You can take the fashion writer out of Toronto but you can bet a Toronto fashion story is what he’ll file first.
And so here I am in Montreal telling you that the 19th edition of its semi-annual fashion week launched last night with the debut of Toronto-based David Dixon‘s new Studio collection. The diffusion label, priced more like his Barbie by David Dixon separates ($125 to $395) than his signature dresses, shares the clean look and fabric focus of those other two lines.
There were ticking stripe skirts paired with sequin snakeskin blouses and dresses in croc-embossed taffeta, embroidered floral silk and a poppy red print. It all looked well made and instantly sellable.
This is Montreal though where, despite still being a mecca for clothing manufacturing with 25,000 people employed by the garment industry, there is a love affair with shamelessly creative designers who put couturier dreams before commerce. So it will come as no surprise that Helmer Joseph stole the shows on opening night.
We heard the Helmer spring collection on the Marche Bonsecours runway before we saw it. It started off soft, the clinking of a few beads sewn onto stockings or dangling from vintage handbags that accessorized voluminous gowns and cocktail dresses in mismatched fabrics. It crescendoed when a blue column gown covered in shards of bottle glass appeared, the pieces clanging against each other as the model walked by with a poof of plastic chickenwire in her hair.
There was, of course, a standing ovation.
Reentering the runway room for the Dimitri Chris show an hour later, the audience found a catwalk lined with arches fashioned from fluorescent light tubes. The industrial set was clever staging but at odds with the collection’s light and summery striped suiting and tailored cargo khakis. As open minded as I am, I just can’t advocate for short sleeve blazers and exposed sock garters but I can definitely get behind his classic red plaid jacket worn with a crisp white shirt and slim chinos.
