and printed tunics mixed with sharp hits of leather.
For Antonio Azzuolo, a buzzy menswear label whose designer was born in Montreal and was recently a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in New York, his path led him to The ShOws at Andrew Richard Designs. Wednesday evening’s event showed off handsome printed suiting, fluorescent jacquard jackets and lots of male model midriffs.
And for Common Cloth, the first label that photographer Stefania Yarhi followed for our seasonal Fashion Week Day In the Life of… features this week, that path led Bozzo sisters Melanie, Amie and Kristina to Soho House where they resurrected their collection of beautiful basics after a too long hiatus.
Tonight, all paths lead to the grand World MasterCard Fashion Week tents erected in David Pecaut Square where Holt Renfrew, Pink Tartan and Pavoni will present. We’ll be watching the runway.
