Canadian-born, Australian-educated cool chick Hayley Elsaesser impressed with her second collection to show at Toronto Fashion Week. Her wild and bright prints arent for everyone, but you cant help but give the girl cred for spot-on tailoring, a unique vision and a notably diverse cast of models on the runway (including a range of ethnicities, sizes and a transgendered model).
Best of all? These werent token diverse models that couldnt hold their own they were far better than many of the six-foot-two skinny white girls most designers still seem so intent on casting and lit up the room with their confidence and positive vibes.
Elsaessers latest collection is called Midnight Cowboy and features head-turning neon prints that include Magic 8 Balls adorned with cowboy hats and dont-mess-with-me rattlesnakes. A soundtrack that mixed Dolly Partons Jolene with Missy Elliotts Work It got even the most cynical editors heads nodding to the beat and emphasized the playful mix-and-match feel of the collection.
While Elsaessers playground is the same high-low mash up made trendy by Jeremy Scott, her designs never feel like imitations. They hold their own something thats quite impressive for an emerging designer and places her at the top of our list of ones to watch.
sabrinam@nowtoronto.com | @sabrinamaddeaux
