Elle Canada - The Elle Word

In honour of Earth Day and the 3-R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) we add eco-friendly footwear to our spring wardrobe.

New Balance newSKY ($130) Available at Foot Locker, SportChek, Town Shoes and New Balance stores.

This weekend, get off the couch and head outside to celebrate Earth Day (April 22) in these reinvented newSky by New Balance trainers. Not only is the upper part of the shoe made from recycled plastic bottles (it takes 20-ounces of plastic bottles to create the high-quality polyester), but the newSKY technology uses the barefoot-inspired Minimus sole to balance your natural stride. These lightweight trainers cut down on manufacturing waste, promote sustainable fashion, and are ideal for a jog in the park.

Our styling tip: Swap in some neon laces to really highlight your Earth Day heel click.

Fashionable bookworms rejoice! Grace Coddington’s long-awaited memoir is finally slated to hit bookstores this November. The tome, which Coddington sold to Random House for 1.2 million dollars, is expected to detail the flame-haired editrix’s rise through the modeling world in the 1960s until a brutal car crash made her rethink her career path. But don’t expect a salacious tell-all detailing Anna Wintour’s tyranny. “I’m 70,” Coddington says. “I’ve been in fashion 55 years. With Vogue 20 years. I’m not telling secret stories. Not writing ugly bad things to get back at anyone. This book’s not gossipy. It’s more a record.” We can’t wait! In the meantime, curl up on a patio with a glass of vino and these other tony reads.

House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder and Survival by Deborah Ball. This story, which details Gianni Versace’s rise through the style world until his shocking murder in Miami beach in 1997, has more juice than a tabloid. Bitter family feuds? Check. Drug addictions? You got it. Megalomania? In spades! We guarantee you won’t be able to put this one down.

Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion by Lauren Goldstein Crowe follows the fashion maven’s tragic life. Blow famously began her fashion career in New York City as an assistant to Anna Wintour at Vogue and has even been credited as “discovering” designers Philip Treacy and Alexander McQueen. Unfortunately Blow was plagued with personal demons, and took her own life in 2007.

Beauty Disrupted: A Memoir by Carré Otis is a must-read for anyone interested in the dark side of the modeling industry. Otis bravely recounts her struggles with an eating disorder and drug addiction as well as the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of Elite Models former boss Gerald Marie. Not to worry, this story has a happy ending: Otis is now happily married with two children and says that writing about her past was therapeutic.

A look from Walter Rodrigues's collection. Image courtesy of Fotosite.

Amish-punk chic, with a touch of boho flair, were the hallmarks of Sao Paulo-based designer Walter Rodrigues’ fall/winter showing at Rio Fashion Week. The minimalist and modest look of the long black skirts, white buttoned-up shirts and cropped three-quarter jackets were offset by boyish combat boots. The initial pieces were a somber black and white, but these quiet silhouettes were re-imagined in bold prints, with bright red and orange hues. The Amish-looking black caps were also replaced with bright patterned scarves.

The inspiration for the collection came from Rodrigues’ favourite film, The White Ribbon by Austrian director Michael Haneke. “I saw this collection through the same black and white lens as the film, but then through my own lens I added in the red, orange and blue colours. I have never been to an Amish colony but I just love this look. The simplicity of it; the lack of exaggeration and complication.” Read the rest of this entry

Maria Bonita Extra's short hemlines. Image courtesy of Fotosite.

It will take gorgeous gams and a Girl-from-Ipanema attitude to carry off the mini-hemlines at Maria Bonita Extra. The Parisian-flavoured cocktail dresses came in exaggerated bubble silhouettes and shifts with tulle fringes. Katia Wille designed the Extra line, which is the more affordable collection under the Maria Bonita label.

Backstage, Wille told me how excited she was to be asked to design this collection to mark its 21st anniversary. “I worked with them 10 years ago, but came back to do this collection, which is based on the very best of the designs over the past two decades. The challenge was to take classic pieces, like the cashmere dresses, shirtdresses and puff skirts, and give them a new life – a new future. Tonight they’re back on the catwalk with a stronger attitude.”

And who’s the client? “She’s a young woman—or a woman of any age who loves to wear very short skirts! She’s pure of heart, but she wants to make an impression.” One of those women is Priscila Machado, Miss Brazil 2011. “It’s a very feminine brand,” she said, backstage with Wille. “It shows off a woman’s body without showing off too much. We look hot, but sophisticated hot!”

Read the rest of this entry

Urban adventure at 2nd Floor

Moments after the first model appeared on the 2^nd Floor runway wearing a faux fur jacket, the style wags in the front row were grumbling. “Oh dear, hedgehog roadkill!” Another whispered that Suzy Menkes once told him that “she puts away her notebook if a show opens with red and black.”  (To be fair—or kind—the red in the model’s skirt was more of a tomato orange.) With its “fun” fur jackets, shirt dresses with faux croc collars and leather-quilted shorts, this collection–which was an homage to Robin Hood–is for the urban adventurer with a taste for folkloric-inspired synthetic style. Read the rest of this entry

Herchcovitch's cocoon-like denim trench coat

Alexandre Herchcovitch, the master of quirky inspirational mélanges, opened Rio de Janeiro’s winter fashion week with a rather low-key, denim collection.  The Herchcovitch line, which is the Brazilian designer’s more affordable streetwear collection, was inspired by New York artists from the late ’70s and ’80s who gave conventional work attire a casual and stylish twist. Call it posh proletariat chic.

The paulistano’s models, who sported aviator shades and hair like Alison Pill in Milk, wore buttoned-up shirtdresses, capris and Herchcovitch’s signature bodycon catsuits. “The message that I have been saying for a long time is that fashion, for me, is the same as freedom,” Herchcovitch told me backstage. “You can wear whatever you want and you can mix whatever you want. Fashion has no rules.” Read the rest of this entry

Our final daily pick as LGFW wrapped last week.

Jeanine Brito
Student

What’s your favourite piece?
My dress. I just got it from a store on Queen St called Durumi. I just discovered it.

What shows are you seeing today?
We’re seeing Baby Steinberg.

What spring 2012 trend are you looking forward to wearing?
I really like all the whites and ocean themes from Chanel and Alexander McQueen

What do you love about LG Fashion Week?
Well, this is my first time going. I just moved here from Calgary but it’s really cool. I’ve never had an opportunity to go to a show like this.

Image by Savo Sok

Which look was your favourite from the whole week? Refresh your memory here.

Kate O’Reilly
Student/ Blogger for the Trendstigator

What’s your favourite piece?
My Jimmy Choo for H&M necklace. It’s pretty punk and glam, which is quite my style.

What shows are you seeing today?
Both the Melissa Nepton and Krane shows.

What spring 2012 trend are you looking forward to wearing?
The eclecticism. This whole putting tribal meets preppy meets athletic wear. It’s everything about putting your own stamp on fashion. It’s not about following the rulebook anymore. It’s about using trends to make your own image.

What do you love about LG Fashion Week?
Probably the fact that this is one of the biggest years yet. It seems like Toronto Fashion is gaining more international recognition and I haven’t heard any negative things in terms of the shows and organization. I think it’s just going fabulously.

Image by Savo Sok

What do you think of Kate’s look?

Miss our other street style snaps? Check out the looks here!

Julie Smith
Actress/ Fashion Designer

What’s your favourite piece?
My favourite piece would be Joe Fresh’s skirt from the new line.

What shows are you seeing today?
We just saw Klaxon Howl. That was hot and we’re seeing Pink Tartan tonight and Joe Fresh so we’re excited about those.

What spring 2012 trend are you looking forward to wearing?
I’m really enjoying jumpsuits still and sheer fabrics. I’m loving the faux fur and big over-accessorizing.

What do you love about LGFW Fashion Week?
Getting to see amazing designers and being inspired that hopefully one day I can be up there. And getting to drink champagne with my best friend Ashley.

Image by Savo Sok

What has been your favourite look from our Street Style Snaps so far? Check out the others here and here.

Courtesy of Bang Media

Rumour has it, ‘Sex and the City‘ could return to TV screens.

The hit TV series – which ended in 2004 after six series before being turned into two movies – is being lined up for a new run after creator Darren Star and the show’s main star Sarah Jessica Parker decided on the direction it should take.

A source told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “Ultimately Darren Star – the man who created the hit series – will have the overall say, but everyone is agreed a TV show is the direction they want to take the franchise in.

“Sarah Jessica Parker will be producing. She was worried about doing another film after the bad reaction to the ‘Sex and the City 2′ movie, but a TV show is definitely something she wants to happen.” Read the rest of this entry